C-UAS Solutions Marketplace Open Call (Open Until Rescinded)

March 6, 2024

1 – Welcome to the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace

The Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) Program Office, in conjunction with its Solutions Marketplace manager, ARI, is initiating a long-term, open call for new and novel technology solutions to support the DoD in advancing research, development, prototyping, and adoption of Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) solutions. Specifically, the CUAS PM seeks to obtain solutions or potential capabilities that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technological advancements that are new as of the date of submission; or technologies, processes or methods that represent a new application as of the date of submission. This initiative, entitled the “C-UAS Solutions Marketplace” will solicit, collect, assess, and curate C-UAS specific solutions, and make those solutions available through rapid acquisition pathways. ARI’s Solutions Marketplace model serves industry and academic organizations, and individual developers by providing a forum to showcase their relevant research, products, and services to prospective Government customers, and serves DoD by providing a forum to access varying technical and scientific approaches to C-UAS specific solutions and rapidly ingest game-changing technology solutions.

2 – What is the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace?

The C-UAS Solutions Marketplace is a digital environment of post-competition video pitches. The video solutions housed within the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace have been assessed through competitive procedures that conform to the competition requirements of 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and thus are readily available to be viewed, selected, negotiated, and awarded by DoD activities. The C-UAS Solutions Marketplace provides a venue for Government organizations to search, view, review, compare, contrast, contact, negotiate, and procure C-UAS specific capabilities through rapid acquisition pathways. For industry, academia, and individual developers, the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace is a valuable tool to promote C-UAS specific solutions, products, and services to the DoD in an environment with a rapid acquisition contract pathway. Once a video pitch has successfully passed through the assessment process, and been placed within the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace, that technology solution has satisfied DOD competition requirements (per 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and is available for funding via Other Transaction Agreement, purchase order, cooperative agreement, procurement contract, and other award mechanisms. Thus, the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace serves as the ’s digital environment of post-competition, readily awardable, C-UAS technology solutions.

3 – What are the goals of the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace?

The Goals of the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace are to establish a centralized location where the Army and broader DOD can assess the state of the art in available C-UAS specific solutions, and where industry, academia, and individual developers can promote their research, technologies, and related products and services to the Government. Further, the structure of the publication and assessment functions of the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace allow for streamlined procurement of available solutions, addressing a major barrier to small business and nontraditional defense contractors. Finally, by leveraging the statutory authorities available, the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace can provide a technology transition pathway from idea to research, research to prototype, prototype to test and evaluation, and to production, fielding and sustainment of a given technology solution.

4 – Who Can Participate?

All US-based companies, traditional and nontraditional, large business and small business, universities, non-profit companies, and individuals are welcome to participate. In addition, foreign universities, research institutions, and entities may submit video pitches for their related technology solutions provided that such submissions are compliant with international law, including export laws for both the country of origin of the technology provider and the United States.

5 – Why Should Entities Participate?

The primary sponsor of this initiative, seeks to establish the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace as its premier, low-barrier entry point for industry, academia, and individuals to identify C-UAS technology solutions, ongoing research efforts, and proposed future development activities that are relevant to the broader DOD. Participating entities will have their proposed solutions assessed by a peer panel of DoD and supporting industry and academic Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and will receive feedback on the technical merit of their solution. Further, by submitting against this open call for solutions, all submitted solutions that are deemed “awardable” by the Assessment Authority and SME personnel will be considered “post-competitive” for the purposes of 10 USC 4021 and 4022, FAR/DFARS Part 35, and Class Deviation 2022-O0007, implementing Section 803 of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and will be eligible for award of further research, prototyping, procurement for experimental purposes, and even production. Some of the benefits of participation in the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace include:

• Exposure and marketing of your technology solution(s) to relevant and broader DoD customer organizations; 
• Access to the streamlined submission process requiring only minimally required organizational and technical information; 
• Fast track assessment timelines for solution submissions with notifications made within 30 calendar days (subject to submission volume); 
• Direct feedback from operators, customers, SMEs, and end users within the and broader DoD community to help product teams develop, iterate, and refine product designs and functionality; 
• Contract pathways for award of research, development, prototyping, test and evaluation, procurement for experimental purposes, and even production; 
• Fully negotiable award terms including payment, intellectual property, or data rights license terms, schedule, milestones, and pricing;
• Potential for multiple awards with single customer, or across multiple customers with no funding ceilings or limits to duration of effort, based on a single video solution submission; 

Submissions are collected monthly (e.g., July 1st through July 31st 12:00pm eastern standard time). Collections for a given month will be assessed in the following month with results available within 30 days of the end of the relevant collection period. There is no limit on the number of submissions. Submissions may be submitted at any time while this call remains open. 

6 – Strategic Focus Areas

As identified by the C-UAS Program Office, and based on its current set of customer interests, the Government is seeking video solution pitches which are relevant to one or more of the following strategic focus areas which are derived from DoD’s direction to provide next-generation capabilities that increase the effectiveness of U.S. forces and support Department-wide efforts by addressing critical operational and other mission challenges. This current list of strategic focus areas will evolve as the customer base and mission focus areas supported by the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace evolve.

The Strategic Focus Areas for the C-UAS Solutions Marketplace include:

1] C-UAS Early Warning Capabilities: Solutions including sensors (single and layered sensor systems), data collection and processing (including algorithms (AI/ML) and edge processing hardware), and risk assessment solutions.

2] C-UAS Intercept/Engagement Capabilities: Active intercept systems including electronic warfare, lasers, nets, killer UAS, commander decision aids, and related solutions.

3] C-UAS System Integration: C-UAS solutions related to command and control, system interoperability, communications, and encryption.

4] Passive C-UAS Technologies: C-UAS solutions related to concealment and/or physical barriers.

5] C-UAS Training: C-UAS training solutions including curriculum development and capabilities-based training development and delivery.

6] UAS Payload Technologies: Solutions related to Group 1 and Group 2 UAS platforms capable of delivering munitions, countermeasures, ISR, EW and other payloads. Also, solutions related to Group 1 and Group 2 UAS payloads, components, algorithms, sensors and novel power storage/power management solutions.

7] C-UAS Leap Ahead: C-UAS technologies which markedly modify, improve, or disrupt currently known C-UAS technologies and capabilities.

For more information please navigate to https://cuas.arisolutionsmarketplace.com/