CASR

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L O I  s 
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CF Weapons – Naval Remote Weapon Station – MERX LOI – Oct 2011/Jan 2012 NRWS: Naval Remote Weapon Station  for Halifax class Frigates and Tribal Destroyers – MERX  Letters of  Interest/Industry Day Update: The Naval RWS LOI has been amended to delay an Esquimault Industry Day, request a Cost Breakdown Structure, and to extend  the closing date to 30 March 2012. This Letter of  Interest might just as well have been a Request for Information. But for citizens, distinctions between LOI and RFI are moot. Both are used to solicit feedback from industry for a potential procurement  –  in this case, for a Naval Remote Weapon Station – but is still a long way from a Request for Proposals let alone actual purchase. The Navy wants its new NRWS to replace manually- operated  machinegun stations aboard  both Halifax class FFHs and Iroquois class DDHs. Such stations are armed with a 12.7mm M2HB  heavy machinegun. Readers may wonder what happened to DND's 2006 Remote Control Heavy Machine Gun Project. NRWS may have eclipsed that earlier project or NRWS may be RCHMG renamed [1] but the details have shifted. The RCHMG Project involved  the CF Maritime Warfare Centre test-mounting an OTO Melara 12.7mm P.A. on a  Kingston-class MCDV.  But the announced intention of  the RCHMG  Project was replacing pintle-mounted machineguns aboard the Kingston and Halifax classes – no mention of Iroquois. With the NRWS Projects, the destroyers are back and  MCDVs out.  Oddly,  the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship doesn't come up either, despite an NRWS being part of the AOPS requirement.  No thoughts of commonality ? The goal of the NRWS Project is a remotely-operated weapon system firing either the 7.62mm C6 GPMG or 12.7mm M2HB HMG. NRWS must also accommodate a 5.56mm C9 LMG or an unspecified  40mm automatic grenade launcher (as if  that could be anything other than the C16 CASW's HK GMG). An obvious NRWS contender would be the Kongsberg Sea Protector, a naval version of the Canadian Army's M151 RWS.[2] Sea Protector is designed to accommodate all of  the required machineguns, a range of 40mm AGLs, and is already in service with our allies. Another obvious NRWS candidate would be Rafael's Mini-Typhoon which is in USN,  RAN, and  RNZN service. The Mini-Typhoon also has a Canadian Army equivalent, the Rheinmetall Canada  Protected Weapon Station fitted to TLAVs.  But  the PWS seems to have been eclipsed in Army service  – and  that raises another point. The Army now has three distinct RWS types in service. Can the Navy realistically pick a fourth ? [1] Renaming projects can serve to obsfucate. If  NRWS is RCHMG rebranded, then it is to be applauded.  A DND coinage was replaced by a more recognized nomenclature. [2] Kongsberg and Rheinmetall Canada have joined forces to promote Protector RWS making it unlikely that Rheinmetall would offer either the licenced PWS or new Nanuk. ________________________________________ Naval Remote Weapon Station  – Close-in Defence for Frigates and Destroyers –  MERX  Letters of  Interest ________________________________________ Reference Numbers              PW-$$QF-101-21857 Solicitation Numbers           W8472-125389/A Organization Name               Public Works and Government Services Canada                                                  Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada Source ID                               FD.DP.QC.10077.C2 Associated Components     Yes Dates Published     2011-09-28 Revised         — Closing         2012-02-28  02:00 PM Details Category     Armament GSINS          N1230:  FIRE CONTROL SYSTEMS, COMPLETE Region of Delivery            Nova Scotia,  British Columbia Region of Opportunity     — Agreement Type                Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) Tender Type                       Letter of  Interest  ( LOI ) Estimated Value                  — Solicitation Method           — Notice Description Naval Remote Weapon Station  [...] Letter of  Interest ( LOI ) and  Announcement of  Industry Day  [...] The Department of  National Defence has a requirement to provide a Naval Remote Weapons Station defence capability to the Halifax and Iroquois classes of HMC ships. The objective of this Letter of interest is to: a) advise industry of this potential forthcoming requirement and provide industry with general information on the NRWS project. b) provide industry with a preliminary set of high level specifications, deliverables, schedule, and project scope information. c) enable Canada to engage industry and obtain information regarding existing, in- service, NRWS technology, including detailed, indicative, non-binding cost information for project planning purposes. d) enable Canada to better evaluate and progress towards a potential NRWS acquis- ition with associated future ILS  [ Integrated Logistic Support ]  requirements. Note that at this time, there is no firm requirement for procurement. This LOI is neither a call for tender nor a Request for Proposal (RFP), and no agree- ment or contract for the procurement of the equipment stated above will be entered into solely as a result of this LOI. There will be no short-listing of vendors for the purposes of undertaking any future work, as a result of this LOI. Similarly, participation in this LOI is not a condition or prerequisite for the participation to any RFP.  [...]