Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM) Releasable Seeker Assembly Sources Sought

Sources Sought / Request for Information (RFI)

This document is a Special Notice serving as an advanced notice for market research and planning purposes only. It is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a solicitation. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), on behalf of the NATO SEASPARROW Project Office (NSPO), is seeking concept descriptions for a releasable seeker assembly for the Next Significant Variant (NSV) of the Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM).

• The seeker assembly must be fully releasable to all 12 NATO SEASPARROW Consortium nations.

• It must enable long-term affordability, rapid capability insertion, and international cooperation.

• The design should follow an open, modular, and standards-driven architecture, incorporating open-source principles.

• The seeker must be capable of engaging current and future threat classes across various altitudes and speeds, including sea-skimming and high-diver threats.

• It must operate in complex natural, RF, and/or IR environments and handle threat countermeasures.

• The seeker must integrate with a 10" diameter missile body and be compatible with Mk 41 quad-pack launchers.

• The government is seeking maximum rights in technical data, computer software, and design artifacts, ideally consistent with Government Purpose Rights under DFARS.

• Interested parties must submit a Capabilities Statement via email by 17:00 ET on 27 April 2026.

• Responses should include company introduction, capabilities, experience, technical approach, risk assessment, TRL/MRL assessment, cost estimates (Rough Order of Magnitude), development timeline, facility clearance, and detailed seeker characteristics.

• Specific details required include instantaneous field of view, gimbal limits, operating frequency/bandwidth, transmit power, receiver sensitivity, range resolution, dimensions, weight, power requirements, and software descriptions.

• Export control compliance and data rights assertions are critical.

• Large business concerns and all small business concerns are encouraged to respond.

• The seeker must be releasable to the entire ESSM Consortium (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Türkiye, and the United States).

• This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and does not guarantee a future procurement.

• No funding is associated with this announcement, and all costs are at the respondent's expense.

• Responses will be used for market research and acquisition strategy development.

• Responses must be marked appropriately for classification (up to SECRET level).

• The deadline for unclassified responses is 27 April 2026.

Sources Sought / Request for Information (RFI)

This document is a Sources Sought notice, serving as an advanced notice for market research and planning purposes only. It is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a solicitation. The NATO SEASPARROW Project Office (NSPO) is seeking concepts for a seeker subsystem for the Next Significant Variant (NSV) of the Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM). The goal is to find concepts for a seeker assembly that is fully releasable to all 12 NSPO consortium nations, designed for long-term affordability, rapid capability insertion, and international cooperation. The NSPO is interested in designs that follow an open, modular, and standards-driven architecture, incorporating open-source principles.

• The seeker assembly must be releasable to all 12 ESSM Consortium nations (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Türkiye, and the United States).

• Must integrate with a 10" diameter missile body and the missile guidance section.

• Must be capable against current and future threat classes, including various velocities, altitudes, and maneuverability.

• Must operate in complex natural, RF, and/or IR environments.

• Must perform target search & acquisition processing using external cueing information.

• Must track multiple targets, discriminate between them, and provide threat track measurements.

• Must handle threat countermeasures.

• Designs should consider minimizing size, weight, and power consumption.

• The government seeks architectures and deliverables that provide maximum rights in technical data, computer software, and design artifacts, ideally under Government Purpose Rights or a similar model.

• This is a market research effort; responses are not proposals and will not be accepted to form a binding contract.

• Responses must be unclassified Capabilities Statements submitted via email by 17:00 ET on March 27, 2026.

• The Capabilities Statement should not exceed 15 single-sided pages (excluding cover page, company information, and size/status).

• Responses should detail company introduction, capabilities, experience, compliance with export controls, actual producer intent, rough order of magnitude (cost) for a prototype, anticipated development timeline, and facility clearance.

• Specific technical details requested include instantaneous field of view, gimbal limits, operating frequency/bandwidth, transmit power, receiver sensitivity, range resolution, system losses, physical dimensions, weight, power requirements, risk areas, Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs), environmental effects, proximity operation, operational regimes, sensor technology for countermeasures, component ownership models, interface requirements, and support/maintenance needs.

• Large business concerns and all small business concerns are encouraged to respond.

• The document specifies export control considerations for all 12 consortium nations.

• This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and may or may not translate into an actual procurement.

• There is no funding associated with this announcement.

• All responses become Government property and will not be returned.

• The Government anticipates receiving unlimited rights in all technical data, training material, and software deliverables.