Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT) Service Aircraft
Closed Pre-Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- N0042126R0001
- Agency
-
Naval Air Warfare Center
Naval Air Systems Command, Department of Defense
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 481219 Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation
- Place of performance
- San Clemente, California, United States
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at Patuxent River, Maryland intends to issue a four-year, 364-day, full and open, competitive solicitation for Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) aircraft and flight support services for Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT); the official solicitation (N0042126R1007) released on 5 May 2026. The contract is Firm Fixed Price for select line items with per-minute rates for flight operations; no set-aside applies.
Work is performed from an airfield within 50 nautical miles of Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, with flight operations over open-ocean test ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, California. The aircraft must be FAA-registered and capable of deploying NATO 'A' size sonobuoys via pneumatic launcher. Required performance includes 5.0 hours on-station endurance, 700 nautical mile range, altitude envelope of 500 to 8,000 feet mean sea level, stable airspeeds below 250 knots, and overwater capability to 100 nautical miles from nearest land. Each mission executes in a single continuous sortie without aircraft substitution. Capability stand-up must complete within twelve months of award.
Operations consist of approximately one monthly 14-day event with daily sorties typically lasting 1 to 5 hours, totaling roughly 400 flight hours annually under 14 CFR Part 91. Pilots holding Commercial Pilot Certificates with Instrument Ratings require minimum 1,500 flight hours for Pilot-in-Command, 750 hours for Second-in-Command. Sonobuoy operators require FAA Second-Class Medical Certificates. Maintenance personnel must hold A&P certifications. Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 compliance is required at contract award. Award determination uses Best Value Trade-off methodology considering technical approach (most important), past performance, price, and minimum 15 percent small business participation commitment. NAICS 481219 applies.
Notice text
4 versions
Update #4 · Latest ·
UPDATE (05 May 2026) - The official solicitation for this effort has been released. Please note, the solicitation number has changed to N0042126R1007. Links to the solicitation are below.
https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/f4598514d4524ac589278d5c62bb2d17/view
https://piee.eb.mil/sol/xhtml/unauth/search/oppMgmtLink.xhtml?noticeId=N0042126R1007¬iceType=SolicitationNotice
UPDATE (31 March 2026) - The questions and answers from the One-on-One sessions have been posted with this update.
UPDATE (24 February 2026) – In lieu of the pre-solicitation conference, the Government plans to conduct 30-minute One-on-One Sessions with interested vendors via Microsoft Teams on the 5-6 March 2026. If you wish to participate in a One-on-One Session, please send an email to bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil by 02 March 2026 at 1000 EST. The Government will subsequently schedule you for your session via a Teams invite.
_________________________________________________________________________
Please note: Information on an upcoming pre-solicitation conference will be forthcoming so please continue to monitor this SAM.gov posting for details.
The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), at Patuxent River, MD intends on issuing a four-year, 364 day competitive, Firm Fixed Price (FFP), full and open solicitation, for the services necessary to provide a Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) aerial platform with sonobuoy pneumatic-launch capability to support NAVAIR’s Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT). The effort involves real-world ocean airdrop tests of random samples from production lots, ensuring they meet required standards before being deployed for operations, and supporting pre-production sonobuoy model testing. COCO mission support will be provided from an airfield within 50 nautical miles of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA with flight operations occurring over open-ocean test ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, CA. The sonobuoys will be loaded on the aerial platform from the Contractor’s base of operations.
Industry’s review and feedback on the provided DRAFT solicitation is highly desirable and appreciated.
Comments and questions on the DRAFT Solicitation are welcomed and should be emailed to Brad Dioguardo at bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil and David Silverstone at david.s.silverstone.civ@us.navy.mil. If questions received contain proprietary information, be sure to inform the Government of this in your response. No phone calls will be accepted. Non-proprietary Questions and Answers in response to this DRAFT Solicitation will be posted to SAM.gov following the Pre-solicitation conference (date forthcoming). The final day to submit questions and feedback will be 1000 EST on 02 March 2026.
This is a DRAFT Solicitation to obtain industry input/questions. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. No site visit will be permitted during the period of response to this announcement. Firms responding to this announcement will not be individually notified if the requirement is solicited. Solicitations will occur through the PIEE system.
Update #3 ·
UPDATE (31 March 2026) - The questions and answers from the One-on-One sessions have been posted with this update.
UPDATE (24 February 2026) – In lieu of the pre-solicitation conference, the Government plans to conduct 30-minute One-on-One Sessions with interested vendors via Microsoft Teams on the 5-6 March 2026. If you wish to participate in a One-on-One Session, please send an email to bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil by 02 March 2026 at 1000 EST. The Government will subsequently schedule you for your session via a Teams invite.
_________________________________________________________________________
Please note: Information on an upcoming pre-solicitation conference will be forthcoming so please continue to monitor this SAM.gov posting for details.
The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), at Patuxent River, MD intends on issuing a four-year, 364 day competitive, Firm Fixed Price (FFP), full and open solicitation, for the services necessary to provide a Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) aerial platform with sonobuoy pneumatic-launch capability to support NAVAIR’s Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT). The effort involves real-world ocean airdrop tests of random samples from production lots, ensuring they meet required standards before being deployed for operations, and supporting pre-production sonobuoy model testing. COCO mission support will be provided from an airfield within 50 nautical miles of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA with flight operations occurring over open-ocean test ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, CA. The sonobuoys will be loaded on the aerial platform from the Contractor’s base of operations.
Industry’s review and feedback on the provided DRAFT solicitation is highly desirable and appreciated.
Comments and questions on the DRAFT Solicitation are welcomed and should be emailed to Brad Dioguardo at bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil and David Silverstone at david.s.silverstone.civ@us.navy.mil. If questions received contain proprietary information, be sure to inform the Government of this in your response. No phone calls will be accepted. Non-proprietary Questions and Answers in response to this DRAFT Solicitation will be posted to SAM.gov following the Pre-solicitation conference (date forthcoming). The final day to submit questions and feedback will be 1000 EST on 02 March 2026.
This is a DRAFT Solicitation to obtain industry input/questions. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. No site visit will be permitted during the period of response to this announcement. Firms responding to this announcement will not be individually notified if the requirement is solicited. Solicitations will occur through the PIEE system.
Update #2 ·
UPDATE (24 February 2026) – In lieu of the pre-solicitation conference, the Government plans to conduct 30-minute One-on-One Sessions with interested vendors via Microsoft Teams on the 5-6 March 2026. If you wish to participate in a One-on-One Session, please send an email to bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil by 02 March 2026 at 1000 EST. The Government will subsequently schedule you for your session via a Teams invite.
_________________________________________________________________________
Please note: Information on an upcoming pre-solicitation conference will be forthcoming so please continue to monitor this SAM.gov posting for details.
The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), at Patuxent River, MD intends on issuing a four-year, 364 day competitive, Firm Fixed Price (FFP), full and open solicitation, for the services necessary to provide a Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) aerial platform with sonobuoy pneumatic-launch capability to support NAVAIR’s Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT). The effort involves real-world ocean airdrop tests of random samples from production lots, ensuring they meet required standards before being deployed for operations, and supporting pre-production sonobuoy model testing. COCO mission support will be provided from an airfield within 50 nautical miles of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA with flight operations occurring over open-ocean test ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, CA. The sonobuoys will be loaded on the aerial platform from the Contractor’s base of operations.
Industry’s review and feedback on the provided DRAFT solicitation is highly desirable and appreciated.
Comments and questions on the DRAFT Solicitation are welcomed and should be emailed to Brad Dioguardo at bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil and David Silverstone at david.s.silverstone.civ@us.navy.mil. If questions received contain proprietary information, be sure to inform the Government of this in your response. No phone calls will be accepted. Non-proprietary Questions and Answers in response to this DRAFT Solicitation will be posted to SAM.gov following the Pre-solicitation conference (date forthcoming). The final day to submit questions and feedback will be 1000 EST on 02 March 2026.
This is a DRAFT Solicitation to obtain industry input/questions. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. No site visit will be permitted during the period of response to this announcement. Firms responding to this announcement will not be individually notified if the requirement is solicited. Solicitations will occur through the PIEE system.
Update #1 ·
Please note: Information on an upcoming pre-solicitation conference will be forthcoming so please continue to monitor this SAM.gov posting for details.
The Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), at Patuxent River, MD intends on issuing a four-year, 364 day competitive, Firm Fixed Price (FFP), full and open solicitation, for the services necessary to provide a Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) aerial platform with sonobuoy pneumatic-launch capability to support NAVAIR’s Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT). The effort involves real-world ocean airdrop tests of random samples from production lots, ensuring they meet required standards before being deployed for operations, and supporting pre-production sonobuoy model testing. COCO mission support will be provided from an airfield within 50 nautical miles of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA with flight operations occurring over open-ocean test ranges in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, CA. The sonobuoys will be loaded on the aerial platform from the Contractor’s base of operations.
Industry’s review and feedback on the provided DRAFT solicitation is highly desirable and appreciated.
Comments and questions on the DRAFT Solicitation are welcomed and should be emailed to Brad Dioguardo at bradley.dioguardo.civ@us.navy.mil and David Silverstone at david.s.silverstone.civ@us.navy.mil. If questions received contain proprietary information, be sure to inform the Government of this in your response. No phone calls will be accepted. Non-proprietary Questions and Answers in response to this DRAFT Solicitation will be posted to SAM.gov following the Pre-solicitation conference (date forthcoming). The final day to submit questions and feedback will be 1000 EST on 02 March 2026.
This is a DRAFT Solicitation to obtain industry input/questions. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. This notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. No site visit will be permitted during the period of response to this announcement. Firms responding to this announcement will not be individually notified if the requirement is solicited. Solicitations will occur through the PIEE system.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| SLAT 1 on 1 QAs.pdf | ||
| Section_J_Attachment_1_PWS_SLAT_Draft.pdf | ||
| Draft RFP - SLAT N0042126RXXXX_.pdf |
Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| This notice | Pre-Solicitation | |
| Sonobuoy Lot Acceptance Testing (SLAT) Service Aircraft | Pre-Solicitation |
Similar open opportunities
| Opportunity | Agency | Set-aside | Responses due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slat, aircraft | Naval Supply Systems Command | No set-aside |
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