The United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisitions Division (EAD) intends to award, on a sole source basis, a purchase order for one DriX Unmanned Surface Vehicle (or Government equivalent reference, Unscrewed Surface Vehicle) (USV) with iXblue, Inc., Denver, CO. 

The Government intends to utilize the authority under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13.501, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, unless, as a result of this announcement, acceptable responses to this notice are received and a determination is made by the Government to issue a competitive solicitation. 

Sole Source Justification:

This acquisition will purchase a USV, accessories and associated services to undertake survey activities in tandem with NOAA vessels to increase survey efficiency. The vessel is required to meet the needs of both the National Marine Fisheries
Service for fisheries acoustic surveys and National Ocean Service for shallow water bathymetric mapping. The combination of requirements leads to narrow constraints for characteristics including speed, sonar performance parameters and shipboard deployment. Only one source is capable of meeting the highly specialized requirements in the time frame required. The primary requirements for the USV are:
● Commercial product – existing commercial product for base USV, with units
designed for acoustic surveying delivered to customers
● Scientific data systems - capability to produce equivalent sonar data as NOAA
ships with hydrographic and fisheries sonar instruments mounted at a depth of
>1.5 m and >0.8 m away from the hull at speeds of 11 knots; Must provide
capability for monitoring data quality during operation
● Speed and Endurance – capable of keeping up with a ship for consistent
operations for multiple days (40 hours at 11 knots, 160 hours at 7 knots) and
burst speeds able to match transits (12+ kts). Capable of effectively acquiring
data in Sea State 4.
● Transportability – able to fit in standard intermodal shipping container,
additionally able to be transported via regular width trailer on US roads.
● Deployment and recovery from NOAA ships using existing ship davits and
launching equipment, augmented with specialized launch/recovery devices
included in the USV contract; recovery possible with human intervention only
from ship
● Over the horizon operation – system must be fully capable of operations outside
line of sight with the host vessel including ability to control and monitor quality of
scientific systems, and vendor must provide monitoring capability as a service
● Operation and situational awareness – automated and human controlled modes
required, autonomy must meet basic maritime collision regulations and be
capable of executing survey plans
● Training - Vendor must provide comprehensive training on vessel operations,
maintenance and launch and recovery procedures.

The capabilities required by the government are highly specialized and represent the leading edge of uncrewed maritime technologies, in particular in terms of need for integration with NOAA ships, and speed and endurance requirements. The system must meet all the requirements specified in the attached Statement of Requirements and meet NOAA Readiness Level 9 (Final System Transitioned into Operations). These requirements call for a unique and complex system consisting of a fully integrated and operational USV and launch and recovery system with vendor engineering support for operation of the USV from NOAA ships. The USV must have been previously produced, and have previously been instrumented with both hydrographic multibeam instruments and fisheries echosounders. The USV must have a track record of use in a routine capacity for either hydrographic or fisheries applications, and must be capable of immediate deployment on, and integration with, a NOAA ship with only slight modification to the ship or USV to support a short-term need. Partial fulfillment of capabilities or provision of untested/prototype systems will not
meet the government’s needs.

This special notice is not a request for competitive offerors and no solicitation package is available; however, firms believing they can provide this product may submit substantiating documentation in writing within fifteen business days of this notice. Responses can be sent via e-mail to [email protected], with copy to [email protected]. Documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon response to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. If no documentation is received, award will be made directly to iXblue, Inc. without further consideration.

DOC/NOAA/EAD requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). No award can be made to a company not registered in SAM. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. To register, all contractors must have a Dun and Bradstreet number. A Dun and Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun and Bradstreet on-line at http://www.dnb.com/eupdate or by telephone at (844) 229- 9757.