PMA-281 Hardware and Software Development and Sustainment

The Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command established this multiple-award IDIQ on April 20, 2020, to procure hardware and software development, integration, testing, deployment, and operations/sustainment for the Program Manager Strike Planning and Execution Systems (PMA-281) product lines, which range from ACAT-IC to ACAT-III with ACAT-II as the typical scope. The vehicle's ordering period closed on April 19, 2025; no new task orders may be placed against it.

The vehicle is no longer active for new task orders. The portfolio shows 24 awards with a combined potential value of $337 million, of which $123.2 million has been obligated (37% draw-down). Ordering activity was front-loaded at award (13 task orders in 2020 for OPSEC plan establishment), with meaningful production work concentrated from 2024 onward: six orders in 2024 and three in early 2025. The most recent awards target Combat Mission Planning Center (CMPC) software development, JMPS mission laptop computers, and Next Generation Nighttime Missile Planning System (NGNMPS) integration, with delivery orders extending through 2030.

Competition is highly concentrated. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation dominates with five orders representing $219.9 million in combined potential value, followed by DCS Corporation with four orders worth $84.1 million and Gnostech, LLC with three orders at $22.6 million. These three firms capture approximately 100% of combined potential value; 12 distinct primes hold awards, but the long tail adds minimal value. Nearly all orders (88%) carry no set-aside designation; 8% are partial small business and 4% are total small business. Customer concentration is near-total: 23 of 24 orders fund Naval Air Systems Command, with one order going to Naval Air Warfare Center.

Typical task-order ceilings range from $1.2 million to $75.9 million, with cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing dominant for software development and firm-fixed-price for hardware. Most orders use incremental funding. Work is primarily contractor-performed (90% contractor facility for engineering and development, 95% government facility only for installation), with administrative oversight and primary operations/sustainment integration at Patuxent River, Maryland. The initial work allocation was estimated at 25% labor and 75% product development, material, and other direct costs.

The scope of the Program Manager Strike Planning and Execution Systems (PMA-281) HW & SW Development and Sustainment Multiple-Award IDIQ contract includes development, integration, test and evaluation, deployment/delivery, modifications, and operations/sustainment of hardware and software products supporting both PMA-281 domestic and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs. The PMA-281 product lines range from ACAT-IC to ACAT-III in size; the 'typical' PMA-281 program is ACAT-II. Contract deliverables may include, but are not limited to: feasibility studies, HW & SW designs, analyses, technical/programmatic documentation, HW & SW development/fabrication, HW & SW code delivery/deployment, engineering change proposals to existing products, training documentation and products, help desk support, HW & SW correction of deficiencies, and operations and sustainment products.