Notice Number: 145025-26-0046JRW
Notice Type: Sources Sought Synopsis
Title: WingtraRAY UAS Platform
Response Date: August 07. 2026
This is a SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS and is not a pre-solicitation announcement. The purpose of this Market Research and Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified businesses, which could include Small Business, HUBZone, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned, Women Owned Small Business firms and even Large Businesses offering domestically manufactured products that meet the required specifications. Responses to this Sources Sought Synopsis will be used by the Government in making appropriate acquisition decisions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) has a mission-critical requirement to acquire a rapidly deployable Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) platform. The GLERL is a multidisciplinary environmental research laboratory that provides scientific understanding to inform the use and management of Great Lakes and coastal marine environments. This capability is required to support rapid response environmental monitoring and collect high-resolution remote sensing data to map and monitor coastal inundation. The acquired data will directly validate GLERL's active flood forecasting models. Flooding conditions change rapidly; an in-house fleet drastically reduces data acquisition timelines and costs compared to deploying low-level crewed flights, which are constrained by pilot availability, high costs, and cloud ceiling limits (<3,000 ft).
INTENDED USE/PURPOSE:
This is the only known instrument that can meet the Government's needs, and this notice's intent is to identify any other products that meet the full requirements listed below.
The Wingtra Ray is a turnkey platform, sensors which eliminate the need for sensor integration process, tail-sitting fixed wing drone is capable of surveying a large areal extent within a short time window and provides new remote-sensing capabilities to GLERL's portfolio including a LIDAR sensor and an additional multispectral camera that can detect land vs water which is critical for inundation model validation. The platform must pass the NOAA UAS requirements to meet the airworthiness certification for the Wide Area Field Operations. The vendor must offer platform specific training in order to meet the NOAA training requirement.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/ESSENTIAL SALIENT FEATURES:
Design & Aerodynamics: Tail-sitting fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) configuration.
Dimensions & Materials: 125 cm wingspan constructed of Carbon Fiber, Glass Fiber, KEVLAR, and PVC.
Performance & Endurance: 59 minutes of flight time under hyperspectral payloads and 45 minutes under LiDAR payloads. Capable of surveying 550 hectares (5.5 km2) in a single hour.
Operating Envelope: Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 5.2 kg with a payload capacity of 1.25 kg. Wind resistance up to 12 m/s sustained (18 m/s gusts) and operating temperatures ranging from -10 C to 40 C.
Avionics & Power: Redundant GNSS utilizing GPS (L1, L2), GLONASS (L1, L2), Galileo (L1), and BeiDou (L1) across specific frequencies. Powered by Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries with a 30.8V nominal voltage.
Sensor Integration: True "Plug and Play" sensor connections that eliminate the extensive physical, wiring, and weight-distribution adjustments associated with secondary payloads.
Platform:
Wingspan: 125 cm
Material: Carbon Fiber / Glass Fiber / KEVLAR / PVC
Maximum take-off weight: 5.2 kg
Wind Resistance: Up to 12 m/s sustained (18 m/s gusts)
Working Temperature: -10 C - 40 C
Payload capacity: 1.25 kg
Batteries:
Type: Lithium Polymer (LiPo)
Nominal Voltage: 30.8 V
GNSS:
Redundant, using GPS (L1, L2), GLONASS (L1, L2), Galileo (L1) and BeiDou (L1)
Frequencies range: 1227.6 MHz / 1242.9375-1251.6875 MHz / 1561,098 MHz
Drone type Tailsitter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)
Maximum take-off weight 5.2 kg (11.5 lb)
Payload capacity 1'250 g (2.75 lb)
Wingspan 125 cm (4.1 ft)
Battery capacity Two 99 Wh batteries (required as a pair)
Battery type Lithium-polymer, smart battery technology, UN3481 compliant
Radio link (2.4 GHz, primary) Bi-directional 10 km (6 mi) in direct line of sight, obstacles reduce the range
Radio link (LTE, secondary) Bi-directional unlimited range within mobile network coverage
Onboard GNSS Redundant, using GPS (L1, L2), GLONASS (L1, L2), Galileo (L1) and BeiDou (L1)
Frequencies range: 1227.6 MHz / 1242.9375-1251.6875 MHz / 1561,098 MHz / 1575,42 MHz / 1598.0625-1609.3125 MHz / 1602,00 MHz
Dimensions of drone 125 68 12 cm (49.2 26.8 4.8 in, without landing fin)
Dimensions of transport case 130 x 70 x 34 cm (51.2 x 27.6 x 13.4 in)
Dimensions of transport case with cardboard shipping protection 134 x 74 x 37 cm (52.8 x 29.1 x 14.6 in)
Weight of transport case incl. drone bundle 14.4 kg (32 lb)
Weight of transport case fully loaded (drone bundle + all optional accessories) 18.6 kg (41 lb)
Operation Flight speed Operational cruise speed, Climb / sink cruise, Climb / sink hover Adaptive between 16 and 22 m/s (36 and 49 mph) 8/8 m/s (17.9 / 17.9 mph) 6/2.5 m/s (13.4 / 5.6 mph)
Wind resistance - Max sustained wind - 12 m/s (27 mph); Max wind gusts - 18 m/s (40 mph); Max sustained wind on the ground - 8 m/s (19 mph)
Flight time 59 min with MAP61, SURVEY61, INSPECT, RedEdge-P and SURVEY24 45 min with LIDAR
Temperature (ambient) -10 C to 40 C (14 F to 104 F)
Maximum take-off altitude above sea level 4 800 m (15 700 ft) AMSL with high-altitude propellers
Maximum flight altitude above sea level 5 000 m (16 400 ft) AMSL with high-altitude propellers
Ingress Protection IP53
Weather Not recommended to fly in fog, rain and snow
Auto-landing accuracy < 2 m (< 7 ft)
DELIVERY SCHEDULE:
Deliver by 60 days from date of award.
The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 334511 with a size standard of 1,350.
Interested firms shall provide, in writing, a brief narrative (no more than 3 pages in length) and documentation to support your firm's capability and experience meeting the requirements herein and include your firm's name, address, point of contact, telephone number, UEID Number, CCR CAGE Number, business type and size (i.e., small, large, non-profit, educational, etc.). Any response that does not include this information will not be considered. The Government will review your response to determine if your firm has the experience, knowledge and capability to provide the items as specified above.
This request for information does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. Nor does this request for information constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that any procurement action may be issued for the Government's requirements.
No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise because of the submission of contractor's information. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.
All contractors doing business with the Government are required to be registered and active with the System for Award Management (SAM) website.
NOTE: THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT CONSIDERED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL BUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. No solicitation document is available. No contract will be awarded based on responses received to this notice.
