RFI - Future Maritime Combat System Interface Opportunities

Request for Information - Future Maritime Combat System Interface Opportunities

RFI published on the Defence Sourcing Portal through an Opportunity Listing available through the following link: https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=56171

RFI wording also included below:

Modern Royal Navy Combat Systems are complex, involving the interaction of many systems, each of which generates, embodies and consumes highly specialised data. Historically, the interfaces between systems have been tightly constrained in order to meet reliability, safety and security requirements. The Royal Navy has declared its intention to move towards a more agile and open Combat System, exploiting to the maximum extent, data that currently resides within individual equipments or moves between member systems. This RFI represents a Combat System Design Authority led, joint endeavour by Maritime Combat Systems (MCS) and Innovation and Future Capability (IFC) teams within DE&S to engage with the supply chain.

The Authority invites vendors across all tiers of the supply chain to identify existing Royal Naval/Maritime interfaces that would significantly benefit from being published for third party use from within the core Combat Management System (CMS) or individual Combat System equipments. The Authority would also like to understand, by way of appropriate supporting evidence, any additional industry recognised open standards (i.e OMG,NMEA) that vendors would wish to see the Authority embody in the current Shared Infrastructure or CMS products.

If unable to identify specific interfaces, the Authority would like vendors to identify data that you believe should be exposed for use outside the system that owns it and the rationale for doing so.

The Authority requires responses to be in tabular format, with (the minimum) columns highlighting the interface/data set, version, benefit to Authority, benefit to vendor. Please limit your response to no more than 10 interfaces or data sets that in your opinion provide the most enterprise opportunity. We request that you also include high level details of your company in the table, (key products/services, Point of Contact, whether you are an SME etc.) in order to support the Authority's review of responses.

In the table, please describe the nature of the 'openness' that you seek, and the benefits (to both vendor and Authority), that making the interface 'open' will bring. Regarding data currently held privately within a member system, please describe the nature of this data (given that you will not necessarily have knowledge of the specific design of the owning system), and how you would exploit this data in order to deliver operational advantage for the Royal Navy. If known, please identify any restrictions, third party or otherwise, as well as potential challenges inherent to the data you are putting forward.

RFI concluded in section 5, additional text.

Additional information: RFI wording continued:

The Authority requests no more than 8 pages, which includes any covering letter explaining your company and position with the market.

Any data provided will be used primarily for early cost estimates, consideration of viable procurement routes and deepening the Authority's understanding of supply chain capacity and appetite to support the intended move towards a more agile and Open Combat System. Any information provided will be held in confidence and will not be disclosed to third parties.

All of the information contained within this Request for Information (RFI) does not constitute, and should not be construed as, any commitment by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to proceed with any formal contract award for this activity.

Please provide your response to the contact person listed within this RFI. Please refrain from supplying marketing or generic company information not relevant to the information sought in this RFI. The Authority may decide to contact you directly to clarify any points raised in your response. By providing a response to this RFI you consent to the Authority doing so.