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Part II of III Parts
Hannah Lander, United Kingdom—UK—of Great Britain—GB—Ministry of Defence—MOD—was connected with the Defence Sourcing Portal—DSP—underwater pressure transducer request for information—RFI. Attempting to honour copyright: the present article in orange-brown-italics paraphrased—if not quoted—the aforementioned RFI with response in black text.
DISCLAIMER
The present website is not to be confused with the MOD’s ‘Defence Gateway’ linked to here, or the aforementioned DSP. The present website does however expand upon certain DSP publications and encourages profitable interaction with its readership.
For those who would prefer listening to articles—rather than reading them—an online audio-video version shall herein be linked to. It is our intent to make the same available after the present readable article has been published.
Graphics and data that are not available in the video are to be displayed throughout the present readable article.
UNDERWATER TRANSDUCER CAPABILITY: RFI RESPONSE CONTINUED
PROJECT
RQ 00 00 08 46 46,
Romeo Quebec quintuple zero, eight, four six, four six.
A REHASH OF REQUESTS AND RESPONSES
Only information is requested. The MOD is collecting information regarding organisations within the UK with acoustic or pressure transducer expertise.
The aforementioned organisation types may comprise academia, large corporations, small-to-medium enterprises, and start-ups in business, in decreasing population order.
In the late spring of 2026, defencegateway.xyz— dgx —is one start-up which represents a number of other start-ups.
One such business start-up possesses acoustic or pressure transducer or hydrophone intellectual property—IP. Their aforementioned IP exists in the range from the second to the seventh technology readiness levels—TRL 2 to TRL 7—inclusive.
The TRLs mentioned are in accordance with the evaluation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA. In other words …
The aforementioned start-up has access to acoustic or pressure transducer formulation, know-how, proofs of concept, laboratory and field prototypes.
‘The information will be used by the Authority to aid a capability assessment within the UK to design and manufacture UW transducers.’
Cui bono?
‘The Authority will not share any named submitted information outside of the UK government without specific approval.’
This is a relief. Direct dealing with the MOD should not then require a non-disclosure agreement, NDA.
However, an NDA is advised—and offered—for interaction with other organisations regarding disclosure or demonstration of pressure transducer systems and subsystems.
‘Responses to this request for information (RFI) will not influence the awarding of future contracts’
Again: cui bono?
‘and responding is not a registration of interest in such future contacts. However, the Authority may contact organisations to ask more specific questions at a later date.’
‘You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.’
From ‘A Common Place of Italian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases’
Published by Giovanni Torriano,
1666 Anno domini.
We must stress that this approach is not unique to Hannah Lander, but is typically observed of MOD RFIs. No matter how often we read them and edit the present article series … We cannot seem to let this ministry’s lack of small-business awareness slide.
If only the reader were privy to our first sentiments. It is as though the RFI were issued within the military: from a superior paid officer—to a subordinate paid officer.
The lack of incentives makes the RFI difficult to take seriously and in good nature. If taken seriously, then it garners ill-feeling.
This is especially the case when efforts to communicate with the MOD are ignored. One of our represented start-ups unsuccessfully made freedom of information requests for contact details.
We aim to keep the discourse positive. As such, a solution is offered in the present article series with which we humbly advise the MOD moving forward.
However we wish to address the RFI relevantly: point-by-point first.
The focus is upon different types of UW transducer components. Despite this, the MOD seeks information from all of the domains pertaining to the required skills to research, design and manufacture acoustic transducers.
This is what makes the current RFI interesting, in our opinion. The reader of the present paraphrased or original RFI may also find the scope of the request interesting.
This is in spite of the seeming disconnect between the needs of small business and the MOD’s awareness of them.
Some non-exhaustive examples are the:
Detection of cracks, harvesting of energy, seismic imaging in the marine setting, imaging in a medical setting, tools used for the medical setting, testing that is non-destructive, the gauging of range, the gauging of thickness, UW-imaging, and UW-transducers for sonar use.
The start-up’s IP has application and overlap in most, if not all, of the comma-separated-phrases—or list-items—of the previous semi-colon-spaced sentence. Specifically, one sort of pressure transducer—-at TRL 7—was originally designed for electrical power generation, and then for energy-harvesting industry sectors.
It is well-suited for negative or low cost manufacturing, large detector surface-area, large array assembly, and thus high-resolution acoustic detection.
‘The MOD encourages engagement in this RFI even if organisations are unsure if they fall into the mentioned categories or if they have skills and facilities they think will be applicable.’
We commend the encouragement, but experience has taught us to be catious with respect to a hopeful outcome. This is even the case if that outcome is only a follow-up MOD response.
Often, the RFI is followed by our response as a prospective supplier. Silence then ensues, and tender application dismissal or allocation to another prospective supplier occurs.
Most prospective suppliers must have also experienced this pain of lacking the x-factor. Recall the ‘one-direction’ analogy of the previous article and get in touch by submitting a comment. We need not publish the comment if that is what you prefer.
There is value in the prospective suppliers’ labour and in the subsequent accumulation of information for the relevant MOD database.
There is also a way to organise such a database to optimise data-entry: duplication, search and recovery.
As earlier implied: this solution to serve both prospective suppliers, and the MOD is outlined in the series’ final article.
‘INSTRUCTIONS
Organisations are invited to provide information about the topics discussed in this RFI in any format they deem appropriate in a maximum of 10 pages.’
Again: this is one of the strengths of the RFI that gives the reader hope. Let us ensure that the ten pages of labour per responsive organisation is not lost.
Kindly ensure the inclusion of information regarding:
•Experience and skills, as well as facilities, pertaining to the research, design, testing, manufacturing of transducers
PIEZOELECTRIC & NON-PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCTION
Regarding dgx start-up personnel … Pressure transducer components were utilised to measure energy-density—the basis of acoustic signals—within sealed vessels. The mean pressures in this case have ranged from those observed in terminal ballistic events, to a rocket-chamber and nozzle-region.
The range also extends from atmospheric electrochemical reaction cells, to evacuated chambers.
In vacuo, transducers were used to measure evacuated chamber pressures and forces exerted by devices that both produce and—also—measure thrust. The content of the present and previous paragraph give an indication of experience and skill.
These pertain to research and testing in the facilities of academia and industry, aerospace and energy supply remarkably. Particularly, let us now consider non-piezoelectric acoustic transduction.
A start-up affiliated with dgx has made a formulation—TRL 2—and hypothesis regarding pre-existing technology—TRL 9. This start-up has experience working with technology that can be redesigned to detect nuclear powered submarines.
As earlier indicated, this has been disclosed to the MOD—Atlantic Net or Bastion under Commodore Marcus Rose. Disclosure was also made to the IPO, and the Defence Nuclear Organisation’s—DNO’s—Whitehall’s Madelaine McTernan: Companion of the Order of Bath—CB.
Qualitative information is thus internally available to the UK government. For a quantitative report, however, kindly feel free to make a request in the comment section below.
The IPO has not restricted patent application publication under section twenty-two of the patents act.
PIEZOELECTRIC & RELATED EFFECT TRANSDUCTION
For design, manufacture, and testing—again—the dgx start-up has constructed what may be novel pressure transducer components with piezoelectric properties. These have been undertaken in low-fidelity workshop conditions, and units may be requested for testing via the contact form below.
To reiterate: the devices were initially designed for energy-harvesting applications with some success. However, their application for sensing or detection seems to be a more powerful selling point.
This is due to the low—negative net—cost, profitability, and environmental benefit of their transducer’s manufacture.
Processing allows for its economical mass production, and the assembly of sensor arrays over vast areas. Large area detecting systems are sensitive, yet each unit is remarkably mechanically robust and thermally stable in underwater conditions.
Again, this technology has been filed qualitatively with the IPO, and is thus available to the UK government. However, for a quantitative report, kindly leave a comment below.
• areas of expertise, as non-exhaustive examples, these may include the detection of cracks, imaging in a medical context …
We at dgx aim to conceal the identity of the start-ups we represent until disclosure becomes necessary. This is for start-ups entertaining the possibility of working in the defence and security sectors … And for avoiding prejudice.
The present article-series was created because no follow-up on one of our start-up’s disclosures—from the MOD or DNO—has been received. As such, a degree of online-publication increases the probability of the RFI response work being fruitful to the information suppliers.
This is more favourable to the start-up than the aforementioned seeming burial and neglect of labour
As earlier alluded to: potential non-winning tenderers or disregarded applicants may collaborate on related yet commercial projects, still.
Responding to the RFI portion enquiring as to experience and skill: an anonymised curriculum vitae may accompany a quantitative report.
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