Extreme Loads Tire Force Machine

The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Test Center is soliciting sources to develop, design, build, fabricate, and install an Extreme Loads Tire Force Machine (EL-TFM) system, with responses to a Request for Information due May 29, 2026. This is not a set-aside procurement.

The EL-TFM will be installed at the Landing Gear Test Facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The system must load aircraft tires up to 250,000 pounds in vertical, yaw, and roll (camber) positions; move a loaded surface approximately 30 feet long and 5 feet wide at rates up to 6 inches per second; and measure vertical, lateral, and drag forces along with footprint forces, deformations, and quasi-static stiffness. Technical requirements are specified in a Statement of Work dated September 17, 2025, with restricted distribution under Distribution Statement D.

Interested parties must register in SAM and submit capability packages limited to 10 pages by May 4, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. EST to tyler.payne.9@us.af.mil. Responses must include company information (name, address, points of contact, CAGE Code, DUNS, business size per NAICS, website); a statement of capabilities demonstrating relevant experience in the past five years; business type classification; experience developing test machines measuring normal force, lateral force, drag/friction force, and torsional moments on aircraft tires; experience with aircraft-sized tires; experience applying drag loads to aircraft tires and brakes; minimum and maximum project values the firm would consider; and a Rough Order of Magnitude cost estimate by major component with milestone schedules. This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to contract. All response costs are at the interested party's expense, and nonresponse does not preclude future formal solicitation participation.