DOD prioritizes prototyping in $1.4B research contract recompete
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By
Ross Wilkers
The Defense Department seeks industry expertise in artificial intelligence, hypersonics and electronic warfare for emerging technology efforts.
The Defense Department is giving industry more detail on what it is looking for through an upcoming recompete of a contract to work with DOD’s lead research and engineering office on emerging tech efforts.
Prototyping and experimentation is a priority area for DOD in the next iteration of its vehicle called RETS -- Research, Development, Test, Evaluation, Engineering and Technical Services. As a reminder, this contract puts awardees at the heart of the U.S. military’s technology innovation and business agenda.
DOD has set up the new RETS vehicle to have a $1.4 billion ceiling over up to five-and-a-half years, the department said in a Friday notice to release the draft solicitation.
More and more defense companies are embracing the approach of starting out small with initial prototypes, demonstrating them and then iterating to a fuller-scale offering for deployment.
The draft request for proposals that outline how awardees will provide their engineering and scientific expertise to the department throughout those processes, including technical assessments of the proposed prototypes and experiments.
Those assessments will also include validations of the proposed prototypes and experiments, quantitative and qualitative analysis work, and recommendations and reports on deployments.
DOD is specifically seeking subject matter expertise from industry in these technical areas:
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting
- Electronic warfare
- Counter C5ISRT -- Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting.
- Information operations
- Hypersonics
As prototype development projects advance, DOD also will have to develop and coordinate roadmaps in collaboration with participants. RETS awardees will be tasked for technical reviews, milestones, concepts, requirements and operational objectives for these roadmaps.
The draft RFP has neither a timeline for a final solicitation release, nor due date for comments from industry.
GovTribe data indicates DOD has obligated roughly $458 million in task order volume to-date against the current contract, which was awarded in 2020 to three primes.
American Systems has been the top recipient at 64% of the spend, or $296 million. Modern Technology Solutions Inc. is next at 27%, or $126 million. Antenna Research Associates has received $36 million to make up the remaining 9%.