Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Modernized Airborne Radio Control Head MARCH / Control Head Unit (CHU)

The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), on behalf of the Product Manager, Aviation Mission Systems Architecture (PM AMSA), intends to award a sole-source, five-year Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract, with a provision for a six-month extension in accordance with FAR 52.217-8, to Mercury Systems, Inc., CAGE Code 096Y5, located at 2665 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze, FL 32563. The Government projects contract award for December 2026.

The Government requires the procurement of a Modernized Airborne Radio Control Head (MARCH) / Control Head Unit (CHU) solution to provide form, fit, function, and interface (F3I) cockpit radio control for the Air-to-Ground Networking Radio (AGNR) System and to replace the obsolete C-12601 Control Indicator (CI) within the AN/ARC-231A Radio Set across Army tactical rotorcraft (UH-60M/V Black Hawk, CH-47F Chinook, AH-64D/E Apache), designated fixed-wing aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This effort will procure commercial-derivative Communication Management Units (CMUs), Mercury Systems ACM-9000 series hardware, specifically ACM-9544 CHUs and ACM-9443J CIs. The scope also encompasses airworthiness certification data and artifacts, proprietary operating system and runtime software licenses, and modernized MARCH engineering design, systems integration, and qualification testing services.

This acquisition is being conducted on a sole-source basis under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 and RFO 6.103-1(c)(2)(ii), which authorizes contracting other than full and open competition when there is only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Mercury Systems, Inc. is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the sole owner of the proprietary hardware manufacturing data packages, circuit schematics, FPGA register configurations, and safety-critical software source code for the qualified ACM-9544 and ACM-9443J units. The Government does not possess licensing rights to this technical data, and any alternative vendor would require an estimated 18 to 30 months to redesign, environmentally qualify, and airworthiness certify a replacement system. A schedule slip of this duration is unacceptable as it directly conflicts with the required AGNR 3QFY27 system-level production timeline and the early 3QFY28 C-12601 delivery date, which would exhaust depot supply channels and lead to mission degradation of operational aircraft.

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and is published for informational purposes only. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. Submissions must provide clear and convincing evidence that the respondent possesses an existing, environmentally qualified (MIL-STD-810H and MIL-STD-461G), airworthy F3I drop-in replacement capable of meeting the Government’s initial delivery requirement of 90 days after receipt of order (ARO) without introducing schedule risk or requiring structural airframe modifications. Responses must be submitted via email no later than 4:00 PM EST on 27 November 2026 to the Contracting Officer, Roxanne Barbaris at roxanne.barbaris.civ@army.mil, and the Contract Specialist, Jessica Lefever, at jessica.d.lefever.civ@army.mil. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted, and the Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparing submissions.