[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51769-51770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20215]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2025-0348]
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement: Uncrewed Surface
Vessels (USVs) for Maritime Safety and Security Operations
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 Saronic
Technologies, Inc. to research the potential of Uncrewed Surface
Vessels (USVs) for maritime safety and security missions in extended
offshore operations. The Coast Guard is seeking public comment on this
proposed partnership and potential involvement from other parties. 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: Your comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on
or before December 18, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2025-0348 using the Federal portal at https://www.regulations.gov. See
the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
notice of intent, call or email Derek Meier, Principal Investigator,
Autonomy Branch, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center, 1
Chelsea Street, New London, CT 06320, telephone 860-271-2600, email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
COLREG Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea
CRADA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
DHS Department of Homeland Security
POC Proof of Concept
TTP Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
USV Uncrewed Surface Vessel
U.S.C.G. United States Coast Guard
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background and Purpose
The Coast Guard is working to determine the performance,
reliability, integration, and mission impacts of deploying autonomous
USV platforms. This effort will evaluate the advantages, disadvantages,
required technology enhancements, and mission benefits of integrating
collaborative USVs in offshore operations covering territorial waters
and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), utilizing commercially available
USVs. Through this POC, the Coast Guard also seeks to develop
information representative of future USCG TTPs to better inform USV
mission integration in the context of maritime security and safety
operations.
III. 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.
We encourage you to submit comments in response to this notice of
inquiry through the Federal Document
[[Page 51770]]
Management System at https://www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to
https://www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2025-0348 in the search box and
click ``Search.'' Next, look for this document in the Search Results
column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. In your
submission, please include the docket number for this notice of inquiry
and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. If your
material cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, contact
the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document for alternate instructions. Public comments will also be
placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions
on the https://www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked Questions web page.
We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to https://www.regulations.gov will include any personal information you have
provided. For more about privacy and submissions in response to this
document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226,
March 11, 2020).
IV. Discussion
CRADAs are authorized under 15 U.S.C. 3710a.\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 types of agreements.
Under the proposed CRADA, the U.S. Coast Guard Research and
Development Center (R&D Center) will collaborate with one non-Federal
participant. Together, the R&D Center and the non-Federal participant
will execute testing that will evaluate the advantages, disadvantages,
required technology enhancements, and mission benefits of USV
deployments in extended offshore operations performing maritime safety
and security mission sets. This testing will evaluate the ability for
multi-USV mission planning and execution from a single command and
control interface.
This is a technology assessment effort. The goal for this CRADA is
to work with an industry partner to develop a better understanding of
the performance, reliability, integration, and mission impact of
deploying autonomous collaborative USV platforms.
This could include the following:
1. USVs that are readily available for testing and operational
evaluation.
2. Command/control systems for USV platforms.
3. Command/control or other systems to develop uncrewed systems
teaming.
4. Autonomy systems for collision avoidance and Convention on the
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG)
compliance.
5. Network connectivity solutions for uncrewed surface platforms.
We anticipate that the Coast Guard's contributions under the
proposed CRADA will include the following:
1. Provide staff with the expertise to support the tasks.
2. Provide resources and travel for the Coast Guard staff that
support this CRADA.
3. Write a test plan in collaboration with the non-Federal
participant.
4. Secure approvals for field test events, per test plans, as
appropriate.
5. Provide sufficient crew, planning, and coordination to execute
the testing in accordance with the agreed upon test plan.
6. Ship the necessary parts, tools, and equipment to facilitate
testing or operational evaluations.
7. Coordinate participating USCG units and government stakeholders.
8. Execute agreed upon test plan.
9. Write a report in collaboration with the non-Federal
participant.
We anticipate that the non-Federal participant's contributions
under the proposed CRADA will include the following:
1. Provide staff with the expertise to support the tasks.
2. Provide test assets for fielding in mutually agreed upon test
area.
3. Provide all support resources, including travel, for Saronic
Technologies, Inc. staff who support this CRADA, if required.
4. Review test plan.
5. Provide the technology, technical data, and other technical
considerations for any systems to be utilized under this CRADA.
6. Provide the technical data for all equipment, including
dimensions, weight, power requirements, and other technical
considerations for non-Federal participant's components to be utilized
under this CRADA.
7. Assist with installation of equipment required to perform
testing, if required.
8. Provide any specific training, along with mutually agreed upon
technical support, to the joint test team evaluating the technology.
9. Provide any specific training to those Coast Guard members
evaluating the technology.
10. Provide mutually agreed upon resources required to execute the
test plan, as required.
11. Write a report in collaboration with the R&D Center.
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 be no more than five single-sided pages (excluding
cover page, DD 1494, and JF-12). The Coast Guard will select proposals
at its sole discretion based on:
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 Saronic Technologies,
Inc. for participation in this CRADA. This consideration is based on
the fact that Saronic Technologies, Inc. manufactures and develops
commercially available USV platforms, platform/sensor Command and
Control (C2), and other USV systems. However, we do not wish to exclude
other viable participants from this or similar CRADAs in the future.
Special consideration will be given to small business firms or
consortia, and preference will be given to business units located in
the United States. This notice is issued under the authority of 5
U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: November 12, 2025.
M.P. Chien,
Captain, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development
Center.
[FR Doc. 2025-20215 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
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