DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing
[email protected]. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to
[email protected]. Topic Q&A : The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on April 1, 2021 and closes to new questions on May 4, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-011 Picatinny Smart Rail (PSR) Enabler Integration OBJECTIVE: The Picatinny rail (Pic rail) is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories, such as tactical lights, laser aiming modules, or telescopic sights. The current Family of Weapon Sights – Individual (FWS-I) (2) individual thermal weapon sight and Small Tactical Optical Rifle Mounted (STORM) (3,4,5) micro-laser rangefinder Program of Record hardware mounts onto today’s Pic rail. Each system has its own battery power source and Soldier interface. This SBIR Topic is seeking innovative approaches to integrate current FWS-I and STORM hardware to the Picatinny Smart Rail (PSR) standard. DESCRIPTION: The current FWS-I and STORM Program of Record hardware integrates onto today’s Pic rail. Each system has its own battery power source and Soldier interface. As the US Army moves toward fielding the new PSR, there is the need to develop adapters for current FWS-I and STORM systems to make these two systems compatible with the PSR interface, operating system, and electrical power source to minimize size and weight. PHASE I: Investigate the feasibility of developing an adapter(s) to integrate FWS-I Individual Thermal Weapon Sight and STORM Micro-Laser Rangefinder with the intelligent PSR. The adapter(s) shall provide the physical mounting and electrical power for the respective systems. The adapter(s) shall provide data, imagery, and command and control interaction with the PSR operating system for the respective systems. Phase I will consist of a four-month trade study to determine the feasibility of an adapter(s) to integrate the FWS-I and STORM with the PSR. A conceptual design and cost estimate to fabricate one (1) set of adapters shall be included in the trade study. This early prototype adapter(s) will be used to demonstrate physical integration and static operation. Phase I shall also include an option to fabricate six (6) sets of adapters for use in early user assessment (EUA). The EUA will include a Situational Training Exercise, weapon engagement using Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES training system), and weapon engagement using live ammunition. The option’s period of performance will be three (3) months (month 5 through 8 after contract award). PHASE II: Phase II will consist of the fabrication, integration, contractor test and operational test of the FWS-I and STORM adapter(s). A total of twenty (20) sets of adapters will be fabricated. Four (4) sets of adapters will be utilized for acceptance and contractor testing to verify the adapter design is mature enough for a Soldier Operational Experiment (SOE). Ten (10) sets of adapters will be used during the SOE. Two (2) Infantry Squads will be outfitted with five (5) sets of adapters each (Squad Leader, Team Leaders, and Riflemen). Three (3) sets of adapters will be reserved as spares. The final three (3) sets of adapters will be utilized for logistic support activities. PHASE III: Phase III will be the fielding of FWS-I and STORM adapters for integration with the PSR, and its operating system, to Infantry Units to enhance the Warfighter’s situational awareness and actionable intelligence. KEYWORDS: Picatinny rail system; Rail interface system; Adapter; Hardware integration; Advanced manufacturing; REFERENCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picatinny_rail https://asc.army.mil/web/portfolio-item/fws-i/ https://adsinc.com/product/l3-insight-small-tactical-optical-rifle-mounted-storm-micro-las er-rangefinder/ https://www.harris.com/sites/default/files/storm-slx_l3harris_2pg_r5.pdf https://www.harris.com/sites/default/files/storm-slx-e_l3harris_r5.pdf