Sources Sought - Market Research for CK Modernization - 10 Sep 2025.pdf

GENERAL INFORMATION

Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC)/SDB Sources Sought for

COBRA KING Radar System Modernization

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the Government. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary, and the Government will not pay for information requested, nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. The Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of submission or of the information received, or to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this announcement.

This solicitation is from the Air Force Technical Applications Center/Systems Development (AFTAC/SDB) located at 10989 South Patrick Drive, Patrick Space Force Base, FL, 32925.

Information Sought

This Sources Sought requests information from interested radar system and subsystem developers and manufacturers on their capabilities to bring meaningful and needed upgrades and improvements to the COBRA KING (CK) Radar System. AFTAC is considering a full spectrum of options for the redesign and replacement of major radar subsystems and subassemblies to enhance system capabilities to meet emerging requirements.

Any response submitted for this Sources Sought solicitation constitutes consent for that submission to be reviewed by Government personnel and their Advisory & Assistance Services contractors supporting AFTAC/SDB. Submissions will be handled as competition sensitive and will not be shared to the public or to other industry companies and respondents.

The information contained in this solicitation is the most current information at this time and is to be used by contractors to prepare their responses only.

Based on responses to this solicitation the Government plans to follow up with a classified Request For Information (RFI) to qualified companies for their proposed solutions. Following evaluation, a Request For Proposal (RFP) may then be issued to selected, qualified companies as early as CY2026.

Background

The COBRA KING Radar System was operationally fielded in 2014 under the COBRA JUDY Replacement (CJR) program. The CK Radar System, onboard the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen, is comprised of three main elements: an X-Band Front-End (XFE), S-Band Front-End (SFE), and a Common Back End (CBE), with controlling software for each band. Each Front-End consists of a solid-state active phased array radar and associated electronics, to include a common Receiver-Exciter (REX), housed in an above-deck weather enclosure mounted on a mechanically stabilized elevation-over-azimuth pedestal. The CBE, which is located below deck in an environmentally controlled area, contains the mission equipment that is common to both the S- and X-Band Front Ends. This includes the S- and X-band Signal Processors (SPS-S and -X), Radar Control Processors (RCPs), Mission Control Processors (MCPs), Communications Server, High-Speed Recording System (HSRS), Radar Display Units (RDUs), and Weather Equipment, among others.

Requested Information

Please answer any or all questions below that apply to your company’s capabilities and experience.

1. What is your company’s current Facility Clearance Level, classified electronic and paper document storage capability, and classified communications and processing capability?

2. Describe your company’s experience in development, integration, test and fielding of large-scale, ground-based and mobile/shipboard, high-resolution, instrumentation-quality active phased array radar systems. Highlight any S- and X-Band radar experience.

3. Describe your company’s experience in development and integrating Receiver-Exciters (REXs), Digital REXs (DREXs), and Distributed Digital REXs (DDREXs) into radar systems.

4. Describe your company’s experience with implementation of Digital Beam Forming (DBF) techniques, to include Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) techniques for angle measurement.

5. Describe any experience your company may have with whole array and array component calibration and alignment techniques, such as phase and angle alignment to a common reference or “Golden Database.” Highlight any Real-Time Automated or AI/ML approaches.

6. Describe any experience your company may have in active phased array technology migration from Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) to Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based T/R Modules or other high-power semiconductor technology.

7. Describe any experience your company may have in achieving phased array Instantaneous

Field-of-View (IFOV) expansion or modifications.

8. Describe any experience your company may have in executing radar subsystem upgrades that involve interfacing modern equipment with legacy, older technology radar equipment.

9. Describe any experience your company may have in implementing system upgrades while minimizing radar system downtime, to include affected software and firmware.

10. Describe any experience your company may have in developing and integrating systems in OCONUS Maritime Environments?

11. What is your company’s production capacity and potential lead times for key, high-volume phased array components?

12. How would you characterize/assess the long-term serviceability and longevity of your delivered radar equipment and products?

13. What is your experience with and knowledge of large instrumentation radar missions?

14. What is your company’s experience in supporting Government-led operational tests?

15. Please offer any examples of life cycle costs and models of radar systems that your company has implemented.

16. Please describe contracting approaches, vehicles, and incentives that could expedite product delivery and execution timelines.

Responses

All interested parties are invited to submit their unclassified response to this solicitation. Please limit your response to the request above to no more than 10 pages in a .pdf or MS Office Word compatible format with 11-point Times New Roman font. The information received will be handled as competition sensitive and will be used for market research and to assist in formulating future decisions. Responses are due no later than 10 business days after the solicitation’s posting.

Please include the following information within the 10-page limit: Contractor Business Name, address, primary Point of Contact, POC email address, POC phone, CAGE Code, NAICS Code(s), Business Category (small, large, etc.).

Email responses to: Danny Austin, Contracting Officer, email: danny.austin.3@us.af.mil and Jessica Olaechea , Contracting Specialist, email: Jessica.olaechea@us.af.mil .If the responses provided to this solicitation are Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), they must be submitted via DoD Safe (https://safe.apps.mil/). Proprietary Information must be marked as such. Please do not provide classified information. Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by email to the Contracting Officer.

mailto:danny.austin.3@us.af.mil mailto:Jessica.olaechea@us.af.mil

Information Sought