SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (SUAS) MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT MARKET RESEARCH – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) DESCRIPTION : The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), as part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is conducting market research on the current availability and technological capabilities of vendors to support USBP’s fleet of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS). THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS MARKET RESEARCH OR OTHERWISE PAY FOR INFORMATION RECEIVED. This research is issued solely for information, planning purposes, and market research only; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. This market research does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. CBP is not seeking proposals at this time. CBP will not pay for any costs associated with responding to this market research. Not responding to this market research does not preclude participation in any future RFP. If a solicitation is released, it will be posted to the System for Award Management website (http://www.sam.gov). All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. The information obtained from industry’s responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP. INTRODUCTION : The USBP is a sub-component of CBP whose mission is to prevent the illegal flow of people and contraband into the United States via air, land, and sea. USBP’s primary mission is to conduct law enforcement activities along the U.S. border and between official U.S. ports of entry. As the Nation’s single, unified border agency, USBP’s mission is vitally important for the protection of the American people and the national economy. USBP represents the first line of defense of America’s borders. One of USBP’s strategic objectives is to establish and maintain effective control of air, land, and maritime borders with the appropriate mix of infrastructure, technology and personnel. An integral component to this situational awareness is the planned use of SUAS to provide reconnaissance surveillance, and target acquisition capability to USBP along the southern and northern borders. BACKGROUND : CBP established a SUAS Program of Record in Fiscal Year 2018 to procure, deploy, and sustain a mix of Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL), Fixed Wing (FW), and Hybrid platforms. CBP’s approach to SUAS has provided it the ability to quickly procure and deploy mature, cost-effective systems to meet the urgent need for technology on the U.S. border. Systems including the Indago 3, SkyRaider, and Puma 3 have been procured to fulfill part of CBP’s requirement. Hybrid lift solutions that may meet CBP’s requirements to combine the advantages of VTOL and FW solutions into a single airframe are being assessed. PURPOSE : This market research seeks to obtain information from industry about the availability and capabilities of vendors to provide SUAS maintenance and support. Vendors who respond to this market research are requested to provide information in Attachment A – Vendor Company Data, and Attachment B – Vendor Prior Experience. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS : SUAS are responsible for monitoring an Area of Coverage (AoC) that is comprised of the instantaneous field of view and the total field of regard. The SUAS elevate imaging devices to maximize the AoC and overcome natural (e.g., terrain features, vegetation, tree lines) obstacles within and along USBP’s varied operating areas. The number of SUAS deployed within each USBP sector varies based on geography, availability of equipment and trained operators, and operational need. When deployed, the systems provide the SUAS operator with video data that enables the detection, identification, classification, and tracking of an Item of Interest (IoI) in rugged, remote, rural, urban, riverine, and coastal environments. The SUAS also support vectoring of USBP agents to the immediate vicinity of the IoI for interdiction and event resolution, and, if the SUAS has illumination capabilities (laser illuminator), provide covert IoI illumination to assist agents in prepositioning themselves for intercepting the IoI. The SUAS are deployed in myriad environmental and climatic conditions including day/night, dense thick foliage, extreme temperature ranges (-20° F to 120° F), high salt air conditions, dirt and fine dust conditions, humidity (> 90%), rain, fog, snow, ice, high winds (up to 30 knots), sandstorms, and electrical storms. Operations are performed in 20 diverse USBP sectors (Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Del Rio, Big Bend, El Paso, El Centro, San Diego, Tucson, Yuma, Swanton, Spokane, Detroit, Buffalo, Blaine, Grand Forks, Havre, Miami, Houlton, New Orleans, and Ramey). Working in these challenging operational, meteorological, and topographical environments, USBP has a need to optimize and sustain a prescribed material availability (Am) of SUAS per given areas of responsibility. MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT CAPABILITIES SOUGHT : The provider of maintenance and support is expected to provide an approach to develop and deliver a sustainment footprint to achieve the critical operational (Am) requirements. Mission critical failures include any failure condition that prevents the system from performing/enabling detection, identification, classification, and tracking functions. Upon notification of a mission critical failure, the SUAS operator may assess the available health and status information and, if possible, apply corrective action such as a visual inspection or reboot. For some repairs, a field repair kit consisting of small and lightweight items will be used to perform field repair of the SUAS by the operator in a harsh environment. Repairs that cannot be handled in the field will require depot level maintenance. It is anticipated that depot level maintenance will be handled through the Unmanned Technologies Operation Center in West Virginia. Maintenance and support capabilities sought include: Maintenance: Tracking failure trends and creating, updating, and refining logistics management information data to update the spares planning models for the Indago 3, SkyRaider, Puma 3, and any SUAS procured in the future; Providing maintenance support as required for all levels of maintenance to include field, intermediate, and depot level maintenance to include the creation and retention of records associated with the sustainment of public aircraft; and, Working with original equipment manufacturers to develop and support a preventative maintenance program. Supply Support: Providing full-range supply support for the SUAS, which includes but is not limited to inventory management, repair and parts services, acquisition services, and repair contract development. Engineering Support: Providing engineering support, which includes but is not limited to engineering studies and analysis, engineering change proposal recommendations, and obsolescence management. Packaging, Handling, Storage, and Transportation (PHS&T): Providing full-scale support in PHS&T as required to support the system(s). RESPONSE : Your firm is requested to submit its response electronically no later than January 14, 2022, to
[email protected]. Your firm is asked to provide its response using Attachments A and B. Responses should be prepared using Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint in Times New Roman font, size 12 point. Attachment A: SUAS Vendor Company Data Attachment B: SUAS Vendor Prior Experience