F-16 Initiators

The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Lifecycle Management Center at Hill Air Force Base seeks supply and sustainment of F-16 initiators and propellant-actuated devices, with proposals due July 16, 2026. This is a firm-fixed-price procurement with 165 contract line items (CLINs) distributed across multiple domestic and international recipients including U.S. military allies and NATO partners.

Place of performance is Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The procurement is limited to qualified sources; new vendors must submit qualification packages for Air Force Engineer acceptance prior to award. Qualification requires pre-contract award approval covering manufacturing, inspection, testing, and packaging facility certification; qualification test procedures and reports per DI-NDTI-80604; material source documentation; production article testing demonstrating capability, form, fit, and function; and advance notification with 30 days' notice of testing activity. Estimated qualification timeline is 360 days with estimated cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per offeror. Currently approved qualified sources are Chemring Energetic Devices (CAGE 93455) and Collins Aerospace (CAGE 17610). Only United States and Canada suppliers are eligible.

The NAICS code is 325920 (Explosives Manufacturing); PSC code is 1377 (Cartridge and Propellant Actuated Devices and Components). All items are Critical Safety Items for F-16 aircraft egress systems. Delivery is required on or before April 30, 2027, with quantities ranging from 1 to 2,123 units per line item. Items are classified as DOT Hazard Class 1.4C explosives requiring full traceability, Ammunition Data Cards, advanced Report of Shipment notification, and Item Unique Identifier marking per CAD/PAD Item Marking Instruction Version 1.6. All contractors must comply with MIL-STD-2073-1 (preservation and packing), MIL-STD-129 (marking), ISO 9001:2015, and applicable Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clauses covering cybersecurity, export controls, specialty metals restrictions, and hazardous materials handling.

Evaluation criteria consist of two main factors: Technical (subdivided into Qualified Vendor status, mandatory; and Schedule) and Cost/Price. All non-cost evaluation factors combined are significantly more important than cost. Schedule proposals must include a Work Breakdown Structure with major deliverables, clearly defined milestones with specific completion criteria, and realistic task durations, limited to 10 pages in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or Project format. Amendment 0001 extended the solicitation deadline from July 3 to July 16. The Delivery Details attachment was updated June 3, 2026 to correct an auto-generated typo in the delivery date column.