Wave Gliders

The Air Force Test Center Operational Contracting Squadron (AFTC/PZIOAB) Eglin AFB intends to award a sole source contract to provide commercial unmanned surface vehicles with related control software, payloads, and peripheral launch and recovery equipment. The contract will be for 20 units. The vehicles must meet specific requirements, including safety features, endurance, speed, depth rating, observability, size, weight, operation, and navigation. The vehicles must also have the ability to tow submerged payloads and have a high level of communications capability. • The vehicles must have emergency location capabilities, health sensors, and dry boxes/payload bays protected from water intrusion. • The vehicles must be capable of continuously operating at least 10 months at sea without physical intervention. • The vehicles must have a sustained speed of 2 to 3 kts and be able to operate in a minimum water depth of 30 ft. • The vehicles must be controllable remotely via 802.11 b/g/n, GSM, and Iridium RUDICS channels. • The vehicles must have a high level of communications capability, including satellite, cellular, and local communication paths.