DIU, Navy launch containerized payload competition

WASHINGTON — The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Navy are launching a competition to expedite the development of containerized payloads on manned and unmanned surface vessels — for missions as varied as surveillance to electronic attack. For the competition, dubbed the Spectacular MIST Challenge, DIU is teaming up with the Navy’s Rapid Capabilities Office and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific to accelerate the prototyping and fielding of “transformative technologies,” according to the solicitation, posted Thursday. “A critical component of this modernization effort is the deployment of autonomous and containerized payloads to generate combat power at speed and scale,” the solicitation said. “This initiative focuses on accelerating the development, prototyping, and production of a portfolio of payloads for integration onto manned and autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), providing adaptable, lethal, and decisive advantages in contested maritime environments.” The competition comes after Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle has pitched plans in recent months for a “containerized capability campaign” for any number of maritime capabilities. “If it fits in a container, I want it and I should be able to fight anywhere in the world with it across many, many platforms. At speed. At scale,” Caudle said on April 20 at the Sea Air Space exposition, according to a transcript of his remarks. And while the new DIU solicitation did not single out the Navy’s medium unmanned surface vessel, or MUSV, program individually, those overseeing the new MUSV Marketplace launched by the Navy in March have said that the initiative was in alignment with Caudle’s containerization push. For this initiative, the solicitation said DIU and the Navy want “open-system architectures and software-defined capabilities” focused on the following lines of effort: threat radar simulators, active electronic attack, and passive electronic surveillance. Watch experts discuss foreign influence risks, evolving DoD policy, and strategies for balancing security with scientific collaboration. Proposals must address unmanned platform integration design, and identify plans for solution availability, unit cost, and production capacity starting six months after the competition wraps up, per the solicitation. Industry has until July 22 to share their submissions, and those selected to advance to the next round will receive up to $250,000 to support their participation in the challenge. The next phase will involve an at-sea live demonstration in Southern California in September to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposals under “realistic” conditions. Those selected to the third round could receive up to $1 million, as well as a follow-on prototype or production contract, the solicitation said. Prize challenge winners will be announced in October. “High-performing vendors transition into unit-focused field assessments for extended evaluation, training, and rapid fielding,”…