Empower RF Systems, Inc.

Empower RF Systems, Inc., a for-profit manufacturer of radio frequency and microwave power amplifiers based in Inglewood, California, operates as a prime contractor on full-and-open federal purchases across the Department of Defense and federal research agencies, with 93% of recent awards held as a prime and no SBA set-aside designations across its footprint.

Empower RF's core capability is the design, manufacture, and repair of RF and microwave power amplifiers across frequency ranges from L-band through 10 GHz and power outputs ranging from 200 watts to 8 kilowatts, along with allied engineering services for RF site design and modeling. The vendor manufactures amplifier modules to customer specifications, delivers transmitters and booster assemblies, and provides repair and upgrade services on existing equipment. Representative prime work includes a $879.6 thousand March 2025 sole-source repair contract with Naval Sea Systems Command to refurbish 10 inoperable 2.8–3.5 GHz power amplifier boosters within 90 days, with options to repair an additional 14 units and procure 2 new spare amplifiers; a $226.2 thousand September 2023 award from Naval Information Warfare Systems Command for RF module assemblies delivering 200 watts output across 100–500 megahertz; and a $213.3 thousand August 2023 contract with Army Test and Evaluation Command for L-band site design and modeling at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

Navy technical commands dominate customer concentration by award count. The top five customers account for 55% of recent awards: Department of the Navy Naval Supply Systems Command (47 awards, $3.1 million combined potential value), Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (27 awards, $1.4 million), Naval Sea Systems Command (17 awards, $1.7 million), Army Test and Evaluation Command (16 awards, $5.1 million), and Naval Air Systems Command Naval Air Warfare Center (15 awards, $1.1 million). By potential value, Army Test and Evaluation anchors the portfolio at $5.1 million across 16 awards, but Navy agencies collectively dwarf Army spend. The top five customers represent 76% of the combined potential value. Award volume has grown modestly from a single award in 2022 to eight in 2025, with five awards in 2026; recent activity shows recompete exposure limited to two awards worth $238 thousand across the next twenty-four months.

Empower RF holds seats on five named parent vehicles, though task-order volume across them remains light: Indefinite Delivery Contract FA252120D0005 (2 task orders), Alliant II (1 task order), Test and Evaluation Technologies for Ranges Armaments and Spectrum (1 task order), Information Analysis Center Multiple-Award Contract (1 task order), and Indefinite Delivery Contract FA821723D0002 (1 task order). The vendor's award portfolio spans 222 contracts and sub-awards dating to 2000, reflecting consistent technical demand for amplifier and RF component manufacturing and repair; combined obligated dollars ($27.3 million) exceed combined potential value ($16.5 million), indicating that invoiced work has outrun ceiling estimates.

Empower RF subcontracts infrequently (7% of recent awards) but has been engaged by major systems integrators as a RF component manufacturer: Southwest Research Institute on two DARPA research program module assemblies (March 2025, February 2025), BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services on Instrumentation Range Support Program III transmitter and booster sub-assemblies (December 2024, May 2024), The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization materials (November 2025, March 2025), Booz Allen Hamilton on 344th VROD/VMAX maintenance support and Silent Swarm programs (February 2025), and Science Applications International Corporation on ND-1 RF amplifier work (August 2026). The vendor's subcontract role is consistently that of RF component or amplifier module manufacturer supplying equipment and materials to prime contractors' programs rather than a service provider.