MINSAV ARA Call 05.pdf

Advanced Research Announcement (ARA), Call 05 Overview Information

NAICS Code: The NAICS code for this acquisition is 541715 and the small business size is 1,000 employees.

Federal Agency Name: Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate, AFRL/RYD

ARA Title: Microelectronics Innovation for Next-generation System Advancement and Validation (MINSAV)

ARA Number: FA8650-19-S-1932

Call Title: TALOS

Call Type: Call 05 Announcement

THIS IS A ONE-STEP SOLICITATION FOR CALL 05 ISSUED UNDER MINSAV

ARA. Unless otherwise stated in this call, all requirements listed within the basic ARA announcement are considered applicable. Offerors should monitor the SAM.gov website at http://www.sam.gov in the event this announcement is amended or calls are issued.

Proposal Due Date and Time: 1 June 2026, 5:00PM EST.

NOTE: Proposal receipt after the due date and time shall be governed by the provisions of FAR 52.215-1(c)(3). Any proposal received at the Government office designated in this ARA after the exact time specified is “late” and will not be considered except at the Contracting Point of Contact’s discretion. Early proposal submission is encouraged.

Submission: UNCLASSIFIED proposals must be submitted electronically via email to Adam J Wentworth, Contracting Officer, AFRL/RYKSM at adam.wentworth@us.af.mil and Daniel Kelly, Contract Specialist, AFRL/RYKSM at daniel.kelly.29@us.af.mil or through secure file exchange at (https://safe.apps.mil/).

Type of Contract/Instrument: The Air Force reserves the right to award contract(s) pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 4023 based on the instrument deemed most appropriate. It is anticipated that contract(s) awarded under this call will be a Cost Plus Fixed Fee C-type contract. Cost reimbursement contracts require successful offerors to have an accounting system considered adequate by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) for tracking costs applicable to the contract.

http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:adam.wentworth@us.af.mil mailto:daniel.kelly.29@us.af.mil https://safe.apps.mil/

Estimated Call Value: The total estimated call value is $34M (the AF reserves the right to exceed this amount if determined to be in the best interest of the Government).

Anticipated Number of Awards: The Air Force anticipates awarding one (1) contract as a result of this call. However, the AF reserves the right to award zero, or multiple contracts, for all, some or none of the solicited effort(s) based on the offeror’s ability to perform desired work and funding fluctuations or availability.

Notice to Offeror(s)/Supplier(s): IAW DAFFARS MP 5332.7(a), funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this solicitation until funds are available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an offeror for any costs.

Brief Call Summary: See Attachment 1.

Address technical questions to the Technical POC:

Peter Buxa, Program Manager, AFRL/RYDR 2241 Avionics Circle, WPAFB OH 45433

(937) 713-8725 or peter.buxa@us.af.mil

Address contracting questions to the Contracting POC:

Adam J Wentworth, Contracting Officer, AFRL/RYKSM 2130 Eighth Street, Area B, Bldg. 45, WPAFB OH 45433-7541

(312) 713-9982 or adam.wentworth@us.af.mil and Daniel Kelly, Contract Specialist, AFRL/RYKSM at daniel.kelly.29@us.af.mil.

mailto:peter.buxa@us.af.mil mailto:adam.wentworth@us.af.mil mailto:daniel.kelly.29@us.af.mil

Full Text Announcement

I. Program Description: Air Force Research Laboratory, Sensors Directorate (AFRL/RYD) is soliciting proposals as detailed below. Unless otherwise stated in this call, all requirements listed within the basic ARA solicitation are considered applicable. See basic ARA for further detailed descriptions of items listed below.

1. Statement of Objectives (SOO)/Description of Technical Areas: See

Attachment 1.

2. Deliverable Items:

a. Data Items: Reference Attachment 1 and Attachment 2.

b. Software: Shall be submitted as required (generated) during performance and as outlined in Attachment 2.

c. Hardware: Shall be submitted as required (generated) during performance and as outlined in Attachment 3.

3. Period of Performance (PoP): 39 months (36 months technical effort, 3 months final report)

4. Other Requirements:

a. Program Security Classification: This call is at the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) level. The SOO will be at the Secret Collateral level. Proposal submissions will have incorporated Secret Collateral Addendums and the contractor will be required to have the ability to obtain/submit such information. See Section VII below for additional information.

b. Export Control: Information involved in this effort is subject to Export Control (International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)).

c. Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS):

CPARS is applicable IAW AFFARS 5342.1503.

d. Unique/Special Clauses: In accordance with DFARS 252.204-7021 and DFARS 252.204-7025, the contractor shall have a current CMMC Level 2 assessment posted in SPRS at the time of contract award and for the duration of the contract.

e. Associate Contractor Agreement: Not anticipated on this call.

f. Options: Options are not anticipated on this call.

g. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): In order to mitigate any potential OCI, DAFFARS provisional clause 5352.209-9001 is incorporated in Section L of the Model Contract (Attachment 4) and DAFFARS clause 5352.209-9000 will be added to any resultant contract(s). If an OCI is anticipated, the contractor should provide the appropriate mitigation plan for Government review as part of their Business Proposal.

5. Other Information:

a. Government Furnished Property (GFP) Availability: GFP is anticipated on this call.

b. Government Furnished Information (GFI) Software: GFI is not anticipated on this call.

c. Base Support/Network Access: Access to DoD Supercomputing Resource Center hardware/software emulation tools is anticipated.

d. Data Rights: Unlimited data rights are desired for this call. See detailed information contained within the basic ARA. Data Rights desired by the contractor should be included with submission as part of the Section K (Certs and Reps), as attached to the ARA.

II. Award Information:

1. Anticipated Award Date: August 2026

2. Anticipated Funding Profile:

FY 25 FY 26 FY 27 FY 28 FY 29 Total 9M 8M 13M 3.5M 0.5M 34M

* This funding profile is an estimate only and not a contractual obligation for funding. All funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. Potential offerors should be aware that due to unanticipated budget fluctuations funding in any or all areas may change with little or no notice.

III. Eligibility Information:

1. Eligible Offeror: This is an unrestricted solicitation.

2. Other:

a. Foreign Participation: Foreign Participation is not authorized on this call due to the sensitive nature of the technology and its level of classification.

b. Export Control: This acquisition involves data that is subject to export control laws and regulations.

NOTE: You may be ineligible for award if all requirements of this solicitation are not met on the proposal date, as identified in each call.

IV. Proposal and Submission Information:

1. Overview: Proposals submitted under this call shall be in accordance with the instructions provided both herein and within the basic ARA announcement. The Government intends to review resulting proposals and award all, some, or none of the proposal received without negotiations/discussions. However, the Government does reserve the right to negotiate with those offerors whose proposals have been selected for funding. Offerors should be alert for any call amendments that may change proposal requirements or permit extensions to proposal submission dates.

2. Proposal Instructions:

a. See information provided in basic ARA announcement (Section IV.3.).

b. Technical/Management Proposals under this call shall be submitted Unclassified. In addition, a Classified Proposal Addendum shall be separately submitted. Please contact the POCs listed in the Overview Section for delivery instructions. Please note, any appendices submitted will count against page limits. No classified cost volumes will be allowed.

If proposal page count exceeds the requirement limit(s) below, only the first required page count(s) will be examined; the remainder will be discarded and not considered.

c. Technical/Management Unclassified Proposal shall be limited to: Forty

(40) pages

d. Statement of Work ((SOW) Unclassified ONLY) shall be limited to: Ten

(10) pages

e. Classified Proposal Addendum shall be limited to: Five (5) pages

f. Offerors must provide all of the following to be considered for award:

1) Technical/Management Proposal

2) SOW

3) Business Proposal

4) Subcontracting plans (if applicable)

5) Classified Proposal Addendum

V. Proposal Review Information:

• Proposal - Peer or Scientific Review Criteria: Proposals will be reviewed through Peer or Scientific Review using the criteria below. The technical aspect, which is ranked, as the first order of priority, shall be reviewed based on the following criteria that are of equal order of importance.

a. Technical Merit:

1) The offeror’s understanding of the scope of the technical effort.

2) Soundness of the offeror’s technical approach including whether the proposal demonstrates related experience and qualifications of technical personnel.

3) Proposal’s potential to advance technology and the state of the art.

4) The potential to transition the research and development deliverables to future Government needs. Any proposed restriction on technical data or computer software will be considered.

b. Cost/Price: The cost/price criterion includes the realism of the proposed cost. Cost/Price is a substantial factor but ranked as the second order of priority (If an offeror proposes the use of GFP and that proposed GFP provides the offeror an unfair competitive advantage, then FAR 45.202 requires rental equivalent be applied to the Cost Factor for evaluation purposes only).

2. Proposal – Review and Selection Process:

a. Categories: Based on the Peer or Scientific Review, proposals will be categorized as Selectable or Not Selectable (see definitions below). The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on the Peer or Scientific Review, as well as importance to agency programs and funding availability.

1) Selectable: Proposals are recommended for acceptance if sufficient funding is available.

2) Not Selectable: Even if sufficient funding existed, the proposal should not be funded.

b. No other criteria will be used.

c. Prior to award of a potentially successful offer, the Contracting Officer will make a determination regarding price reasonableness.

NOTE: The Government reserves the right to award some, all, or none of the proposals. When the Government elects to award only a part of a proposal, the selected part may be categorized as Selectable, though the proposal as a whole may not merit such a categorization.

VI. Award Administration Information:

Award Notices: Offerors will be notified whether their proposal(s) is recommended for award on or about 30 days after receipt. The notification is not to be construed to mean that any contract award is assured, as availability of funds and successful negotiations are prerequisites to any award.

VII. Other Information:

Proposal Content Checklist: See basic ARA.

Revolutionary FAR Overhaul: Any award made will contain the appropriate FAR, DFARS, and DAFFARS clause updates to be consistent with the RFO, R- DFARS, and DAF Contracting Compass. If any legacy clauses are used, they will be included in full text within the contract award.

Within Scope Modifications: Potential offerors are advised that due to the inherent uncertainty of research and development efforts, awards resulting from this announcement may be modified during performance to make within scope changes, to include but not limited to, modifications that may increase overall contract ceiling amount.

Nontraditional Defense Contractors:

If a proposal will contain an assertion of a nontraditional defense contractor status, the proposal shall contain pricing information including a commercial pricing list or a proof-of-sale document such as an invoice showing commercial prices.

This pricing information shall be submitted to AFRL as part of the proposal. If a subcontractor asserting nontraditional defense contractor status does not wish to submit proprietary pricing information to a prime for inclusion in the proposal, the subcontractor may separately submit to the Government team, whereupon the Government team will evaluate and provide a distilled analysis to the prime contractor.

See DFARS 212.102(a)(iv) for explanation of contracting officers’ permissive authority on nontraditional defense contractors.

Instructions to request Secret Collateral SOO:

Please note for the Proposal submittal process, AFRL/RYDR will provide a Secret Collateral SOO. The process to request the document is delineated below. Please note, the document shall be requested from the Contract Specialist and shall be requested no later than (NLT) 1 May 2026.

Daniel Kelly Contract Specialist, AFRL/RYKSM Daniel.kelly.29@us.af.mil

Potential bidders shall include the following information in their email request. If any information is missing, AFRL/RYDR will be unable to provide the Secret Collateral SOO.

a. Contractor Cage code.

b. Contractor POC who can receive classified material.

c. Classified Mailing Address or preferred secure electronic network.

Upon receipt of the Secret Collateral SOO, vendors shall return the signed AF310 to the return mailing address, fax number, or secure electronic network point of access provided within 14 business days of receipt, at the attention of the Technical

POC.

Any potential offeror questions relating to the information provided within the Secret Collateral SOO shall be submitted to the Technical POC listed above, NLT 8 May 2026 through the method at which the vendor received the SOO.

Peter Buxa Program Manager, AFRL/RYDR peter.buxa@us.af.mil

NO CLASSIFIED QUESTIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL.

Upon receipt of any questions, AFRL/RYDR will provide responses through the same delivery method. Due to the nature of classified information, no questions and answers will be posted on SAM.gov.

If you have any questions relating to the request process for the Secret Collateral SOO, please contact the Technical POC. Additionally, please include a courtesy copy to the Contracting POCs listed within this call.

NO CLASSIFIED QUESTIONS SHALL BE SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL.

REMINDER: VENDORS SHALL NOT SUBMIT ANY CLASSIFIED NATURED QUESTIONS

TO THE TECHNICAL AND/OR CONTRACTING POCS VIA EMAIL.

ATTACHMENTS:

1) Secret Collateral SOO entitled, “TALOS”, dated 12 Feb 2026-Placeholder

2) Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), dated 21 Jan 2026

3) FA8650-19-S-1932 Model Contract

4) DD254-Placeholder

Advanced Research Announcement (ARA), Call 05