Responses Due By
2026-06-12 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time
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Autonomous Resupply Vessel (ARV)
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Project Description
Background
The Department of War (DoW) relies on the U.S. Army for intra-theater logistics, creating a heavy dependence on supply chains to sustain joint operations at required speed and scale. Army Watercraft Systems (AWS) are critical to distributing supplies across dispersed littoral formations in the Indo-Pacific theater, but the current fleet is aging and reliant upon a limited cadre of Army senior enlisted mariners. It also lacks the overall supply payload capacity to move supplies at the demands needed by operational forces. This risk is compounded in contested environments where adversaries can target the high value and personnel-intensive targets in the supply chain.
Problem
The Indo-Pacific theater requires additional logistics capacity capable of sustaining long-distance maritime distribution while operating with minimal personnel. This capability must reduce reliance on vulnerable airfields and large crewed vessels, scale rapidly in crisis or conflict, and remain affordable for production at scale.
The DoW is looking toward unmanned systems to solve these challenges. For Indo-Pacific Contested Logistics, Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) can provide significant operational advantages by eliminating risk to onboard personnel and reducing the need for trained mariners. Additionally, their dispersed and relatively inexpensive nature complicates adversary targeting, enhancing survivability in contested environments.
To these considerations, the DoW is seeking solutions for a small, Autonomous Resupply Vehicle (ARV-S). The ARV-S’ primary job will be regularly resupplying containerized cargo to forward-deployed units in the form of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).
Desired Solution Attributes
The following are the desired attributes for the ARV-S:
Endurance and Seakeeping | Traveling round trip of 1,600 nautical miles or more in sea state 4 conditions on the Beaufort Scale. Capable of routine operations in sea state 5, and surviving up to sea state 6. |
Speed | Design speeds that are optimized to minimize ARV-S unit cost and fuel per short ton (ST)-mile delivered. |
Draft | The draft should be minimized as seakeeping allows for navigation in shallow waters. |
Reliability | Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical (HM&E) and critical systems must include redundancy and gracefully degrade to reliably meet endurance without onboard human intervention for the entire transit duration. |
Payload Capacity | Capable of carrying at least two (2) TEUs. Total cargo weight should be maximized as seakeeping allows, up to 26.5 ST per TEU. Design trade-off between seakeeping, cost, and weight capacity will be considered. |
Loading and | The proposed platform should have a means of unloading and delivering cargo to austere beaches via innovative means, to include various ship-to-shore connectors, and be compatible with helicopter and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for unloading. The platform should also be compatible with standard pier infrastructure, when available, for loading and unloading. |
Command and Control (C2) | Capable of managing C2 and providing situational awareness at multiple nodes for dozens or more ARVs and providing supply and vessel information to third-party external government systems using open interfaces. |
Autonomy | Capable of autonomous open ocean/littoral transit and COLREGS compliant maneuvers with both active and passive sensors. Final approach controlled via remote control. ARV-S must autonomously manage all onboard Hull, Mechanical, and Electrical (HM&E) systems. Autonomy control and monitoring should be accessible to third-party systems via open interfaces. |
Anti-Tamper & Cyber | Vessels shall have onboard anti-tamper mechanisms and cyber protection systems to counter threats. |
ABS Standards | Vessels shall be constructed to the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) standard to the extent appropriate for an unmanned, autonomous vessel. |
Manufacturability | End strength may require dozens or more ARV-S’s to be produced quickly. Any successful prototype solution must have a realistic capability to scale production. |
Solutions will be evaluated on their ability to affordably meet the desired attributes in an operationally relevant environment. Proposed prototype solutions should be demonstrable on water within 12 months of award.
Consideration will be given to both conversion solutions—modifying manned vessels to operate without a crew, and designs for completely new, purpose-built unmanned vessels.
The Government understands that some companies may not be able to meet all the desired attributes in this solicitation, but encourages companies with relevant, demonstrable capability for major components to partner with other companies to submit complete solutions.
Submission Requirements
Vendors are expected to submit a solution brief for stating how their solutions meet the requirements outlined above.
Preference will be given to submissions that present a comprehensive and compelling solution to the problem statement and product requirements and robustly discuss the process to adopt a fully domestic/Allied supply chain in a cost-effective manner.
Submissions should include an overview and technical details for the solution. Inclusion of examples of past successful deployment of similar solutions in the commercial or public sectors is highly encouraged.
Any resulting agreement from this AoI will include language requiring your company to confirm compliance with Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232). If you are unable to confirm compliance with the law referenced, the Government will not be able to enter into an agreement with your company.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility Requirements
This solicitation will be awarded in accordance with the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process detailed within HQ0845-20-S-C001 and HQ0034-20-9-DIU (DIU CSO), posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) on 23 March 2020 amended under Amendment 0001 13 March 2026. This document can be found at: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/e36edb27e29a4265ab81e40e92263ad5/view
Vendors are reminded that in order to utilize an Other Transaction (OT) agreement the requirements of 10 USC 4022 must be satisfied. Specifically reference 10 USC 4022(d), which requires at least one (1) of the following:
1. There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project.
2. All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses (including small businesses participating in a program described under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638)) or nontraditional defense contractors.
3. At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by sources other than the Federal Government.
Follow-on Production:
Companies are advised that any prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this Area of Interest may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures. The follow-on production contract or transaction will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of Defense and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the prototype OT. As such, any prototype OT will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: "In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 4022(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project for this transaction has been successfully completed, this competitively awarded prototype OTA may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures.”
Awarding Process
ACC-NJ
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Potential Follow-On Production Contract for Prototype Other Transaction Agreements
Companies are advised that any Prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this solicitation may result in the direct award of a follow-on production contract or agreement without the use of further competitive procedures. Follow-on production activities will result from successful prototype completion.
The follow-on production contract or agreement will be available for use by one or more organizations within the Department of Defense. As a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the Prototype OT agreement. All Prototype OT agreements will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: “In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project for this transaction has successfully been completed, this competitively awarded Prototype OT agreement may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures.”
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We Work With You
If we think there’s a good match between your solution and our DoD partners, we’ll invite you to provide us with a full proposal — this is the beginning of negotiating all the terms and conditions of a proposed prototype contract.
After a successful prototype, the relationship can continue and even grow, as your company and any interested DoD entity can easily enter into follow-on contracts.
Our Process
We solicit commercial solutions that address current needs of our DoD partners. (View all open solicitations and challenges.
You send us a short brief about your solution.
We’ll get back to you within 30 days if we’re interested in learning more through a pitch. If we're not interested, we'll strive to let you know ASAP.