SPECIAL NOTICE
15 -- Edge 130 Pro UAS
- Notice Date
- 6/13/2023 3:19:12 PM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 336411
— Aircraft Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- DEPT OF COMMERCE NOAA SEATTLE WA 98115 USA
- ZIP Code
- 98115
- Solicitation Number
- NFFR7200-23-02288GLP
- Response Due
- 6/29/2023 12:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 06/29/2023
- Point of Contact
- Grace LaPierre, Phone: 2065264382
- E-Mail Address
-
grace.lapierre@noaa.gov
(grace.lapierre@noaa.gov)
- Description
- ***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-SEATTLE, SOUTHWEST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (SWFSC) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH FLIGHTWAVE AEROSPACE OUT OF SANTA MONICA, CA, TO PURCHASE A LONG ENDURANCE FIXED WING VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING (VTOL) UNCREWED AERIAL SYSTEM (UAS) PLATFORM THAT IS CAPABLE OF SAFELY AND RELIABLY LAUNCHING AND RECOVERING FROM A VARIETY OF MARINE PLATFORMS RANGING FROM SMALL RESEARCH VESSELS (SRV, > 65 FT) DOWN TO SMALL BOATS (CLASS I-III, 22-65FT). ***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT FLIGHTWAVE IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE FLIGHTWAVE EDGE 130 PRO KIT, THE ONLY HYBRID FIXED WING VTOL UAS THAT FULLY MEETS THE OPERATIONAL AND REMOTE SENSING REQUIREMENTS OF SWFSC�S RESEARCH OBJECTIVES. FLIGHTWAVE IS THE ONLY SOURCE THAT CAN PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SERVICES AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: THIS PARTICULAR SOURCE IS ESSENTIAL TO THE REQUIREMENT AND MARKET RESEARCH INDICATES SIMILAR PRODUCTS DO NOT MEET OR CANNOT BE MODIFIED TO MEET AGENCY NEEDS. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER UAS MANUFACTURERS ON THE MARKET THAT OFFER VARIOUS MODELS OF FIXED WING VTOL UAS INCLUDING THE CENSYS SENTAERO VLOS, WINGTRA ONE, AND SPEKTREWORKS LYNX VTOL. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO BRAND OF FIXED-WING VTOL UAS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO THE FLIGHTWAVE EDGE 130 AND THAT WOULD FULLY MEET BOTH THE OPERATIONAL AND REMOTE SENSING REQUIREMENTS OF OUR RESEARCH. IN PARTICULAR, NONE OF THESE ALTERNATIVE FIXED-WING VTOL UAS HAVE THE DEMONSTRATED CAPACITY OF THE EDGE 130 SAFELY AND RELIABLY LAND ON MARINE PLATFORMS RANGING IN SIZE DOWN TO NOAA SMALL BOATS (CLASS I-III, 22-65FT). BOTH THE SENTAERO VLOS AND LYNX VTOL MODELS ARE CONSIDERABLY HEAVIER THAN THE EDGE 130 VTOL AND HAVE MUCH LARGER WINGSPANS IN EXCESS OF 2M. THESE AIRCRAFT THUS REQUIRE LARGER AREAS TO SAFELY LAND AND THEIR WEIGHT PRECLUDES HAND CATCHING WHICH IS ANOTHER DEMONSTRATED METHODS OF SAFELY LANDING THE EDGE 130 VTOL ON MARINE PLATFORMS. THE WINGTRA ONE IS COMPARABLE IN WINGSPAN TO THE EDGE 130 BUT IS CONSIDERABLY HEAVIER AND UTILIZES A �TAIL-SITTING� TAKE-OFF AND LANDING METHOD THAT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR LANDING ON A AN UNSTABLE OR MOVING SMALL BOAT/RESEARCH VESSEL PLATFORM. THE EDGE 130 AND SENTAERO VLOS ARE THE ONLY AIRCRAFT IN THIS FIXED WING VTOL CLASS THAT SUPPORT BOTH MAPPING AND GIMBALED VIDEO PAYLOADS REQUIRED BY OUR DIVERSE MISSION OBJECTIVES. WHILE THE SENTAERO VLOS DOES OFFER THE GIMBALED COLIBRI 212 AND COLIBRI 1 IR/OR PAYLOADS, UNLIKE THE EDGE 130 THESE PAYLOADS WOULD NOT BE READILY SWAPPABLE MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SWITCH SURVEY MODES IN THE FIELD. FINALLY, ALL OF THESE ALTERNATIVE AIRCRAFT TO THE EDGE 130 VTOL OFFER EQUIVALENT (LYNX VTOL) OR LOWER (SENTAERO VLOS, WINGTRA ONE) FLIGHT ENDURANCE COMPARED TO THE MAXIMUM 120 MIN FLIGHT TIME OFFERED BY THE EDGE 130 VTOL. MISSION IMPACT- IF NOAA DOES NOT PURCHASE THE FLIGHTWAVE EDGE 130 VTOL THE MISSION IMPACTS WOULD INCLUDE: INABILITY TO COMPLETE OBJECTIVES: THE MISSION IMPACT OF NOT OBTAINING THE SOLICITED EDGE 130 VOTL WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OPERATE FROM MARINE PLATFORMS AND WOULD BE RESTRICTED TO FLYING FROM LAND. THIS WOULD MEAN THAT MANY OF THE INTENDED SURVEY OBJECTIVES WOULD NOT BE FEASIBLE. INCREASED COSTS: ACCORDING TO MARKET RESEARCH THREE UAS THAT DID NOT MEET THE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS (SENTAERO VLOS, WINGTRA ONE, LYNX VTOL) WERE ALSO MORE EXPENSIVE FOR LESS CAPABLE PACKAGES. IN CONCLUSION, GIVEN THE UNIQUE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES OF THE EDGE 130 VTOL, FLIGHTWAVE AEROSPACE IS THE ONLY SOURCE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE REQUIRED PRODUCT AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY. ENGAGING A DIFFERENT PROVIDER WOULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT MISSION IMPACTS, INCLUDING INCREASED COSTS AND THE INABILITY TO CONDUCT MANY OF THE MISSION OBJECTIVES DUE TO FLIGHT LIMITATIONS. A COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SOURCES CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE SUPPLY REQUIRED FOR THE SWFSC MARINE SURVEY. THE EXTENT OF MARKET RESEARCH WAS COMMENSURATE WITH THE TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE PROJECT. THE GOAL WAS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PROVIDERS WHOSE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS MET SPECIFIC TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ALLOWING FOR SAFE LANDING ON MARINE VESSELS. THIS RESEARCH INCLUDED REVIEWING INDUSTRY PUBLICATIONS, RELEVANT FORUMS, AND ONLINE DATABASES TO GATHER INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL VENDORS, THEIR CAPABILITIES, AND EXPERIENCE. BASED ON MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT FLIGHTWAVE IS THE ONLY SOURCE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE REQUIRED PRODUCT AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY FOR THE SURVEY. THE RESEARCH REVEALED THAT WHILE THERE ARE OTHER PROVIDERS IN THE MARKET OFFERING SIMILAR PRODUCTS, NONE POSSESS THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO LAND ON MARINE VESSELS OF VARYING SIZE. AS A RESULT, FLIGHTWAVE WAS DEEMED THE MOST SUITABLE PROVIDER FOR THIS PROJECT, AND ENGAGING A DIFFERENT SOURCE WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT MISSION IMPACTS. WHILE PREVIOUS MARKET RESEARCH INDICATED THAT FLIGHTWAVE IS THE ONLY SOURCE CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE REQUIRED PRODUCT AT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY NECESSARY FOR THE SURVEY, WE DID IDENTIFY SEVERAL OTHER PROVIDERS WITH SIMILAR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OF THESE PRODUCTS MAY NOT BE DIRECTLY COMPARABLE TO THE EDGE 130 BY FLIGHTWAVE AEROSPACE. SOME OF THESE POTENTIAL PROVIDERS INCLUDE: CENSYS TECHNOLOGIES OFFERS THE CENSYS SENTAERO VLOS WHICH HAS A LARGER WINGSPAN THAN THE EDGE 130 VTOL FROM FLIGHTWAVE, WEIGHS MORE, AND HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED THE CAPACITY TO SAFELY AND RELIABLY LAND ON MARINE PLATFORMS. WINGTA AG OFFERS THE WINGTRA ONE, COMPARABLE IN SIZE TO THE EDGE 130 BUT HEAVIER AND UTILIZES A TAKE-OFF AND LANDING METHOD OF �TAIL-SITTING� MAKING IT UNSUITABLE FOR LANDINGS ON MOVING OR UNSTABLE MARINE VESSEL PLATFORMS. SPEKTREWORKS OFFERS THE SPEKTREWORKS LYNX VTOL WHICH LIKE THE CENSYS SENTAERO VLOS HAS A LARGER WINGSPAN AND IS SIGNIFICANTLY HEAVIER THAN THE EDGE 130 VTOL. IT ALSO HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY TO LAND SAFELY AND RELIABLY ON MARINE PLATFORMS. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE PROVIDERS MAY NOT POSSESS THE UNIQUE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES NECESSARY TO MEET THE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE MARINE SURVEY PROJECT TO THE SAME EXTENT AS FLIGHTWAVE AEROSPACE. AS A RESULT, ENGAGING WITH THESE PROVIDERS MAY RESULT IN VARYING LEVELS OF MISSION IMPACT COMPARED TO WORKING DIRECTLY WITH FLIGHTWAVE AEROSPACE. ***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/ff87ddc9da9c435ca63574da6063e69e/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USA
- Country: USA
- Country: USA
- Record
- SN06713483-F 20230615/230613230110 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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