RFI: Unmanned Ground Recovery
This is an Army sources-sought RFI seeking information from firms with unmanned ground recovery and robotic manipulation capabilities for contested-environment vehicle recovery, not a funding opportunity.
⚑ RFI/sources sought only; no solicitation or award commitment · federal contract notice directed to companies with company contact information requested · responses requested by email by 2026-07-31 11:59 AM CT · concerns DDIL/contested-environment autonomous recovery and rigging operations
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
Description
Request For Information : Unmanned Ground Recovery PROBLEM STATEMENT: Current vehicle recovery operations in contested environments are resource-intensive and expose Soldiers to adversarial threats. These missions require significant manpower, including specialized maintenance and security teams, and are fundamentally constrained by human endurance limits. The recovery usually happens in a contested environment, which often leads to network communications being Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL). All of these factors decrease the Army’s capability to conduct continuous ground recovery operations. INTRODUCTION: The Government is conducting market research and seeking information on cutting-edge innovations and existing systems in uncrewed tactical autonomy and robotic manipulation designed or adapted for military recovery operations that may inform future requirements development and acquisition planning. The objective is to identify robust, ruggedized solutions capable of or, adaptable to, executing complex recovery tasks in contested, degraded, and operationally demanding environments. The Army Sustainment Community is interested in advanced, low-logistics solutions to reduce the overall resource demand, personnel footprint, and exposure time required to execute recovery missions under Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) network conditions. We are open to modifications to existing Army platforms or entire separate systems to enhance the Army’s ability to conduct continuous recovery operations. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS: Your response should have a cover page with your company information,including: Company Name, Address, Primary Point of Contact with a phonenumber and email address. Please limit your response to 750 words per question. The use of graphics and diagrams is encouraged and does not count toward the 750 word response limit. Please provide the response to these questions in a single PDF file. You may answer all or only a portion of the questions offered for consideration. Please email responses to unmanned-ground-recovery@aal.army no later than 11:59AM CT, July 31, 2026. QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION: How would you autonomously find and navigate to a disabled, destroyed, or immobilized vehicle? How would you conduct an autonomous rigging operation for a disabled, destroyed, or immobilized vehicle? How would you accomplish the autonomous navigation and rigging operations in a degraded environment or geographically challenging terrain (i.e. inaccessible high ground, unstable soil, severe obstacles, etc.) How would you complete the autonomous navigation and rigging operations in a degraded or denied communication environment? REFERENCES: Army Technical Publication (ATP) 4-31, Recovery and Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR), https://asktop.net/wp/download/ATPs/atp4_31.pdf DISCLAIMER: Participation in this RFI is strictly voluntary. This RFI does not constitute a solicitation, is not a request for proposal, request for quotation, broad agency announcement, or be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Issuance of this notice does not commit the Government to pay for any preparation costs incurred in compiling a response. Any future procurement action, if pursued, will be announced separately and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. All information contained in this RFI is preliminary, subject to modification, and is in no way binding on the Government. The Government will use reasonable efforts to safeguard properly marked proprietary information.
Eligibility
Applicant restrictions (federal contract). Set-aside: . Notice type: Sources Sought. Organization: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEPT OF THE ARMY / W6QK ACC-APG DURHAM.
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