XRL Integration

The Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command Naval Air Warfare Center, specifically the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in Arlington, Virginia, is seeking to procure hardware, software, and network infrastructure services to establish connectivity between a Mission Data (MD) development site at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and an MD Validation & Verification (V&V) site at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas. This XRL Integration effort will support the creation of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Mission Data Files (MDF) and requires the contractor to procure, deliver, and install necessary infrastructure to support MDF development and interconnectivity between the two locations. Prospective offerors must hold a Top-Secret security clearance to be eligible for contract consideration. The government intends to award this contract as a sole source acquisition to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics under FAR 6.103-1 authority, based on LM Aero's exclusive role as the designer, developer, and integrator of the F-35 aircraft and its possession of proprietary software and technical expertise required for the reprogramming laboratory and integration requirements. Interested parties may submit capability statements within fifteen (15) days of the notice publication date of April 6, 2026, with responses due by April 21, 2026. Points of contact for inquiries are Jonathan Chen, Contract Specialist, and Colin McCarthy, Contracting Officer, both with the F-35 Joint Program Office.

This procurement carries no small business set-aside designation and is anticipated to be awarded to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics as the sole source contractor. The NAICS code for this effort is 541512 (Computer Systems Design Services) with a small business size standard of $34.0 million, though the actual contract value is not specified in the notice. The acquisition is subject to Free Trade Agreements, with one or more items falling under such trade agreement restrictions. The specific timeline for contract performance and delivery of the infrastructure components is not detailed in this pre-solicitation notice, though the notice itself was posted on April 6, 2026, with a response deadline of April 21, 2026. This effort supports critical F-35 program operations and the development of mission data files for Foreign Military Sales customers.