Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) - HH-60W Cabin Reconfiguration - 17 April 2026.pdf

Notice ID Number: FA8692-26-SS-0003

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (SSS) – AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF

WASHINGTON (AFDW) MODIFICATION FOR HH-60W CABIN

US AIR FORCE HH-60W HELICOPTER DIVISION (HD)

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. The Helicopter Division, Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) Branch (AFLCMC/WIH) of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is officially conducting market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 to assess industry’s ability to perform A-Kit and B-Kit Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD), Air Vehicle (AV) Test and Evaluation (T&E) retrofit installation activities of AFDW requirements on the HH-60W fleet. The Government is seeking solutions based on technologies that have been matured to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 8 and above.

1.1. This is not a request for a quote, request for proposal (RFP), or an invitation to bid, nor is this to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will not reimburse or pay for any information submitted in response to this SSS or any follow-up information requests. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All costs associated with responding to this SSS will be solely at the responding party’s expense. Responses and/or questions related to this SSS shall NOT contain classified information.

1.2. AFLCMC is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept nor consider unsolicited proposals.

1.3. Not responding to this SSS does not preclude participation in any future RFP. Small businesses are encouraged to provide responses to this SSS to assist AFLCMC in determining potential levels of competition available in the industry and establish a basis for any subsequent small business subcontract plan goal percentages development. An acquisition strategy is still being determined. Market research results will assist the Air Force in determining whether this requirement will be a full-and-open, a small business set-aside, or a sole-source acquisition.

1.4. Note that if there is sufficient demonstrated interest and capability among small business contractors, then it may be determined that a small business set-aside is appropriate. A key factor in determining if an acquisition will be a small business set-aside is two or more potential small business prime contractors must be capable of performing at least 50% of the effort, as defined in FAR clause 52.219-14, “Limitations on Subcontracting.” If it is determined that a small business set-aside is appropriate, and your company anticipates submitting a proposal as the prime contractor for a small business set-aside, please provide specific details and rationale as to how compliance with FAR 52.219-14 with subcontracts are to be used. Please provide anticipated percentage of effort to be subcontracted and whether small or large businesses will be used. Respondents should clearly delineate any teaming and/or subcontracting arrangements and provide previous experience in teaming. If this effort is not set-aside for small business, then the Government will consider using small and large businesses. Large and small businesses should provide a reasonable expectation for small business utilization as a percentage of total contract value and include supporting rationale for the recommended percentage.

1.5. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and the U.S. Government cannot accept to form a binding contract. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor the System for Award Management (SAM) database at sam.gov for any additional information pertaining to this SSS.

1.6. Respondents should state whether they are interested in being a prime contractor or a subcontractor for this requirement.

2. RESPONDENT INFORMATION

Each company response should include the following information:

a. Company/Institute name.

b. Address.

c. Point of Contact.

d. CAGE Code.

e. DUNS Number.

f. Phone Number.

g. E-mail Address.

h. Web page URL.

All interested contractors must be registered in the SAM database to be awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) contract. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes for this requirement are 336411 and 541611. Based on the NAICS Code, state whether your company qualifies as a:

a. Small Business.

b. Women Owned Small Business.

c. Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business.

d. 8(a) Certified. (If yes, SBA Certification Date)

e. HUB Zone Certified.

f. Veteran Owned Small Business.

g. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.

h. Statement as to whether your company is domestically or foreign owned (if foreign owned, please indicate country of ownership).

3. BACKGROUND

The HD is conducting planning in support of a new contract vehicle to address integration of an AFDW capability into the HH-60W weapon system. The systems and all system components must be compatible and integrate with existing HH-60W sensor, display, navigation, and flight management systems and net system weight should not result in a mission degrading increase in aircraft operating weight.

The HH-60W AV is a multi-engine, rotary wing aircraft with a primary mission of worldwide Personnel Recovery (PR)/Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) in all intensities of conflict and in peacetime. The HH-60W will rapidly deploy and is capable of operations from main and austere field basing to conduct missions in all environmental regions of the globe, day or night, in adverse weather, and in all threat conditions, including passing through nuclear, biological, and chemical environments.

3.1. AFDW

The HH-60W requires a modification to support the AFDW mission. The AF will remove several components from the baseline 60W to allow for the installation of passenger seats for AFDW. Seating is required for 11 passengers. Seating must meet applicable crash and safety requirements including emergency egress.

3.1.1. Affected Systems, Subsystems, and Components

System/Component Modification Impact

Cabin Floor Structure Installation of structural attachment points (seat tracks or hard points) for 11 crashworthy seats;

requires structural analysis and certification for crash loads

Crashworthy Seating Subsystem Installation of 11 MIL-STD-1290 compliant, energy-attenuating seats with five-point restraint harnesses

Restraint Systems 11 sets of crashworthy restraint harnesses with quick-release mechanisms

Cabin Interior Configuration Reconfiguration of interior layout to accommodate seating while preserving critical CSAR equipment (rescue hoist, defensive weapons, medical stations)

Weight and Balance System Modified W&B calculations; updated Form F limitations; potential loading restrictions

Emergency Egress System Verification that door configuration supports 11 passenger evacuation within required timeframes

Oxygen System Assessment of supplemental oxygen capacity for 11 additional occupants at altitude

Electrical System Potential requirements for seat heating or illumination (optional based on operational requirement)

3.2. Objective

This SSS will gather information on the current experience and capabilities of prospective industry sources to address HH-60W AFDW A-kit and B-kit EMD, AV T&E, retrofit installations on the HH-60W AFDW aircraft fleet of approximately 26 aircraft (quantity subject to future National Defense Authorization Act adjustments).

4. SOURCES SOUGHT QUESTIONS

4.1. Approach Summary (Please Limit Responses to 15 pages)

4.1.1. Please provide an UNCLASSIFIED capability summary, which contains a detailed description of the respondent capabilities to perform AFDW A-kit and B-kit EMD, AV T&E, LRIP, and retrofit installation on the HH-60W aircraft and potential solutions to include but not limited to:

4.1.1.1. Modification or retrofit related to development, integration, test, production, installation, and design verification of both hardware and software elements for rotary wing aircraft.

4.1.1.2. All levels of design verification (e.g., Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, TRL, MRL).

4.1.1.3. Sustaining engineering support (e.g., engineering/logistics analyses, reliability/maintainability analyses and/or redesigns, service life analyses, and fix implementations).

4.1.1.4. Software sustainment support (e.g., diagnostics, coding, verification, and integration).

4.1.1.5. Development and delivery of Time Compliance Technical Orders or similar operations and maintenance documentation in S1000D format for the aircraft and training devices.

4.1.2. Each capability summary should include at a minimum:

4.1.2.1. Description of the Contractor's approach to developing a solution composed of Line Replaceable Units which are/can be normalized in the DoD supply system and maintainable at the organizational level. Provide examples of similar past performance and experience.

4.1.2.2. Include specific relevant technical and management experience performed in the past five-years with applicable contract numbers. With each statement of experience, specify the type of aircraft (rotary wing or fixed wing), whether a DoD or a commercial application, and the elements of section 4.1.1 that were delivered in the performance of the effort.

4.1.2.3. Any existing compliances or expected compliance to military airworthiness standards, in particular:

• MIL HDBK 516C Airworthiness Certification Criteria

• MIL-STD 810H Environmental Qualifications

• MIL-STD 704F Electrical Power

• MIL-STD 461G/464D Electromagnetic Interference

• MIL-STD-1472H DoD Design Criteria Standard: Human Engineering

• MIL-STD-1553C Aircraft Internal Time Division Command/Response

Multiplex Data Bus

• MIL-STD-3009 Lighting, Aircraft, Night Vision Imaging System

(NVIS) Compatible

• MIL-PRF-89020B Performance Specification, Digital Terrain Elevation

Data (DTED)

4.1.2.4. An assessment of the TRL, MRL, and Integration Readiness Level

(IRL) of the product and a product technology maturation roadmap.

Substantiate the TRL and IRL assessments according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Technology Readiness Assessment Guide, GAO-20-48G, dated January 2020. Substantiate MRL assessment according to the criteria in the DoD MRL Deskbook 2022. Technologies should be matured to no less than TRL 7/MRL 8.

4.1.2.5. Your optimal Period of Performance (PoP) to achieve this effort to include justification and any proposed solutions to reduce fielding timeline.

4.2. Additional General Questions (Please Limit Responses to 5 pages)

4.2.1. Given the need to integrate AFDW capabilities with the current HH-60W systems, please outline what HH-60W technical data specific to the below systems and subsystems is needed to perform the required development through install. Please identify at what level of fidelity the system and/or subsystem technical data is required for successful integration of each capability. If you do not require technical data for your approach, please describe your engineering effort – including Technical Data Package development timeline – required to integrate each capability with the below HH-60W system hardware and software.

4.2.1.1. Based on your assumptions above, please identify any HH-60W Original Equipment Manufacturer or Air Force technical interface you will require to conduct system-level performance and regression testing.

4.2.2. Provide your solution’s projected aircraft electrical power requirements. Include your electrical power concerns for aircraft power demands as electrical loads increase with AFDW capabilities and other future sub-system capability upgrades.

4.2.3. Describe your approach to reducing SWaP-C.

4.2.4. Describe your digital acquisition/engineering capabilities and experience.

4.2.4.1. What expertise do you have leading digitization initiatives?

4.2.4.2. Do you have an operational digital infrastructure in place to provide the necessary hardware and software development?

4.2.4.3. Do you have a model-based method of conducting verification and validation of systems? If so, does it account for rotor system interference?

4.2.5. What do you foresee as the top five cost drivers and what are your recommendations for reducing those costs?

4.2.6. What do you foresee as the top three challenges to completion of the combined requirements and what are your recommendations for mitigating those challenges?

4.2.7. Based on your responses to this synopsis, would you intend to bid on this modification effort as a prime contractor if a competition was held?

Note: The Government is seeking technical data rights that afford sufficient and appropriate Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement rights in all technical data necessary to enable organic sustainment and future competitive modification efforts.

5. GENERAL GUIDANCE

Please provide SSS responses electronically to the Contracting Officer, Mr.Mohamed Abdellatif at mohamed.abdellatif@us.af.mil, and Contract Specialist, Mr. Jonathan Evans at jonathan.evans.19@us.af.mil no later than 12:00pm EST on 17 May 2026. All correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that includes the Notice ID Number.

Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, or .docx documents are attached to your email. All other attachments may be mailto:jonathan.evans.19@us.af.mil deleted. Electronic transmissions shall not exceed 12 MB per email and be limited to 25 pages in length with font no smaller than 12 pt. Responses and/or questions related to this SSS shall NOT contain CLASSIFIED information.

Respondents should indicate which portions of their responses are proprietary and clearly mark accordingly. The Government will handle all information properly marked as proprietary information and is not liable for, or suffer any consequential damages from, any proprietary information not properly identified.

The Government reserves the right to contact the submitting parties as required for further clarification on material provided. The Government will evaluate the information provided, include it within our market research, and use it as needed during RFP development. The Government will use its evaluation of the information and other research to determine which sources appear qualified to perform the work required by the Government. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

Contracting Office Address:

AFLCMC/WIHK

Bldg. 11 2240 B Street Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433