Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: 
Attachment: None
Competitive Procurement Strategy: N/A - P&A/LOI Only
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 
Defence Research and Development Canada
Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project

This project will have a security requirement to the 
Secret-Canadian Eyes Only Cleareance.

DRDC Atlantic will host an industry day at their facility, 9
Grove Street, Dartmouth Nova Scotia on 10 May 2012 from at 1:30
PM to 4:00 PM. The purpose of this session is to introduce the
Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project. 

Introduction

The Arctic is a huge area, greater than 3.8 million square
kilometres not counting Labrador or Northern Quebec. The Arctic
population is less than 120,000 people across the entire Arctic
Region. Nunavut includes the bulk of the Arctic Archipelago, 2
million square kilometres, and has a population of 31,000 living
in about 20 communities. Most communities have a population of
less than 1000 people. 

The earth is undergoing a period of global warming that is
making the Canadian Arctic more accessible. The Arctic region is
has exploitable resources including oil and gas. It also
contains the Northwest Passage, a complex of major and minor
maritime shipping routes that are opening for portions of the
year.  Consequently, the international community and industry is
becoming interested in operating in the Canadian Arctic. The
Government of Canada expressed strong interest in the Canadian
Arctic in Canada's Northern Strategy - Our North Our Heritage
Our Future.  It, and other documents, express a need for the
demonstration of sovereignty and to ensure security in the
Arctic.   

In support of both sovereignty and security, the Northern Watch
TDP seeks to demonstrate a surveillance capability over a
limited portion of Barrow Strait in the vicinity of Gascoyne
Inlet, Devon Island, Nunavut. The system will be capable of
operating up to 365 days per year, 24 hours per day, but the
actual term of the demonstration will be six months,
encompassing winter, transition and summer operating seasons.
The demonstrated local area surveillance capability offers
shared situation awareness to facilitate informed strategic and
operational decision making concerning surveillance in the
Arctic, and the project will revitalize DND's ability to conduct
R&D in the Arctic. 

Northern Watch Project Description

The Northern Watch TDP will develop a remotely controlled,
unattended Arctic surveillance system, operated over a satellite
communication channel from a control center located at DRDC
Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The portion of the system at
Gascoyne Inlet is referred to as the Arctic Surveillance
Demonstration System (ASDS). The ASDS is composed of an
Integrated Surveillance System and a satellite communications
system. Housing services including buildings, power, and
security will be provided by the camp. Although an operational
Habitat system will not be built or deployed for the current
project, such a system would be required to shelter an
operational arctic sensor suite. The Habitat system design
developed for the NW TDP will be an exploitable project output,
in the form of a requirements specification only. Sensor contact
information will be sent to the DRDC Southern Control Center for
correlation and formatting. The correlated contact information
will be provided to interested stakeholders for inclusion into
the Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP). The DRDC Southern Control
Center will be automated to a large extent and is intended to be
eventually capable of unmanned operation. 

The Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project (TDP) was
originally approved in 2007 as an investigation into sensor
capabilities in Arctic settings. The project had identified
technologies of interest and acquired sensor equipment to
support those objectives. In 2009, the project was re-scoped to
its present objective to investigate an integrated remote
surveillance system.  The Northern Watch TDP will continue to
use the sensors that have been previously identified and
acquired.   

The Northern Watch System Concept, DRDC Atlantic TM 2012-006,
provides a detailed description of the surveillance needs that
the developed system is to address, sensors that the system will
include, information that is to be produced, and limitations
imposed by location and environment.  The Northern Watch System
Concept will be the main reference document for the contract.
The ASDS development will incorporate concepts developed under
the Northern Watch System Concept, and will employ sensors
acquired and investigated during the life of the Northern Watch
TDP. The contractor will acquire, as readily available COTS, an
AIS receiver, an ADS-B receiver and a meteorology system.  The
DRDC will provide, as GSM, a COTS navigation radar and the
CANDISS camera system. DRDC will provide interfaces to DRDC
developed sensors and two seismic sensors provided by Natural
Resources Canada which is an approved participant in the
Northern Watch TDP in support of the Whole of Government nature
of operations in the Arctic.

The Northern Watch systems will be based upon modular and open
architecture design principles in order to support exploitation.

Surveillance System development contract

The purpose of the Surveillance System development contract is
to develop and deploy an integrated Arctic Surveillance
Demonstration System (ASDS) to be used by DRDC as a capability
demonstration system. . The ASDS will be located at Gascoyne
Inlet, Nunavut and will communicate with the control center at
DRDC Atlantic through satellite communications services. The
contractor will conduct final development and acceptance testing
at a DRDC provided Southern Test and Evaluation Facility.

The development of the ASDS will be conducted in three
successive development cycles each with a Go/No-Go decision
point for continuance to the next development cycle or cessation
of the contract. On conclusion of each development cycle, the
contractor will deliver the documented surveillance system
hardware and software to DRDC for testing in its Southern Trials
and Arctic Demonstrations. The contractor will provide technical
support to DRDC during the Southern Trials and Arctic
Demonstrations. The main contract activities are the Development
Cycles and each has five milestones: Preliminary Design Review,
Critical Design Review, Test Readiness Review, Test Acceptance
and Acceptance of deliverables.  Following completion of DRDC
Arctic Demonstrations and if DRDC exercises additional cycle
development options, the surveillance system will be returned to
the contractor for potential continuing development.

 Access to the Arctic demonstration site is a limiting factor to
the project and the contract. This factor drives the development
schedule consequently the first development cycle will run from
expected contract signing in August 2012 to May 2013.
Development cycle 2 will run from June 2013 to December 2014 and
Development Cycle 3 will be from March 2014 to March 2015. 

The Northern Watch Surveillance System Development contract will
also include an unfunded option for further development cycles
that could lead to an operational prototype.

The Industry Day will be held at the DRDC Atlantic facility, 9
Grove Street, Dartmouth Nova Scotia at 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM on 10
May 2012, in the Seminar Room.   

DRDC Atlantic is a secure facility and advanced notice of visits
is required.
Persons planning to attend are asked to contact David Quirk,
902-426-3100 x194, or Bruce Grychowski, 902-426-3100 x 227, to
provide registration information including name, nationality and
company affiliation, no later than 4 May 2012. Non-Canadians
require a validated Visit Request submitted through their
respective embassies or evidence of having been
pre-cleared through the Joint Certification Program. We regret
that cameras or camera-equipped-cell phones are not permitted on
site.

W7707-12VS01/A
Allen, Tanya
Telephone No. - (902) 496-5142 (    )
Fax No. - (902) 496-5016

Line1, .
Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any
procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.