SOLICITATION NOTICE INTENT TO AWARD.docx

This is a Solicitation Notice Intent to Award document issued by the State of Nebraska, Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Materiel Division, and State Purchasing Bureau (SPB), in support of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for wildfire suppression operations. The State intends to award a contract for one (1) Exclusive Use (EU) Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) aircraft equipped with qualified pilots, a fully equipped fuel service/support vehicle, and a support driver. The aircraft must be turbine-powered and currently listed on the U.S. Department of Interior On-Call SEAT Source List. Pilots must hold Level I or Level II certification from the Bureau of Land Management, United States Forestry Service, or Office of Aviation Services. The solicitation required electronic responses by December 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM Central Time, with an Intent to Award posting date of January 13, 2026. The vendor selected for award is New Frontier Aviation, Inc. The initial contract term is two years, with options to renew for three additional one-year periods. The anticipated vendor start date is June 4, 2026.

The contract requires a minimum of sixty (60) days of annual SEAT availability at bases located in Chadron, Alliance, Scottsbluff, and Valentine, Nebraska. Compensation includes payment for flight hours (limited to 8 hours per day), standby costs, support truck mileage, relief crew management, mobilization and demobilization expenses, and per diem rates calculated according to current federal government regulations. The State will provide fire retardant material. Evaluation criteria allocate 30 points for Corporate Overview, 50 points for Technical Response, and 20 points for Cost. The contract is subject to funding availability and includes detailed accountability measures such as daily reporting requirements and hour meter tracking. No incumbent vendors were identified, and no specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were mentioned in the solicitation.