DIU: Unmanned Stratospheric Systems

Suspense Date: 13 June 2021 Description: The U.S. Government seeks commercial solutions for low-cost, responsive, high-altitude platforms. The stratosphere presents significant and untapped opportunities to replicate space-like capabilities for service members across the Government.

Category

Opportunity

DoD Communities of Interest

Space

Subject

Unmanned Stratospheric Systems

Due Date

2021-06-13 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time

Government Organization

DIU

Description
Unmanned Stratospheric Systems
Responses Due By
2021-06-13 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time

The U.S. Government seeks commercial solutions for low-cost, responsive, high-altitude platforms. The stratosphere presents significant and untapped opportunities to replicate space-like capabilities for service members across the Government. This prototype will serve as a baseline platform capable of hosting user-configured payloads for remote sensing, communications, and payload delivery and recovery. New approaches that extend platform control; increase mission duration; maximize available size, weight, and power (SWaP); reduce life cycle cost; and increase payload survivability may be viewed favorably.

Proposals should focus on advancements in one or more of the following areas:

Increased mission endurance, autonomous or semi-autonomous station seeking and station keeping, autonomous or semi-autonomous navigation, and maximization of the system’s usable payload capacity during multi-day missions
Integrated flight platform solutions capable of decreasing the time, risk, and complexity of recovering high-value or sensitive payloads
Ground station equipment required to execute platform telemetry, tracking, and commanding (TT&C) operations that
Maximize the range between the ground-station and the platform for the purpose of conducting TT&C.
Address security and industry best practices for information security and system resiliency.
Communications payloads utilizing software defined radio (SDR) that
Provide data rate and voice quality using 4G/5G-enabled communications.
Support up to 200 or more mobile ground and/or maritime users transmitting voice, video, and data simultaneously. Favorable consideration will be given for payloads that are interoperable using DoD tactical data networks are preferred.
Ground moving target indicators (GMTIs) that
Classify and track ground-based objects of interest with a resolution of at least 1m, preferably 0.5m.
Can discriminate between large animals and humans (preferred but not required).
Operate in all-weather and day/night conditions
Deliver data backhaul delivered in as close to real time as possible.
Georeference payloads while in operation to an operationally relevant accuracy
Cue other intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems
Deliver targeting and tracking data to command and control nodes
Payload integration and ease of installation using open-standards-based mechanical, power, radio frequency, and data interfaces that
Use Modular Open Systems Architecture and open system interfaces (preferred but not required)
Use (or are compatible with) existing commercial-off-the-shelf interfaces (preferred but not required)
Power and energy systems improvements to increase mission endurance and available system power
*All payloads must have previously been demonstrated above 60,000 ft, and communications, GMTI, and ISR payloads must have a minimum coverage area of 50 NM^2 (proposals with greater coverage are preferred but not required). Additionally, favorable consideration will be given to payloads capable of terrestrial and maritime operations.

The principle project objectives are oriented to (but not strictly limited to) three classes of stratospheric flight platforms:

Small platforms:
Support 5-18 kg (12-40 lbs) payload mass
=>30W continuous and 50W peak power demand
Flight time of at least 3 days within a 500 km radius
Medium platforms:
Support 18-56 kg (40 - 125 lbs) payload mass
=>100W continuous and 500W peak power output
Flight time of at least 15 days within a 500 km radius
Large platform:
Supports greater than 56 kg (125 lbs) payload mass
=>100W continuous and 500W peak power output
Flight time of at least 30 days within approximately 500 km radius
Platform requirements across all size variants:
Loiter at an altitude of 60,000 ft or more
Launched and recovered in an austere environment with minimal or no utilities available; an ideal system would include a maritime launch and recovery configuration in addition to a baseline terrestrial configuration
Delivered with all requisite ancillary equipment, supplies, and software required to operate for the specified flight duration, and support live flight demonstrations at a designated government event
Built utilizing common, industry standard hardware form factors where possible
Built implementing modern software DevSecOps principles and practices where applicable and to the greatest extent possible
Offerors are reminded that certain existing contractual arrangements may preclude, restrict, or limit participation, in whole or in part, as either a subcontractor or as a prime contractor under this Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) solicitation. If the offeror determines that a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI) does not exist at any tier, the offeror shall include a statement to that effect in its response to this solicitation. If a potential conflict exists at any tier, each offeror is requested to provide the following information in their Solution Brief (proposal):

1. The contract number(s) in which the OCI occurs;

2. The scope of the work being performed under the Contract(s) stated in item 1;

3. How the OCI is being mitigated under this Solution Brief and any other additional information the Agreements Officer should consider in making a determination of whether a conflict of interest exists.

The Government may independently verify the information received from the offeror. Notwithstanding the above, the Government reserves the right to determine whether a conflict of interest exists based on any information received from any source.

The Government may facilitate teaming arrangements among submissions offering complimentary capabilities to achieve desired effect. Companies are also welcome to present their own teaming arrangements in their Solution Briefs.

Website

https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/open-solicitations