Electro-Optical and Infrared solutions for the Department of the Navy

UPDATED 8/24/26 - Please see attached Q&A summary regarding the Industry Information Session, Naval Disruptor Days 2026: Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) and Passive Decoy (PD) Technologies which was held on 5 August 2026

UPDATED 8/18/26 - Please view the Q&A video re: this effort: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_b3f6ae37090b40da959379ef52bfe4cb%40thread.v2/0?context=%7B%22Tid%22%3A%22e3333e00-c877-4b87-b6ad-45e942de1750%22%2C%22Oid%22%3A%2282331352-0718-4468-8912-ac7b758a7eac%22%2C%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3Atrue%2C%22role%22%3A%22a%22%7D&btype=a&role=a

I. INTRODUCTION

This Special Notice announces the Department of the Navy (DON) Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) Disruptor Day. The purpose of this event is to identify and showcase enabling technologies for the next generation of Electro-Optical and Infrared (EO/IR) solutions.

Disclaimer: This announcement does not constitute a solicitation and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers, and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. Any submission of information is strictly voluntary.

II. Topic description

The DON RCO is seeking EO/IR capabilities that can detect a secondary drone target in the background of a scene while actively observing a primary drone target.

This announcement is not restricted to existing EO/IR solutions, and includes systems that can perform only the EO or the IR functions (collaborative opportunities toward a final solution may exist). The intent is to survey the industrial base for technologies that can address critical evaluation variables, including target size, range, angular velocity, angular acceleration, elevation, number of targets, and target geometry.

III. EVENT DETAILS

The Disruptor Day will occur in mid-September at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, MD.

The event will combine a traditional industry day with a limited experiment on a unique Navy test range. The Disruptor Day format is anticipated to allow each vendor an approximately 1-2-hour window to brief their products and perform their experiment.

System & Setup Considerations:

Systems must operate in both day and night scenarios, and in all weather conditions in a maritime environment.

The EO/IR System Under Test (SUT) will be located in line with other simultaneous SUTs to minimize differences in range, elevation, and parallax errors.

Primary Target: A Group 1 or Group 2 drone flies a racetrack parallel to the line of the SUT in the foreground at a variable range, elevation, velocity, and geometry.

Secondary Target: A Group 2 or Group 3 drone flies a direct approach perpendicular to the line of the SUT, starting in the background and moving to the foreground at a variable range, variable elevation, variable velocity, and variable geometry.

Performance Objectives:

The EO/IR solution must demonstrate the capability to detect the secondary target drone at the fastest time possible, furthest range, highest frequency, longest duration, and with the lowest false target rate—without disrupting observation of the primary target. The primary target must be tracked continuously with at least a +/- 10 degree azimuth and elevation Field of Regard. When the secondary target gets within the field of regard of the primary the criteria above is required for the secondary target.

Data Collection & Post-Experiment Review:

Participants are highly encouraged to record and return specific tracking data to the government following the experiment. (If the EO/IR SUT has multiple sensors, the sensor used to generate each data point must be noted). Required data points include:

Time-stamped, uncompressed, non-contrast-enhanced frames of image data

For every frame of sensor data collected during the test, whether the primary target is observed by the EO/IR system

For every frame of sensor data collected during the test, whether the secondary target is detected

For every frame of sensor data collected during the test, if a target or targets are detected, the pixel location of the target(s) detected; and if multiple targets are detected, the detection recognized as the secondary target detection must be noted

Initial frame of target detection

Time of initial target detection

Final frame of target detection

Time of final target detection

Frame-correlated sensor pointing angle in inertial azimuth and elevation

Frame-correlated field of view (FOV)

Frame-correlated instantaneous field of view (IFOV)

Participants are encouraged to produce the following data after completing the experiment and return to the government if possible.

Range to target

3D target location in sensor inertial space

Once this post-processed Disruptor Day data is provided to the government, the DON RCO may schedule a post-experiment data review discussion with the vendor. This review will evaluate True/False Positives, True/False Negatives, Target Recall, Target Precision, and Target True…