NAVIGATIONAL LIGHTING - NSWCPD CODE 447

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) Code 447 is responsible for surface ship and submarine lighting systems in-service/life cycle engineering. They are seeking information on available commercial and military navigation lighting systems for ships greater than 50 meters in length that do not utilize incandescent light sources.

The focus of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information on currently available systems to assist in developing future procurement guidance or military specification development. This includes current products that may meet international regulations for navigation lighting systems without being compliant to relevant US Navy shipboard specifications and systems in use on commercial vessels or with other navies.

This request for information is not a request for proposal.  This RFI does NOT constitute a Request for Proposal and is not to be construed as a commitment, implied or otherwise, by the Government that a procurement action will be issued. Response to this notice is not a request to be added to a bidders list or to receive a copy of a solicitation. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of the requested information. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow up information requests. Responses to this RFI may be considered in the future determination of an appropriate acquisition strategy for the program.

The Government may not respond to any specific questions or comments submitted in response to this RFI or information provided as a result of this request. Any information submitted by respondents as a result of this notice is strictly voluntary. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if any is issued.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Sam.gov website. 

Background

The US Navy is pursuing a project to develop new requirements for surface ship navigation lighting systems to replace current guidance. The project’s goal is to transition away from current detail design requirements to performance-based requirements in order to improve system operation and eliminate obsolescence concerns with incandescent sources.

Typical navigation and signal lighting systems on US Navy surface ships are configured as described by section 4.7.3 of DOD-HDBK-289. The performance of the legacy system relies on incandescent lamps that fail to an open circuit and can be dimmed by incorporating additional resistance into the circuit. Replacing incandescent light sources will require new control and monitoring techniques that are tailored to the light source used. The Navy’s current intent is to produce a new guidance or specification document the encompasses all the components necessary for the full performance of the navigation lighting system in lieu of individually updating the specifications and drawings that set the requirements for the legacy components. The new specification or guidance is expected to include both system performance requirements as well as shipboard interface requirements.

Typical shipboard environmental and interface requirements for electrical equipment are:

Environmental Vibration – MIL-STD-167-1

High Impact Shock – MIL-DTL-901

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) – MIL-STD-461

Electromagnetic Environmental Effects – MIL-STD-464

Power Interface, Low Voltage, Alternating Current – MIL-STD-1399-300-1

Airborne Noise – MIL-STD-740-2

Environmental Engineering Considerations and Tests – MIL-STD-810

Additional requirements for electrical equipment also can invoke:

Electrical Power Equipment Basic Requirements – MIL-DTL-917

Human Engineering – MIL-STD-1472

Electronic and Electrical Component Parts – MIL-STD-202

Enclosures for Electric and Electronic Equipment – MIL-DTL-2036

Requested Information

Details on currently manufactured navigation lighting systems that can replace the navigation and signal lighting system described in DOD‑HDBK‑289 for US Navy surface ships over 50 meters in length. Responses should include, at a minimum, the company’s name, address, CAGE code, and a technical point of contact that can answer further questions about the system(s) identified in the response. In addition, responses are encouraged to include information on the following:  

Testing and Certifications:

• If the system has been evaluated for compliance to meet the requirements of the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS)
• If environmental or interface testing in accordance with any of the specifications outlined in the background section have been performed and the results of those tests
• Any other testing performed on the system for commercial marine customers, Military Sealift Command, United States Coast Guard, or foreign navies

System Design and Performance:

• Type of light source(s) available
• Electrical power consumption
• Electric cabling requirements
• Light fixture efficiency (lumens per watt)
• How light output is monitored for compliance to COLREGS
• How is the requirement to have dual-filaments for running lights met?
• What are the sizes and materials of all light fixtures and control equipment controllers?
• Dimming capabilities of the system

Features:

• Additional performance features included in the system design that may provide a benefit to US Navy surface combatants that are separate from those needed to meet COLREGS requirements

Responses

Interested parties are asked to respond to this RFI with informational documents that address the design requirements and capabilities discussed herein. The preferred filed format for all documents is Adobe PDF or current to Microsoft Office products.

All information and data received in response to this request for information marked or designated as corporate proprietary information will be fully protected and held in strict confidence. Proprietary information MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Respondents are solely responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying any proprietary information or trade secrets contained within their response. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information that has not been both properly marked and clearly identified.

Industry Discussions

NSWCPD and NAVSEA headquarters representatives may or may not choose to have follow-on discussions with responders. These discussions would be intended to gain further clarification on system design or potential future capabilities. These discussions are not intended to replace the requirement to perform a Government and Industry Review during military specification development.

Submission of Responses 

Submission of responses should be emailed to the primary contact (Michaela.C.Delrossi.civ@us.navy.mil) with a copy to the secondary point of contact (matthew.d.partlett.civ@us.navy.mil). Please list (Navigational Lighting - NSCWPD Code 447 - N6649825R0507) in the subject heading of the email.