Consortium Members Receive $230 Million for Prototype Technology for Navy

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — In June 2018 the national Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC), headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island, was awarded the Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) for Undersea Technology Innovation by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, the consortium said in a June 29 release. UTIC, represented by its management firm, Advanced Technology International (ATI), and NUWC Division Newport signed a three-year OTA with options for up to 10 years. 

The OTA allows for industry, academia and the nonprofit sector to engage in a broad range of undersea and maritime prototyping activities in support of the Department of Navy’s needs. An OTA is an “enterprise partnership” between the government and a consortium of technology developers/providers allowing innovation through partnership and collaboration. 

To date, 31 UTIC OTA awards, to provide prototype technology solutions, have been made to 26 member organizations with a total value of $230.4 million. The Department of Navy identifies technology needs to UTIC members biannually in the spring and fall. Urgent needs can be identified out-of-cycle. Members respond with an enhanced white paper defining their proposed technology solutions. The government can choose to accept the white paper proposal and award, decline to award, or put the proposal in “the basket,” allowing the government the opportunity, over the next three years, to make a future award.  

“UTIC is an important resource for innovative undersea and maritime technology solutions,” said Molly Donohue Magee, UTIC’s executive director. “The Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) allows for streamlined contracting, ensuring the government can expeditiously get needed technology prototype solutions. We are extremely proud to have accomplished so much in just two years and we look forward to continuing to support the technology needs of the Department of Navy. 

“NUWC Division Newport and UTIC have been leading the way with our OTA agreement,” said Ronald Vien, technical director, NUWC Division Newport. The results of the OTA are proof of the success of collaborating with our industry partners to advance the state of the art in undersea warfare.” 

The Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC) has over 300 UTIC members from 36 states who are part of the national community of technology practitioners in the undersea and maritime technology domain responding to the needs of the Department of Navy. Consortium members support 25 defined technology areas including: Environmental Sensing, Monitoring and Prediction; Autonomous Vehicles, Bio-inspired Sensing; Energy Storage and Release; Quantum Computing; and Virtualization.

UTIC membership is comprised of 75% nontraditional defense contractors, representing 70% small businesses, 25% large businesses, and 5% academic and nonprofit organizations. Membership is open to U.S. organizations who have undersea and maritime related technologies. 

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