Intent to Award Sole Source - HAP Server Maintenance

The United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has issued a Notice of Intent to Award a sole source contract for HAP Server Maintenance services. The Air Force intends to issue a Firm-Fixed-Price order to DDN Federal, LLC., with an anticipated award date of April 1, 2026 and a period of performance running from April 9, 2026 through April 8, 2027. The contract is valued at $34 million and falls under NAICS code 541519 (Other Computer Related Services) and PSC 7A21 (IT and Telecom - Business Application Software). This notice is published in response to AFRL's need for critical maintenance and firmware updates to its HAP (High-Performance Computing) cluster system, which utilizes proprietary storage architecture designed and manufactured by DataDirect Networks. The Air Force has determined that DDN Federal, LLC. is the sole source reasonably available to perform the required maintenance due to DDN's proprietary rights and exclusive authorization to conduct system-level modifications while maintaining operational certification.

Although the Government intends to award to DDN Federal, LLC., interested contractors may submit capability statements, proposals, or quotations within three days of notice issuance—with responses due by March 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST to Anne Mitchell. Submissions must be limited to 10 pages in Microsoft Word format and remain unclassified, including points of contact information, business size classification based on the specified NAICS code, any applicable socioeconomic status designations (such as WOSB, 8(a), or SDVOB), company CAGE code or DUNS number, and documentation demonstrating how the proposed product meets specifications outlined in the redacted Justification and Approval document. The Government will consider all responses solely to determine whether to conduct a full and open competitive procurement or a small business set-aside competitive procurement, and will not reimburse respondents for submission costs. All responsible sources—whether large U.S. businesses, small U.S. businesses, or foreign businesses—are eligible to submit responses, though the Government reserves the right to proceed with the sole source award at its discretion.