Ship-based Long-endurance Airborne Platforms & EW Payloads

ONR is interested in discovering what technologies industry currently has that can provide a quick-reaction, affordable ship-based long-endurance airborne decoy with modular EW mission compatible payloads. The decoy will be part of a multi-layered approach to enhance the soft-kill capability of the U.S. Navy against current and evolving anti-ship missile (ASM) threats.

Background:

U.S. Navy ships are subject to attack by high speed, maneuvering missiles with the potential to be delivered in salvos sized to overwhelm defenses. Existing defenses include hard-kill as well as on-board and off-board electronic warfare (EW) systems; all three combined are needed to be most effective against current and emerging threats.

Objective:

This announcement seeks to conduct a market survey for high technology readiness level (TRL) solutions (TRL5+) for both airborne vehicles and RF EW payloads that can provide a quick reaction capability to the Navy for a long endurance decoy with modular, advanced EW payloads to counter modern ASM threats. Decoy technologies are being sought that can provide:

• Rapid deployment and transition to stable flight

• Ability to be recoverable (optionally expendable)

• Extended flight endurance with hovering capability of at least an hour on station.

• Details on altitudes and ranges from launch site to station are classified and will be discussed during industry day.

• Secure electronic data communication between the decoy and the ship

• Autonomous flight operation with the ability to receive command and control information from the ship

• Ability to carry modular EW payloads

• EW payloads with sufficient equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) for the desired mission set(s) and frequencies. Further classified details will be discussed at industry day.

• Ability to reposition, realign and stabilize multi-spectral apertures to maintain focus on the threats

• Effective antenna RF isolation for the EW mission set(s).

• Ability to function in operationally relevant environments (e.g., high sea states and temperatures)

• Integration of RF and other electromechanical payloads

• Advanced, automated command and control concepts

• Affordability

The Government is especially interested in understanding the trade space between cost and capability. Responses to this announcement should address the cost of proposed solutions and how those costs scale with meeting the full set of requirements outlined during the classified industry day versus a subset of those requirements. For instance, what capability is possible at the $1M, $500k, $100k price points?

Significant co-dependency is anticipated between the decoy vehicle and payload to meet mission requirements. To address issues such as RF isolation as well as power and cooling needs, we expect there to be tradeoffs between potential vehicle and payload options. Collaboration between industry partners is encouraged, and ONR will be providing a list of past investments during the classified industry day. However, this list is not to be considered exhaustive, and the purpose of this BAA Call is to explore relevant technology from any potential offeror.

Vehicle- or payload-only responses will be accepted, but submissions should address how the proposed offerings could be tailored to meet requirements (e.g., isolation) that depend on either the missing payload or vehicle subsystems respectively.

Industry Day:

ONR will conduct a classified industry day on Monday, June 23, 2025 at 1300EDT at the Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20375. This meeting will provide insight into current threats and previous investments in applicable areas. This event is intended to provide for any necessary question and answers to add further clarification toward what is being desired under this announcement. There is no registration fee for participation, however advanced reservation is required. Portions of the meeting will be held at both the SECRET and TS/SCI level. Attendees with only a SECRET clearance are still encouraged to attend the SECRET level session.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Registration will close on June 19, 2025 at 1700EDT. Walk-in registration will not be accepted.