High Frequency Radio System

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This notice is for information only; a solicitation will not be issued. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION. No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334220 (Radio And Television Broadcasting And Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing) with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees.

The Government requires the procurement of a High Frequency Radio, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Rockwell Collins, Inc., 400 Collins RD NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52498-0505, for their HF-9500 product.  Relevant Rockwell Collins, Inc. Product IDs and associated descriptions are as follows:

• Item 1, qty, 1 each – Product ID No. 822-0980-005

  • Receiver – Transmitter, Radio

• Item 2, qty. 1 each – Product ID No. 822-0981-101

  • Coupler, Pressurized

• Item 3, qty. 1 each – Product ID No. 822-1080-013

  • Control, Radio Set- HF-9515

• Item 4, qty. 1 each – Product ID No. 822-1082-001

  • Mount, RT, Isolated

• Item 5, qty. 1 each – Product ID No. 822-1171-001

  • Mount, Coupler, Isolated

The Government has determined that other companies’ products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Governments requirements.  The Rockwell Collins, Inc. HF-9500 product is the only known commercially available radio that is capable of meeting the needs of the Government.  Specifically, the radio possesses the following technical capabilities, which are critical for the application for which it is intended:

• Single sideband (SSB)

• Independent sideband data (ISB)

• Amplitude Modulation Equivalent (AME)

• Continuous wave (CW)

• 2G Automatic Link Establishment (ALE)

• ARINC 714 selective calling (SELCAL)

• Low-rate data modes: 75 bps to 19.2 kbps

• ARINC 635 High Frequency Data Link (HFDL)

• Embedded SIMOP filtering

• NTIA certified 400-watt PEP power amplifier

• MIL 1553 control (available with ARC-190 control message set)

• ARC-190 system interfaces (e.g., OFP, coupler, ACP)

• Automatic position reporting

• Software-defined radio (SDR) architecture

• Compatibility with VACM and legacy crypto devices.

• Background scanning

• Tactical and secure networking

• Advanced waveforms: TDMA, MIMO, HFDL Next

• LPI/LPD and ECCM

Interchanges with Rockwell Collins, Inc. have yielded that they are the sole source provider of this product and do not maintain a network of resellers for it. Accordingly, the Government has determined Rockwell Collins, Inc. to be the sole source provider of the required radio and intends to make a sole source award to them, accordingly.

This is a notice of proposed contract action and not a request for competitive proposals; however, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. All inquiries should be sent by email to jennifer.calandra@us.af.mil. Responses must be submitted by the date/time listed on the notice. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements.

Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government anticipates an award date on or before 28 August 2025.

A Sole Source Justification will be attached to the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulation.