Sources_Sought_Notice_A3_Checkmate_Support_Follow-On_FA7014-26-R-PKHB06_23mar26.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE (SSN) / RFI

For: HAF A3 Checkmate Support Follow-On

Reference Number: FA7014-26-R-PKHB06

1.0 PROCURING & ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICE

Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) Contracting Directorate (PK) Headquarters Air Force (HAF) - Enterprise Support Division (PKH), DoDAAC: FA7014

2.0 INTRODUCTION

This is a new FY26 Sources Sought Notice (SSN) for the Headquarters Air Force (HAF) A3 Checkmate Support Follow-On pre-award requirement, FA7014-26-R-PKHB06, which is being released to industry for information gathering and planning purposes only pursuant to FAR Part 10 Market Research. This SSN is not a solicitation nor shall this SSN constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bid (IFB), or Request for Quote (RFQ. The Government shall not award any contract solely on the basis of this SSN nor shall the Government reimburse any Contractor for any associated costs they incur to submit a Capability Package to the Government in response to this SSN. This market research notice is being deployed to bring forth qualified, capable sources and in no way shall restrict the Government’s final acquisition strategy, planning, or requirements refinement.

*Note1: Recipients of this SSN are hereby advised that the purpose of this additional market research activity is to:

[1] Identify both Large Business and Small Business Capable Sources; and

[2] Obtain current Federal, Department of Defense (DoW), or Air Force procurement vehicle contract information/details for such capable sources (See Items k and l below under Paragraph 6.0).

*Note2: The Government shall NOT accept any Capability Package submitted in response to this SSN containing extraneous, unsolicited material, or content which does not conform to the Government’s specific questions and request for certain procurement/contracting data as expressed herein. Additional company literature, presentations, pamphlets, papers, etc. must not be submitted in response to this SSN and any such unsolicited artifacts shall NOT be accepted nor reviewed by the Government.

*Note3: The Government shall NOT accept nor reply to any questions or requests for clarification as a result of this SSN.

*Note4: Recipients of this SSN shall not request an extension or more time to respond to this SSN regardless of circumstance.

3.0 NAICS CODE

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code for this SSN is 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services, with a Size Standard of $25M in annual revenue. The Product Service Code (PSC) for this SSN is R499, Support - Professional: Other.

*Note: A small business firm competing as a Prime Contractor would need to perform at least 50% of the total requirement from within its own company (See FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting).

4.0 BACKGROUND & DESCRIPTION OF GOVERNMENT’S REQUIREMENTS

4.1 The Checkmate division (AF/A35K), within Air Force Operations (AF/A3), requires contractor support to provide the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) and other Department of the Air Force (DAF) leaders with informed advice, opinions, recommendations, and innovative ideas to better support the warfighter. The Checkmate division develops operational plans and concepts to address near-term, current global challenges as outlined in the National Security Strategy (NSS), National Military Strategy (NMS), and National Defense Strategy (NDS). To effectively support Checkmate, the Contractor shall demonstrate exceptional critical thinking and problem-solving skills, coupled with a deep understanding of airpower principles and their application across the operational spectrum. The Contractor shall provide expertise on the decision-making processes used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Tank and the National Security Council (NSC), as well as formal and crisis action planning methodologies. The Contractor will proactively anticipate and resolve complex problems, leveraging their airpower expertise to develop innovative and effective solutions for the warfighter. The Contractor will serve as a readily available "think tank" capability for the AF/A3 and its staff, providing cross-functional expertise and facilitating.

4.2 To maintain a core of expertise within the AF/A3, the Contractor shall provide personnel with in-depth knowledge of current Air Force and joint issues, demonstrating a strong understanding of airpower principles and their application to strategic and operational challenges. The Contractor will apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to assist Checkmate in anticipating future developments and planning requirements at the institutional, air component, and combatant command (CCMD) levels. This includes proactively identifying potential challenges and developing innovative solutions informed by airpower experience and expertise. The Contractor shall compile comprehensive briefing materials and actively participate in presentations, ensuring that DAF senior leaders receive sound military advice grounded in thorough analysis of airpower capabilities. In general, the Contractor shall provide advanced information gathering and strategic analysis to support Checkmate’s efforts to effectively employ warfighting capabilities, leveraging their expertise to optimize airpower's contribution to national security objectives. Subject matter experts (SMEs) will provide operational planning knowledge and advise service-level efforts in planning current and future contingency operations, applying their critical thinking skills to assess risks and opportunities within the six regional and functional aspects that are defined in greater detail within the attached Draft performance Work Statement (PWS). Some additional, notable A3 Checkmate Support Follow-On requirements are explained in the Sub-Paragraphs below.

4.2.1 The Contractor must be proficient in performing the following three (3) primary technical aspects of the A3 Checkmate Support requirement which are important to the A3 mission:

[1] Strategic and Operational Concept Development: Assisting in the development of innovative strategic and operational concepts, with a specific focus on maximizing the effective integration of air, space, and cyberspace power to empower the warfighter at the forward edge. This includes applying critical thinking to evaluate existing concepts and identify opportunities for improvement;

[2] Effective Employment Expertise: Providing expert advice and informed opinions on the effective use and employment of air, space, and cyberspace capabilities by Combatant Commanders (CCDRs), the military services, Allies/partners, and the interagency community. This requires a deep understanding of airpower principles and their application across diverse operational environments; and

[3] Fact-Finding and Analysis: Conducting thorough fact-finding and analysis to support decision-making, leveraging their expertise to identify key trends, assess risks, and develop effective mitigation strategies. A secondary function of this is to provide advocacy for the warfighter at the HAF-level.

4.2.2 The Contractor must perform all PWS requirements onsite at a Government-owned/controlled facility at the Pentagon (Address: 1670 Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 20330).

4.2.3 Assigned Contractor personnel must perform a normal 8 hour workday onsite during the following Core Work Hours and Workdays: Monday – Friday, from 0700 - 1700 Eastern Time Zone (except for Federal holidays or base closure due to inclement weather or other emergency).

4.2.4 Based on historical actuals and the Draft PWS requirements, 10 annual full-time equivalent (FTE) Contractor employees with the requisite knowledge, skills, experience, ability, training, education, technical proficiency, and Top Secret security clearance would be sufficient to perform all A3 Checkmate Support professional services and requirements. All Contractor assigned employees must be a current United States (U.S.) Citizen.

4.2.4.1 See Draft PWS Paragraphs 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 for the detailed professional services requirements and personnel qualifications (KSAs) for the anticipated FTE labor capacity to perform all A3 Checkmate Support Follow-On requirements.

4.2.5 Assigned Contractor personnel must possess a current, active Top Secret security clearance and be able to obtain Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and/or Special Access Program (SAP) caveats as required by each PWS requirement/task/function. Top Secret is the highest classified security level and there will be a corresponding DD254.

4.2.6 The anticipated Period of Performance (PoP) is as follows:

Base Period: 18 March 2027 – 17 March 2028 (365 Days)

Option Year 1: 18 March 2028 – 17 March 2029 (365 Days)

Option Year 2: 18 March 2029 – 17 March 2030 (365 Days)

Option Year 3: 18 March 2030 – 17 March 2031 (365 Days)

Option Year 4: 18 March 2031 – 17 March 2032 (365 Days)

Please refer to the attached Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) for additional requirements, tasks, services, and security specifications which would apply to the subject acquisition.

5.0 GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY RESPONSE

1. Is your company currently technically capable of fulfilling all requirements expressed above on this SSN and the attached Draft PWS as a Prime Contractor? Please explain.

2. Does your company currently possess the sufficient number of professional personnel resources (10 FTEs) with the required current/active Top Secret security clearance level and ability to obtain SCI and/or SAP caveats, who are also technically qualified to meet all Draft PWS requirements plus KSAs, satisfy all primary technical aspects identified above on this SSN, and perform onsite at the Government owned/controlled facility located at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 20330, on day 1 of the Base Period? Please explain.

3. What is your company’s general history, capabilities, experience, strengths, and weaknesses in providing Commercial Professional Services which are similar to and/or consistent with the Government’s requirements expressed above on this SSN and on the attached Draft PWS?

Please explain.

4. What are some examples/references/samples (no more than 3) of recent and relevant performance on a Federal Contract or Agreement (recent, meaning within the last 3 years and relevant, meaning the work was the same as or similar to the requirements expressed on the attached Draft PWS)? Please provide the data/information for those recent/relevant references as noted below.

*Note: For each example/reference/sample, provide the Federal Contract/Agreement Numbers, Commercial Company-to-Company Purchase Order Numbers, Dates/PoPs, Total Dollars, Description of Work/Requirements, Significance of work, CLIN types, contract types, Percent of Work performed as Prime and Sub, Project POC Name, Project POC Email Address, and Project POC Phone Number.

6.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CAPABILITY PACKAGES

As part of the Capability Packages submitted in response to this SSN, all Respondents must fully address the Government’s requested Related Procurement and Contracting Data expressed below which will help during other pre-award activities in the future.

All SSN Respondents must identify/provide the Contractor’s:

a. Company Name (full legal name and D.B.A., if applicable);

b. Company Address;

c. Company Pre-Award/Proposal Team/Business Development Point of Contact (POC) by Name (First and Last);

d. Company POC Email Address;

e. Company POC Telephone Number;

f. Cognizant DCMA Office Code and Info (if applicable);

g. Cognizant DCAA Office Code and Info (if applicable);

h. Cognizant Defense Security Office Code and Info (if applicable);

i. Current Facility Classification Level (FCL);

j. Federal Cage Code and Unique Entity ID (SAM.gov);

*Note: A company must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered responsible for a Federal Contract Award. To register your company, go to https://www.sam.gov.

k. Business size (large or small) and all applicable socioeconomic small business categories (SDVOSB, 8a, HUBzone, WOSB, VOSB, SDB, etc.) for the NAICS Code established above for this SSN and for the Contractor’s other similar NAICS Codes; and

l. General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), Multiple Award Contracts (MACs), Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), DoW Enterprise Service Initiatives (ESI), DoW or Air Force Indefinite-delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts, Agreements, and/or Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) that the Contractor currently holds which authorizes Ordering from the respective Air Force Contracting Office (provide all respective contract/agreement numbers, identify the source of the procurement vehicle, and any other relevant information of each exiting procurement vehicle held).

*Note: Some examples are….Air Force Enterprise SBEAS IDIQs; STARS3, Alliant2, VETS2, Polaris GSA GWAC, and OASIS+ GSA GWACs; NASA SEWP GWAC; National Institute of Health (NIH) GWACs; Veterans Administration (VA) GWACs; GSA AF 2GIT BPAs; DoW ESI Agreements/BPAs/IDIQs, etc.

7.0 MANDATORY CAPABILITY PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS, FORMATTING &

DEADLINE

Interested Parties shall submit Capability Packages to the Government which meet all formatting, instructions, limitations, and the submittal deadline as expressed below.

Capability Packages must be submitted to the Government:

a. Within the confines of 4 total pages;

b. Electronically via one (1) email before the established SSN deadline;

c. In Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) format only;

d. In a digital file size that does NOT exceed 5MB;

https://www.sam.gov/

*Note1: If file size is 5MB or larger, the Government will NOT receive the Respondent’s email and attached document due to internal DoD and Air Force message system limits and restrictions.

*Note2: Respondent’s must not submit a Zip File because the Government email system does NOT allow transmittal of Zip files.

e. Containing UNCLASSIFIED data/information/content only;

*Note: Capability Packages a submitted to the Government in response to this SSN SHALL NOT and MUST NOT contain any Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Classified, Secret, or Top Secret data/information/contents.

f. And received at the identified Government office on or before 12:00 PM Eastern Time Zone on Wednesday, 1 April 2026; and

g. Air Force Contracting Office electronically via email to MSgt Kyle E. Mead USAF, AFDW/PKH Contracting Officer, at kyle.mead@us.af.mil and please copy the AFDW/PKHB Branch Chief at mark.luckritz@us.af.mil on that same email, too.

8.0 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Government would also like to remind companies of their responsibility to avoid and/or mitigate any potential Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI). Guidance is found in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 9.5. If a company has a potential OCI situation, they must submit and have an approved mitigation plan prior to the Government’s consideration of any proposal for award. Since the approval process can be lengthy and approval of any plan is not assured, it is highly recommended that potential OCI identification and resolution processes begin during the planning phase if possible. An OCI could result in the canceling of a contract or determining an Offeror to be ineligible for award. Potential OCI issues, and mitigation plans if developed, shall be included as an attachment to Capability Package. Such OCI attachment shall NOT be considered in the Capability Package total page count.