The United States Department of Defense is calling for input from the RPAS industry to help formulate an investment roadmap.
This formal Request For Information is also open to those in the Canadian RPAS world – and your input may well help the US Government further define its future drone small-UAS requirements. It might even assist in developing competitive proposals for procurement opportunities down the road.
The focus of this RFI is on creating a sustainable and secure/traceable source of supply for domestic open source/open architecture sUAS components in an economically viable manner. The RFI focuses on, but is not limited to, six components and technologies:
- data links
- image acquisition and processing
- gimbal/cameras
- flight controllers and software
- high performance batteries and power sources
- innovative airframes
The link you’ll need is here.
By the way, under the Defense Production Act, Title III, Canada is considered part of the US industrial base. For those with an interest in potentially expanding their reach, and/or helping the US to shape a sound roadmap, this could be a tremendous opportunity.
Industry responses to the RFI are due at noon EST on September 30, 2019.
(Note that the RFI encourages interested respondents to email the Contracting Point of Contact as soon as possible to signal their interest in the RFI. While the letter requests interested parties email the Contracting Point of Contact within one week of the RFI release, it’s our understanding that responses are welcome up to the deadline.)
Also, please share this with industry colleagues.
