Intent to Sole Source - FY 25 Bombardier Subscription

The Department of Defense's 319th Contracting Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base has issued a Special Notice announcing its intent to award a sole source contract to Bombardier, Inc. for the Flight Deck 3 electronic flight book software. This procurement is specifically for E-11 fleet operations at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, with the contract to be executed under Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The notice falls under NAICS code 513210 (Software Publishers) with a size standard of $47.0 million and is classified as a firm fixed price contract. The procurement is being conducted as sole source due to Bombardier's proprietary rights over the software and its exclusive authorization for E-11 operations. The solicitation was estimated to be posted on August 7, 2025, with the notice closing on the same date at 12:00 PM Central Daylight Time.

The primary purpose of this sole source procurement is to maintain mission-critical continuity for E-11 aircraft operations by ensuring pilots retain familiarity with the current flight deck application system. The Bombardier Flight Deck 3 software provides pilots with centralized access to flight documents, technical orders, aircraft manuals, and enables calculation of takeoff/landing data and weight/balance information. The government has determined that Bombardier is the only vendor with proper authorization and clearance capabilities for E-11 operation groups, making competitive procurement impractical. Contractors interested in this opportunity had until August 7, 2025, at noon CDT to respond, though the government maintains sole discretion on whether to ultimately compete the requirement. The contracting officer conducted market research confirming the lack of comparable application capabilities from other vendors, supporting the single source justification under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).