Navy may re-open window to find, and fund, unmanned vessel tech
The US Navy is eyeing an expansion of a key marketplace contract to study and develop new payloads, sensors and other technologies for its future unmanned surface vehicle fleet, presenting industry with another opportunity to gain direct access into the service’s research and development enterprise.
In a public notice published last week, the service said it may re-open the window, first opened in February 2020, for companies interested in equipping its USVs with different sub-system technologies. Back in 2020, 40 vendors were selected for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract. Also dubbed IDIQ-MACs, the contracts allow the government to establish insulated marketplaces by hand picking a group of companies all capable of a similar set of tasks, but also have unique rules for when companies can enter. The chosen vendors then compete against one another directly for work associated with that contract.