N244-P02 TITLE: NAVSEA Open Topic for Sustainment and Obsolescence
OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Sustainment
OBJECTIVE: NAVSEA is seeking proposals for commercial technology to address Navy needs regarding sustainment and obsolescence.
DESCRIPTION: NAVSEA requests proposals for existing technology demonstration platforms, prototypes, and commercial products that will reliably and safely get Navy assets back in the field as quickly as possible. For Phase I awardees, NAVSEA will provide an operational context which technologies will be assessed against and provide feedback and guidance on enhancements to align with the Fleet’s warfighting objectives. The proposing small business concern should have an existing solution, either hardware and/or software, which can be evaluated through operational experimentation with end users.
As stated in the instruction, only one proposal from a single small business concern will be accepted for this topic.
Areas of focus for potential projects include, but are not limited to:
1. Material Quality, Readiness, and Availability
2. AI/ML Generated Work Instructions
3. Additive Manufacturing Tools and Processes Advancements (afloat and ashore applications)
4. Cold Spray Technology Advancements
5. Shipyard and Maintenance Operational Logistics Improvements
6. Rapid Manufacturing to address urgent part obsolescence needs
7. Digital Twins for system lifecycle sustainability and design evolution
PHASE I: The DoN is planning to issue multiple Phase I awards for this topic but reserves the right to issue no awards. Each Phase I proposal must include a Base and Option period of performance. The Phase I Base must have a period of performance of four (4) months at a cost not to exceed $75,000. The Phase I Option must have a period of performance of six (6) months at a cost not to exceed $100,000.
Phase I feasibility will describe the existing proposed technology, existing DoN system(s) to improve, modifications required, anticipated improvements to existing capabilities, impacts to current logistics, if any (i.e., transportation, storage, maintenance, safety, etc.), and transition approach to the DON system. Results of Phase I will be detailed in a final technical report (Final Report).
The Phase I Option, if exercised, will include the initial design specifications and capabilities description to build a prototype solution in Phase II.
Phase I deliverables include:
• Kick-Off Briefing, due 15 days from start of Base award
• Final Report, due 120 days from start of Base award
• Quad Chart, due 120 days from start of Base award
• Initial Phase II Proposal, due 120 days from start of Base award
PHASE II: All Phase I awardees may submit an Initial Phase II proposal for evaluation and selection. The evaluation criteria for Phase II are the same as Phase I (as stated in this BAA). The Phase I Final Report and Initial Phase II Proposal will be used to evaluate the small business concern’s potential to adapt commercial products to fill a capability gap, improve performance, or modernize an existing capability for DoN and transition the technology to Phase III. Details on the due date, content, and submission requirements of the Initial Phase II Proposal will be provided by the awarding SYSCOM either in the Phase I contract or by subsequent notification.
The scope of the Phase II effort will be specific to each project but is generally expected to develop a functional prototype to demonstrate the capability, develop transition plan including production and fielding approach (including updated logistics and safety consideration) and further commercialization (non-DoD).
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Field capability and logistics support. Since the Navy is seeking commercial technologies, these technologies already have commercial applications.
REFERENCES:
KEYWORDS: Sustainment; Obsolescence; AI/ML; Additive Manufacturing; Cold Spray; Shipyard Maintenance; Rapid Manufacturing; Digital Twin
** TOPIC Q&A NOTICE ** |
The Navy Topic above is an "unofficial" copy from the Navy Topics in the DoD 24.4 SBIR BAA. Please see the official DoD Topic website at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/solicitation-documents/active-solicitations for any updates. The DoD issued its Navy 24.4 Navy Open SBIR Topics pre-release on June 13, 2024 which opens to receive proposals on August 1, 2024, and closes September 4, 2024 (12:00pm ET). Direct Contact with Topic Authors: During the pre-release period (June 13, 2024 through July 31, 2024) proposing firms have an opportunity to directly contact (by the listed email or phone) the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) to ask technical questions about the specific BAA topic only. Once DoD begins accepting proposals on August 1, 2024 no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the Pre-release period. DoD Topic Q&A System: Questions may also be posed via the DoD Topic Q&A System until August 21, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. However, to ask a question on the Q&A system you must be registered on the DoD's DSIP site at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login
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| 8/20/24 | Q. | Is there interest within the DoN in collaborating with small businesses on predictive obsolescence modeling projects?
We are exploring solutions that could benefit from access to non-classified parts data as part of a proof-of-concept initiative. |
| A. | NAVSEA seeks innovative technology solutions for a variety of platforms. We will consider all technologies that are submitted that can provide solutions to our problems. | |
| 8/19/24 | Q. | Which Department of the Navy (DoN) systems are potential candidates to leverage the Digital Twins solutions proposed under this solicitation, with a focus on enhancing system lifecycle sustainability and design evolution during the Phase 1 feasibility study? |
| A. | NAVSEA seeks innovative technology solutions for a variety of platforms. We will consider all technologies that are submitted that can provide solutions to our problems. | |
| 8/19/24 | Q. | RE: TOPIC 1. Material Quality, Readiness, and Availability
Could you clarify which specific issue(s) we’re focusing on solving: material quality, readiness (such as MC rate?), or parts availability? or all three at once? Would addressing all three topics fall under one comprehensive proposal, or does each issue require its own separate proposal? |
| A. | NAVSEA seeks innovative technology solutions. We will consider all technologies that are submitted that can provide solutions to our problems.
Refer to the BAA for the requirements of proposal submission. |
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| 8/16/24 | Q. | Would metal alloy feedstocks for additive manufacturing of familiar high performance nickel superalloys and common aluminum alloys be considered in scope under focus areas 1, 3, or 6? |
| A. | NAVSEA seeks innovative technology solutions. We will consider all technologies that are submitted that can provide solutions to our problems. | |
| 8/13/24 | Q. | Will Phase 1 proposals require proposing companies to validate existing technologies to all areas of focus, or can we have core hardware and software capabilities to build from and research and develop complete solutions during Phase 1? For example, if we have expertise or existing hardware/software solutions in several areas like 3D printing, Digital Twins, and rapid manufacturing, would we be considered to utilize staff to research other areas of focus and propose a solution via feasibility study in the first 4-month phase? |
| A. | For this open topic we are not focusing on specific parts but technologies, processes, and procedures to address obsolescence. Phase I should address the feasibility of the concept and how it can be developed into a technological solution in Phase II. Phase II focuses on developing the technology into a prototype. | |
| 8/12/24 | Q. | The following sentence is from the DESCRIPTION section of this topic near the top of the first Topic page. The proposing small business concern should have an existing solution, either hardware and/or software, which can be evaluated through operational experimentation with end users.
The question on 6/26/24 asks about work and deliverables. The answer mentions no prototypes necessary. My question is when you say we there should be an existing solution, that can be evaluated by users. What does this mean? I thought Phase 1 was about something new that has not been done before. A clarification would be much appreciated, and the question above indicates no prototypes. What do you mean by existing solution. |
| A. | Specific to these Open Topics, DoN intends to solicit proposals to adapt commercial products to fill a capability gap, improve performance, or modernize existing capability for the DoN in various mission critical areas. The proposing small business concern will leverage their existing technology to meet needs identified in these Open Topics. Phase I, there will not be delivery of a prototype. Phase I is abbreviated and primarily for feasibility determination. | |
| 8/6/24 | Q. | We are small US based company that focuses on production and machine development. For this project, is a material feedstock provider based out of ally countries in Europe allowed to be a sub-contractor to assist with the material demonstration of our equipment, if selected. |
| A. | Please review section 4.2, Proposing Small Business Concern Eligibility and Performance Requirements, of the DoD SBIR 24.4 Preface. Section 4.2.d identifies the following:
For both Phase I and Phase II, all research or research or research or development work must be performed by the small business concern and its subcontractors in the United States. |
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| 8/6/24 | Q. | Rapid Manufacturing to address urgent part obsolescence needs: * Is there an obsolescence parts list, or does NAVSEA generally have a list of difficult to procure parts? |
| A. | For this open topic we are not focusing on specific parts but technologies, processes, and procedures to address obsolescence. | |
| 7/31/24 | Q. | The references heavily focus on sustainability, maintenance, and repair concerns for physical and mechanical systems. Is there interest in solutions related to creation of precise digital twins for electronic systems that enable system-level verification in emulation environments? Such a solution would aim to enhance lifecycle sustainability and rapid design evolution even in the face of supply chain challenges such as device obsolescence. |
| A. | Digital twins for electronic systems continues to be a technology that is of great interest to NAVSEA. The sustainability of our systems and the ability to minimize the time our ships and submarines are not available is one of the key focus areas for NAVSEA. | |
| 7/31/24 | Q. | How critical is in-field (or extraterritorial) production capability under this topic? Is it part-dependent? |
| A. | While in-field (or extraterritorial) production capability would greatly enhance the ability to field the technology, we are focused on the technology proposed as the greatest factor. | |
| 7/26/24 | Q. | Is there a specific platform that NAVSEA uses that they would like to see solutions developed on? |
| A. | With the Open Topic, we are soliciting solutions from industry. It is up to the business to show the proper use case for said technologies. There are no specific platforms were are looking at. | |
| 7/23/24 | Q. | Our startup specializes in creating lightweight yet strong sandwich structures by combining 3D printing with advanced composites manufacturing. Earlier this year, we met with a Navy Commercialization Program Manager from the Office of Naval Research at an event. He highlighted potential NAVSEA applications for our technology in floor panels, payload storage, and transport. While our sandwich structures are currently at TRL 5, additional R&D is needed to mitigate technical risks.
Would a product that has not yet been commercialized qualify for this topic? |
| A. | With the Open Topic, we are focusing on good ideas from industry, not a specific TRL level. | |
| 7/22/24 | Q. | Does this topic assume that the Navy user/customer/champion has already been identified, or can they be identified as part of the Phase 1 effort? |
| A. | Technical Points of Contact (TPOC) will be assigned by NAVSEA after the selection process if the company is selected for Phase I award. | |
| 7/10/24 | Q. | My company focuses on making customizable 3D printable orthopedic devices, is that something being looked for under this announcement |
| A. | While we are not specifically looking for orthopedic devices, 3D printing is one of the main technologies that NAVSEA is developing to assist in sustainment and obsolescence. Small businesses should consider how they can adapt their technology and experience to develop products for our ships and submarines. | |
| 6/26/24 | Q. | Can you please clarify the work and deliverables that are expected during the OPTION period of performance, if selected? Is there a any prototype development that occurs during the OPTION? We are trying to understand the difference between the BASE and OPTION period work, and how the OPTION feeds into the Phase II and works together with what is proposed under the BASE. We understand that the OPTION is awarded only if selected for Phase II, so we would like to better understand what the OPTION entails. |
| A. | The Navy SBIR 24.4 instruction indicates contract deliverables for Open Topic Phase I Option, if exercised, will be an Option period kick-off brief, progress reports, and a final report. The tasks of the Phase I Option further the effort in preparation for Phase II and will bridge the funding gap between the end of Phase I and the start of Phase II. No prototype development is expected in Phase I. It is solely the culmination of the work in Phase I. |