AFCENT Battle Lab Commercial Solutions Opening

Please Note: While SAM.gov displays a specific Inactive Date, this Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is continuously open. Solution Briefs will be accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis at any point prior to the listed Inactive Date. Further, listed PSC and NAICS are placeholder only, final PSC and NAICS will be determined at time of propsal/award.

Shaw AFB, South Carolina is conducting a CSO authorized by 10 U.S.C. 3458 and R-DFARS 212.70 and its associated class deviations. Under a CSO, the Air Force may competitively award proposals received in response to a general solicitation to acquire innovative commercial items, technologies, and services. Under this CSO, all items, technologies, and services shall be treated as commercial items. Awards will be RFO Part 12 contracts.

The Air Force intends to obtain "innovative" solutions or potential new capabilities that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technology advancements. Solutions may include existing technologies or procedures, not currently in use by the Air Force, that would enhance or streamline Air Force mission capabilities. “Innovative” is defined as any technology, process or method that is new as of the date of submission of a proposal. It also includes any new application of an existing technology, process, or method.

The Government is not obligated to make any awards, and all awards under this CSO are explicitly subject to the availability of funds and successful negotiations. The Government is not responsible for any monies expended by any vendor prior to the issuance of any awarded contract. The Government reserves the right to modify the solicitation requirements of this CSO at its sole discretion.

The Government seeks to deploy rapid, commercial off-the-shelf counter-UAS capabilities; fuse advanced intelligence and multi-source data to create a comprehensive operational picture; develop innovative kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to defeat coordinated UAS swarms; leverage agile software and rapid prototyping methodologies; implement modular open-systems approaches (MOSA) for seamless sensor integration; and establish sustainable, open-standard architectures to drive continuous competition. This enables the Department of War (DoW) to continuously field adaptable, integrated, and resilient defensive capabilities against rapidly evolving aerial and multi-domain threats. The CSO is a streamlined acquisition process that seeks to reduce acquisition timelines and acquire new, innovative solutions that vendors can bring forth to meet the stated Areas of Interest.
Performers may need to demonstrate the capability to work in classified environments up to the Secret level before any award, if necessary.

While this CSO is primarily designed to fulfill the requirements of the Shaw AFB Battle Lab and United States Air Forces Central (AFCENT), it may be leveraged to support broader Department of the Air Force (DAF) or Department of War (DoW) requirements under strict execution guidelines. To maintain oversight and prevent misuse, this CSO is not authorized for decentralized use by outside contracting offices. All external requirements must be validated and routed directly through AFCENT, and the 20th Contracting Squadron will retain sole procurement authority for all contract awards.

Shaw AFB is focused on rapidly acquiring and deploying counter-UAS (cUAS) and defensive capabilities that form a cohesive, enterprise-wide open architecture ecosystem. The following focus areas are representative examples of the capabilities of interest; however, this is not an exhaustive list. The Government is open to, and highly encourages, innovative solutions from industry that address other technologies or approaches that align with the strategic vision outlined below. Solutions that address technologies across multiple pillars are encouraged.

Teaming and Partnership for Turnkey Solutions: To mitigate the risks of disjointed systems and reduce administrative burden, the Government highly encourages industry vendors to form strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or Prime/Subcontractor teaming arrangements to submit complete, end-to-end solutions. Proposals that offer a single lead system integrator managing a suite of best-of-breed commercial technologies are strongly preferred over submissions for isolated, piecemeal components. The intent is to streamline the acquisition, delivery, and sustainment process by fielding cohesive, fully integrated systems.
The Government seeks commercial capabilities that provide end-to-end defensive solutions, from immediate point defense to advanced data integration and long-term capability sustainment. Vendors may provide insight on solutions that address all or some of the capability pillars below. The desired end-state is a deployable capability that effectively counters evolving aerial threats while exploiting open architecture principles across its full lifecycle (development, integration, test, deployment, operations, and sustainment). An ideal partner has a first-party ability to directly leverage underlying commercial technologies to meet operational requirements; supporting partners would be considered enabling providers for specific aspects of the potential solution.