1. General: This Request for Information (RFI) is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, quotations, or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services, but for planning purposes only. This RFI is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and to explore industry capabilities. Your response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission to this announcement or the Government use of such information. The information provided may be used by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in development of its acquisition strategy, statement of work/statement of objectives, and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marked proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request for information or to otherwise pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI.
2. Purpose:
a. The USSOCOM, Special Operations Forces-Acquisition Technology and Logistics (SOF AT&L), Program Executive Office-Tactical Information Systems (PEO-TIS), Program Management Office-Remote Capabilities (PMO-RC), small Uncrewed Multidomain Systems-Air (sUMS-Air) seeks information on specific technology areas to gain knowledge of, explore, and identify potential methodologies and available capabilities in the examination of Micro Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS).
b. Micro UAS Required Traits:
(1) Hardware: Should be a Group 1 UAS capable of performing multiple configurable mission sets at ranges of 0.5 nautical miles and beyond for a minimum of 0.20 hours (12 minutes) at standard sea level, while simultaneously carrying and operating a dual Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensor. The UAS must be able to connect to ground control station (GCS) in less than or equal to 15 seconds from power up. The UAS should be able to launch, operate and recover during day and night operations in standard and adverse weather conditions. Conditions may include environmental (rain, dust, etc.) and atmospheric (49 °C/120 °F to -51°C /-60°F) extremes. UAS should be able to take off and be recovered in headwinds up to and exceeding 15 knots, crosswinds up to and exceeding 15 knots and tailwinds up to and exceeding 15 knots. UAS must be able to operate in Radio Frequency (RF) / Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) congested and contested environments. UAS should include modular and durable components that can be replaced, repaired, or configured for specific mission sets (airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, kinetic, etc.) by a trained SOF operator in 30 minutes or less, preferably without tools. Propulsion should be electric, or hybrid based. UAS should be able to maintain or exceed a cruise speed of 15 Knots Indicated Airspeed (KIAS) and dash at 15 KIAS.
(2) Software: UAS hardware and software, both on the aircraft and on the ground control station, should maintain a modular open systems approach that allows for the hosting and integration of government developed software for mission planning, command and control, computer vision, autonomy, and collaborative autonomy capabilities, which enable the UAS to work independently and/or together with humans on or off the loop. Government software should be able to interface with the aircraft autopilot, aircraft data bus(es), navigation systems, sensors/payloads, etc. Additionally, the government software should be able to utilize or disable all safety, automated, and autonomous functions organic to the system as delivered by the vendor. All Application Program Interfaces (API) and Interface Control Documents (ICD) should be non-proprietary, or at least made available to the Government. System and all components and subcomponents must be in full compliance with 2024 ASDA.
c. Micro UAS Desired Traits:
(1) Hardware: Integration into the SOF Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) environment or a SOF designated Common Ground Control Station (CGCS) is highly desired. Ability for the UAS to operate beyond its primary role in a maritime environment as an Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle is highly desired. A UAS capable to take off/launch and land/recover from platforms operating across multiple environments to include ground, water/maritime (fresh, salt, and brackish), etc. is highly desired; if intended to land in the water, the UAS should remain afloat till recovery or provide other novel low visibility recovery capability. Ability of UAS to take off/launch and land/recover from multiple SOF operational platforms (ground, aircraft, and maritime vessels) is highly desired. A UAS that is capable of multiple control modalities beyond a GCS such as First Person View (FPV), Augmented Reality (AR), gesture control, etc. is highly desirable. UAS should be able to operate in multiple artificial and Electromagnetic Environmental Effect (E3) based environments. Novel and unique capabilities that reduce acoustic, visual, infrared, RF, and other signatures are desired. An onboard Accelerated Processing Unit with reserved compute power or an independent Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to support government developed Artificial Intelligence, autonomy, and software is highly desired.
(2) Software: Non-proprietary APIs or ICDs to interface with platform systems is highly desired. In support of operation in disrupted, disconnected, intermittent, and low bandwidth (DDIL) environments, it is desired to have a failsafe setting configurable for a myriad of situations, including lost data link and lost GNSS. In the case of lost link or lost GNSS, it is desired for the platform to have configurable options to continue the mission. It is desired for the platform to have robust monitoring system capable of reporting health, mission status, capacities, and payloads. Additionally, it is desired for the government hardware mission module to control electromagnetic spectrum emissions. The platform should be configurable for communications to interface to either the platform C2 module or the government hardware mission module.
d. All hardware/equipment submitted for the evaluation shall be production models and capable of performing specific core mission sets conducted by Special Operations Forces (SOF) UAS operators in an operational environment.
e. Mission profile evaluation may consist of two independently conducted events:
(1) Technical Evaluation (TE), to confirm the quality and accuracy of device performance and output;
(2) Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) to evaluate training, determine usability and suitability for SOF operators in a realistic environment.
f. While un-released commercial devices that meet most of the capabilities are allowed, the expectation is that all devices will be final product versions and meet the capabilities detailed in the scenarios that align with approved mission profiles and establish statistical confidence in the results. Any submissions below Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 as determined by sUMS-Air Team, shall not be considered. TRL7 is defined as a prototype near or at planned operational system. Represents a major step up from TRL 6 by requiring demonstration of an actual system prototype in an operational environment (e.g., in an aircraft, in a vehicle, or in space).
g. Responses to this RFI may be used by USSOCOM, SOF AT&L, PEO-TIS, PM-RC and sUMS-Air and other Department of Defense entities to identify potential hardware and equipment solutions for participation in the further evaluation of market information and/or ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice.
3. Timeline: The sME 25-9 is scheduled from January 2025 thru September 2025 in the greater Tampa, Florida area. The preliminary schedule of events (subject to change) is as follows:
a. NLT 13 December 2024 – RFI Response. Interested Manufacturers/Vendors respond to this RFI. Responses should be submitted directly through the USSOCOM Vulcan platform at: https://vulcan-sof.com/login/ng2/submission?collectionUuid=7219fdc0-e570-48c8-8f47-dae731d29d6a and must include a detailed three (3) to five (5) page UNCLASSIFIED capability paper of the proposed current capabilities as described at Section 2. Files shall be submitted to the Government in .docx, .pdf, .xlslx or .pptx format. Please review the instructions carefully within the Vulcan platform call. If you still have additional questions about this Vulcan platform call you may send your queries to the Engage SOF team: eSOF@socom.mil. All other documents provided by the offeror shall be retained by the Government, but not reviewed. Subject to change based upon agency need.
b. 21 thru 22 January 2025 – Vendor Presentations. Manufacturers/Vendors present their proposed white papers, equipment and demonstrate the equipment’s capabilities of interest. eSOF presentations will be conducted at 1925 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 102, Tampa, Florida 33605. Specific coordination information will be provided by eSOF when briefing dates and times are scheduled. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need.
c. 30 January 2025 – Technical Evaluation Invitations. Invitations will be sent to select Manufacturers/Vendors to participate in the Technical Evaluation event. While sUMS-Air Program will provide feedback to all Manufacturers/Vendors who participated in the eSOF presentations, only those devices that sUMS-Air Program judges to have the best potential to meet the mission profile evaluation will be invited to participate in the Technical Evaluation event. All Manufacturers/Vendors will be provided a Vendor Loan Agreement (VLA) as sUMS-Air Program will request a minimum of five (5) complete systems for the duration of the events with a designated device delivery date. Subject to change based upon agency need.
d. 6 February 2025 - Manufacturers/Vendors Accept Invitations. Deadline for Manufacturers/Vendors to notify sUMS-Air Program of their intent to participate in the Technical Evaluation and return the completed VLA for their devices and any associated items. Subject to change based upon agency need.
e. 5 May 2025 – Device Delivery. Manufacturers/Vendors deliver (on-loan) fully functional devices and associated items for technical assessment at a location to be determined later. Manufacturers/Vendors also provide necessary technical information to support USSOCOM’s safety review process. Subject to change based upon agency need.
f. 12 thru 23 May 2025 – TE Training. Manufacturers/Vendors train Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), sUMS-Air evaluators and USSOCOM testers to support use of and technical evaluation of their device(s) at a location to be determined later. Training must include proper use of the device and troubleshooting. Manufacturers/Vendors will be expected to train the USSOCOM SMEs, evaluators and testers to the point where they can confirm expected levels of performance. Manufacturers/Vendors will be offered the opportunity to conduct the same training for operators participating in the Operational Test and Evaluation portion of sME 25-9. Subject to change based upon agency need.
g. 24 May thru 27 June 2025 – TE. USSOCOM SMEs, evaluators, and testers will conduct a TE of the Manufacturers/Vendors devices to ensure they perform to the standards and levels as presented. Manufacturers/Vendors may be asked to provide reach back support during TEs. Proceeding to the next portion is based solely upon best agency need and requirements. Subject to change based upon agency need.
h. 18 thru 29 August 2025 – OT&E. USSOCOM evaluators, and testers conduct the OT&E with the participation of SOF operational personnel at a location to be determined later. Manufacturers/Vendors will be asked to conduct training of their devices during the first week but will not participate in the actual operator driven events conducted jointly by USSOCOM and the Joint Interoperability Test Command. Subject to change based upon agency need.
i. NLT 12 September 2025 – Device Return. All Manufacturers/Vendors equipment returned. Subject to change based upon agency need.
4. Disclaimers: THERE IS NO SOLICITATION PLANNED AT THIS TIME. This request for information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market research is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred; and the Government will not provide responses to any questions. Any submitter’s attention is directed to the fact that Government Support Contractor personnel may review and provide support to Government personnel when reviewing submissions.
5. Points of Contact: Any questions under this RFI must be emailed to at SOCOM.SOFATL.TIS.RC.SUMS.DL@socom.mil.
