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UPDATE MI2 TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION

Update:

Phase 2 Technical Demonstration Events at Yuma Providing Ground, Arizona, were completed December 2020.  This involved live flight demonstrations and performance of realistic scenarios that were observed by a panel of Government personnel.  Based on the results of Phase 2, the Government has decided to proceed with prototyping and development on the solution demonstrated by Martin UAV.  The Government has therefore completed its multi-phased merit-based selection process and now plans to award an Other Transaction (OT) prototype project to Martin UAV under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2371b, as contemplated by the initial announcement of 24 June 2020.

As previously articulated to all participants, no debriefs will be provided with regard to the Government’s selection decision. NAWCAD extends its appreciation to all respondents for their interest and participation in this selection process.

PMA-290 SSD CHALLENGE

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office, PMA-290, recently completed a multi-phase prize competition for technologies that leverage self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology data for solid-state drive health assessment and visualization.

Twelve teams applied for participation in the challenge and received a take-home assignment which they submitted for evaluation by PMA-290 judges. Five finalists were invited to a live completion at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Aug, 18-20. Ultimately, four teams demonstrated their software solutions and participated in oral reviews with the judges. 

“The competitors identified the problem and implemented solutions to mitigate the impact,” said James Cameron, PMA-290 judge. “The insight provided during this prize challenge will inform future acquisition strategies.”

The Charles Tanzini Team will receive $60,000 for first, Physical Optics Corporation will receive $30,000 for second, and JET Systems LLC will receive $10,000 for third. Andromeda Systems, Inc. was the runner up.  

Innovation and Modernization Patuxent River, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s partnership intermediary for experimentation, technology demonstrations, and prize challenges, provided planning and execution support for the 12-month project.

UPDATE MI2 TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION

Update:  Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) AIRWorks received a total of 13 responses from industry, demonstrating a variety of technologies and capabilities.  NAWCAD conducted evaluations of the performance summaries, technology questionnaires and supporting artifacts in accordance with the established criteria, and ultimately selected two vendors for participation in the Phase 2 Live Demonstration Event at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona:  L3Harris Technologies and Martin UAV.  NAWCAD anticipates conducting the live demonstrations in the November/December 2020 timeframe.  As articulated in the announcement, Phase 2 of this multi-phased merit-based selection process may lead to award of an Other Transaction (OT) prototype project under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2371b.  As previously articulated to all participants, no debriefs will be provided with regard to the Government’s selection decision.  NAWCAD extends its appreciation to all respondents for their interest and participation in this selection process.

NAVY TRUAS CHALLENGE WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

By Kristine Wilcox, Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-263) communications

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The Dept of the Navy successfully completed a tactical resupply unmanned aircraft system (UAS) fly-off competition Jan. 27-31 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, to evaluate existing small UAS and their autonomous aerial delivery capability for the Marine Corps.

Six vendors competed for first, second and third place based on a series of criteria and operational flights. SURVICE Engineering will receive $100,000 for first place; Chartis Federal will receive $75,000 for second; and Autonodyne will take home $50,000. Other participants included AirBuoyant, Bell Textron and Pacific Aerospace Consulting.

“We learned a lot about where industry is in terms of design maturity and what our requirements need to be,” said Col. John Neville, Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical UAS (PMA-263) program manager, who oversees the TRUAS small Unmanned Logistics Support – Air effort. “It was great to have Marines, our acquisition leads and industry in one place to really get a sense of where we need to be and what the next step is for the TRUAS effort.”

The project is designed to seek an autonomous unmanned system that can transport at least 60 pounds of cargo in various configurations commonly found in Marine company/platoon/squad resupply operations (ex: 5-gallon water can, ammo can/case, Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MRE) case) through a 10-kilometer radius.

The program office’s next step is to complete the analysis of the companies’ systems and potentially use an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to procure prototypes within fiscal year 2020, said TRUAS Team Lead Christina Petrow. OTAs are sometimes used within the DoD to carry out prototype, research and production projects.

If the TRUAS demonstration prototypes meet the fleet’s requirements, the Marine Corps could begin conducting field user evaluation on the prototypes as early as FY2021, she said.

“The fly-off prize challenge has been a great rapid acquisition effort that allowed us to evaluate the existing technologies within a short time period,” Petrow said. “We have a better sense of what is available, affordable and viable for the Marine Corps.”