Notice of Intent to Sole Source - NOAA/OMAO/PAE - Engineering, Research and Development for OMAO Aircraft

NOAA's Acquisition and Grants Office, Eastern Acquisition Division, on behalf of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), is issuing a Notice of Intent to sole source engineering, research, and development capability for OMAO aircraft to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), with capability statements due by 10 AM ET on November 5, 2026. No set-aside is used. The sole-source basis is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.103-3(b)(2), which permits establishing or maintaining essential engineering, research, or development capability through educational or nonprofit institutions or federally funded research and development centers.

The work supports four strategic areas: Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Weather-Ready Nation, Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coastal Communities, and Economies. The notice cites UCAR's research, development, testing, and evaluation of airborne systems and sensors; analysis of weather and climate simulation data sets to determine sampling strategies and measurement capabilities; and use of UCAR instrumentation, facilities, and data products for NOAA experiments and reference data sources. UCAR operates advanced research aircraft with unique data systems and technical support capabilities. The procurement is classified under NAICS 541715 with a size standard of 1,250 employees.

Interested parties submit written capability statements with evidence of ability to meet the requirements to Contract Specialist Jennifer Peters at Jennifer.peters@noaa.gov. The government reserves the right to conduct a competitive procurement based on received responses, and capability statements will be considered solely for determining future competition feasibility.