Advanced Aerospace Systems Technology Research (AASTR)

The Advanced Aerospace Systems Technology Research (AASTR) is a Master Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory to multiple prime contractors for conducting advanced aerospace research and technology development. The program focuses on developing, demonstrating, and integrating new aerospace vehicle technologies and systems that provide enhanced capabilities across current and emerging Air Force mission areas. Research spans core competency areas including aerospace vehicles, control sciences, high speed systems, turbine engines, and systems integration, with a strategic emphasis on technological capabilities that enable complexity, unpredictability, and mass to overwhelm potential adversaries.

Initial task orders under this $400 million AASTR vehicle have been awarded to major aerospace and defense contractors including Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin. These task orders typically range between $90,000 and $105,000, with performance periods of approximately nine to ten months, all utilizing a cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing structure. The delivery orders consistently focus on developing innovative technologies to enhance Air Force aerospace system capabilities, with work primarily performed in locations such as Sacramento, Manassas, St. Louis, Hartford, Poway, El Segundo, and White Settlement. No set-aside designations have been used in the initial task orders, indicating open competition among qualified contractors with expertise in aerospace technology research and development.