PURPOSE

This RFI is issued for market research purposes only. The purpose of this notice is twofold:

1. To obtain industry feedback on the draft specifications and proposed acquisition strategy. Feedback is requested from both U.S. small business concerns and other than small business concerns.

2. To identify U.S. small business concerns having an interest in and capability to provide support for INL Bogota’s UAV requirements. Responses to this notice will be considered in selecting the acquisition strategy and to determine the appropriateness of setting aside this requirement for any one of the small business programs described in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19.

Information contained in this notice is preliminary in nature and is subject to change. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Quotations (RFQ), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or a commitment on the part of the government to conduct a solicitation in the future. All information provided is strictly voluntary. The Government will not reimburse contractors for the costs of responding to this notice or otherwise participating in market research activities. Further, the US Department of State offers no assurance that a solicitation will result from this notice.

Any information submitted will become the property of the Government and will not be returned. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and must be clearly marked.

BACKGROUND

The Department of State, INL Bogota, has a requirement for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to support eradication operations throughout Colombia.  This program will be under the operational command of the Colombian National Police (CNP).  Coca cultivation in Colombia remains at record highs and eradication operations in Colombia remain dangerous.  INL Bogota is seeking to bolters the CNP’s capability to increase its threat awareness, provide real time to eradication operations commanders, as well as to do post-eradication analysis using UAS.  As a result, INL Bogota is seeking information on systems that meet the following requirements.

Groups 2 or 3 UAS

Range: At least 62 miles

Endurance:  At least eight hours

Sensors: EO/IR, SWIR, MWIR, SIGINT. 

All weather and night capable

Proven military and/or law enforcement use

Real-time video capable

Strong preference for VTOL system

Group 1 UAS

Range: At least 20-60 miles

Endurance:  At least six hours

Sensors: EO/IR, SWIR, MWIR, SIGINT

All weather and night capable

Proven military and/or law enforcement use

Real-time video capable

Strong preference for fixed-wing system

Group 1 UAS

Range: 3-5 miles range

Endurance:  At least one hour

This system must be able to conduct topographic work/field system.  It must also be able to provide geo-referenced video/images. 

RESPONSE

Prospective offerors interested in responding to this notice should submit information electronically to [email protected] no later than November 16, 2020 at 3:00 pm EST.

The Government will only consider responses submitted in the Attachment A format. The use of this format is required to facilitate the efficient analysis of responses. Responses providing partial information may not be considered by the Government.

Questions, if any, must be directed via email to [email protected]. Telephone inquiries will not be responded to.

Individual feedback or evaluations will be not be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

The Government reverses the right to conduct one-on-one interviews with any of the respondents to this notice. Depending on the number of responses received one-on-one interviews may not be conducted with each respondent.