[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18954-18955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05537]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2024-0043]


Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: REGENT Craft, 
Inc.

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is announcing its intent to enter into a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with REGENT 
Craft, Inc. (REGENT) to evaluate advancements in Wing-In-Ground (WIG) 
maritime aircraft for applicability to USCG missions. REGENT's sea 
gliders are representative of that technology. While the Coast Guard is 
currently considering partnering with REGENT, we are soliciting public 
comment on the possible nature of and participation of other parties in 
the proposed CRADA. In addition, the Coast Guard also invites other 
potential non-Federal participants, who have the interest and 
capability to bring similar contributions to this type of research, to 
consider submitting proposals for consideration in similar CRADAs.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov, or reach the Docket Management Facility, on or 
before April 15, 2024.

[[Page 18955]]

    Synopses of proposals regarding future CRADAs must reach the Coast 
Guard (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) on or before April 15, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments online at http://www.regulations.gov 
following website instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
or wish to submit proposals for future CRADAs, contact Jason Story, 
Project Official, Rapid Reaction Branch, U.S. Coast Guard Research and 
Development Center, 1 Chelsea Street, New London, CT 06320, telephone 
860-271-2833, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We request public comments on this notice. Although we do not plan 
to respond to comments in the Federal Register, we will respond 
directly to commenters and may modify our proposal in light of 
comments.
    Comments should be marked with docket number USCG-2024-0043 and 
should provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You 
should provide personal contact information so that we can contact you 
if we have questions regarding your comments; but please note that all 
comments will be posted to the online docket without change and that 
any personal information you include can be searchable online (see the 
Federal Register Privacy Act notice regarding our public dockets, 73 FR 
3316, Jan. 17, 2008). We also accept anonymous comments.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the Coast Guard 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents mentioned in this 
notice, and all public comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that website's 
instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted or a 
final rule is published.
    Do not submit detailed proposals for future CRADAs to the Docket 
Management Facility. Instead, submit them directly to the Coast Guard 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Discussion

    CRADAs are authorized under 15 U.S.C. 3710(a).\1\ A CRADA promotes 
the transfer of technology to the private sector for commercial use, as 
well as specified research or development efforts that are consistent 
with the mission of the Federal parties to the CRADA. The Federal party 
or parties agree with one or more non-Federal parties to share research 
resources, but the Federal party does not contribute funding.
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    \1\ The statute confers this authority on the head of each 
Federal agency. The Secretary of DHS's authority is delegated to the 
Coast Guard and other DHS organizational elements by DHS Delegation 
No. 0160.1, para. II.B.34.
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    CRADAs are not procurement contracts. Care is taken to ensure that 
CRADAs are not used to circumvent the contracting process. CRADAs have 
a specific purpose and should not be confused with procurement 
contracts, grants, and other type of agreements.
    Under the proposed CRADA, the R&D Center will collaborate with one 
non-Federal participant. Together, the R&D Center and the non-Federal 
participant will conduct sea glider evaluations to determine the 
system's applicability to USCG missions.
    We anticipate that the Coast Guard's contributions under the 
proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Collaborate with REGENT Craft Inc. to co-design specific 
operational and safety test scenarios, bringing in real-world maritime 
expertise;
    (2) Provide information regarding the USCG's interest in the WIG 
technology needed for creating the Test Plan;
    (3) Provide all support resources, including travel, for Coast 
Guard staff that supports this CRADA;
    (4) Provide personnel support to non-Federal participant to assist 
with setting up and execute testing in accordance with the agreed upon 
Test Plan;
    (5) Work with non-Federal participant to develop a Final Report, 
which will document the methodologies, findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of this CRADA work.
    We anticipate that the non-Federal participants' contributions 
under the proposed CRADA will include the following:
    (1) Provide appropriate staff with pertinent expertise to support 
the above mentioned tasks;
    (2) Provide all necessary facilities and sea glider resources 
needed to conduct the evaluations as outlined in the Test Plan;
    (3) Provide technical approach for the Test Plan;
    (4) Provide test data upon completion of testing.
    The Coast Guard reserves the right to select for CRADA participants 
all, some, or no proposals submitted for this CRADA. The Coast Guard 
will provide no funding for reimbursement of proposal development 
costs. Proposals and any other material submitted in response to this 
notice will not be returned. Proposals submitted are expected to be 
unclassified and have not more than five single-sided pages (excluding 
cover page, DD 1494, JF-12, etc.). The Coast Guard will select 
proposals at its sole discretion on the basis of:
    (1) How well they communicate an understanding, of and ability to 
meet, the proposed CRADA's goal; and
    (2) How well they address the following criteria:
    (a) Technical capability to support the non-Federal party 
contributions described, and
    (b) Resources available for supporting the non-Federal party 
contributions described.
    Currently, the Coast Guard is considering REGENT for participation 
in this CRADA. This consideration is based on the fact that REGENT has 
demonstrated its sea gliders and availability of appropriate facilities 
to execute test scenarios. However, we do not wish to exclude other 
viable participants from this or future similar CRADAs.
    This is a technology assessment effort. The goal of the Coast Guard 
for this CRADA is to determine the applicability of this type of vessel 
to the Coast Guard's missions. Special consideration will be given to 
small business firms/consortia, and preference will be given to 
business units located in the U.S. This notice is issued under the 
authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: February 29, 2024.
Michael Chien,
Captain, USCG, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Research and 
Development Center.
[FR Doc. 2024-05537 Filed 3-14-24; 8:45 am]
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