Sources Sought
F16_AN_APG68_DualModeTransmitter_NSN5960011538780_585R224H01_3
Dept of Defense · Dept of the Air Force · Sol. F16_AN_APG68_DualModeTransmitter_NSN5960011538780_585R224H01_3
Due in 420 days
AI summary Beta
Some details are in the notice's attachments, which this summary didn't read. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Air Force (Tinker AFB, Oklahoma) is looking for companies that could become an approved repair source for an electron tube in the F-16 AN/APG-68 radar transmitter. This is a Sources Sought notice, and the text lists the qualification steps a company must pass before it can be awarded a repair contract.
Watch out for
- Qualification before award, at your own cost. You must pass testing and supply a qualification article before award, and the notice says passing does not guarantee a contract.
Note that successful completion of the qualification testing does not guarantee any contract award.
- Long qualification timeline. The government estimates about 180 days to complete qualification, and results can take up to 90 days after you submit an article.
completion of this qualification effort should require 180 days
- Specialized technical data and test capability needed. You need a complete drawing package (including a Northrop Grumman drawing) and the ability to test to military-grade performance and environmental requirements, which is hard to meet without prior experience on this item.
- Award will not wait for you to qualify. The government says the award will not be delayed so a vendor can finish qualifying.
The award will not be delayed to provide the vendor with an opportunity to demonstrate its ability
- Possible first article after award. Even qualified or waived sources may have to provide a first article exhibit after award to prove production capability.
a post-contract award first article exhibit may be required to verify production capability
Read from the notice text only.
Full brief
What they want
- Repair, inspect, test, package and store an Electron Tube (NSN 5960-01-153-8780, P/N 585R224H01 and 585R224H03)
- Show a complete data package, including at least Northrop Grumman (97924) drawing 585R224
- Submit a qualification test plan for government approval, then a full test report
- Provide a qualification article before contract award, at your own expense
- Let the government inspect your facilities and witness testing
- Show compliance with Unique Identification (UID) marking rules
- Place of performance
- Tinker AFB, OK, USA
- Offers due
- 2027-12-01T00:01:00-05:00 (SAM.gov response deadline field)
What to include when you submit
- Notify the government Small Business Office, or the contracting officer if responding to a solicitation, of your intent to qualify as a source
- Give the government at least 30 days notice before any testing that will be used for qualification
- Qualification test plan and test report go to 416 SCMSGUEAA for approval
You must have
- Must become a fully qualified repair source before the award date
The offeror must be fully qualified in order to be eligible for a contract award.
- Must have, or have access to, the facilities and equipment to repair, inspect, test, package and store the item, and open them to government evaluation
The offeror shall make their facilities, equipment, tooling, and personnel available for evaluation and inspection by the government.
- Must hold a complete data package of procedures, drawings and specifications, including Northrop Grumman drawing 585R224
Northrop Grumman (97924) drawing 585R224
- Must provide a qualification article before contract award, at your own expense
The offeror must provide, at their own expense, a pre-contract award qualification article for evaluation by the government.
- Waivers of all or part of the qualification steps may be requested if you meet one of the listed waiver criteria, such as having already supplied the item to the government or the original manufacturer
Sources who meet any of the following Source Qualification Waiver Criteria (QWC) may apply for a waiver of all or part of the qualification requirements.
Not in the notice text
- NAICS code and PSC are blank in the SAM.gov fields
- Quantities, contract type, contract length and estimated contract value are not stated
- How and where to send a response is not stated, other than notifying the Small Business Office or contracting officer
- The qualification cost estimate reads '$4.500', which is unclear (could be $4,500 or $4.5 million)
- The engineering/technical data package that governs the repair is not in the notice text
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Key facts
- Response due
- Dec 1, 2027, 5:01 AM UTC
- Posted
- Jul 7, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Solicitation
- F16_AN_APG68_DualModeTransmitter_NSN5960011538780_585R224H01_3
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Dept of the Air Force
- Office
- FA8122 Afsc Pzaab
- Place of performance
- Tinker Afb, OK, 73145
- Contracting contact
- SASPO office429SCMS.SASPO.Workflow@us.af.mil
Full notice text from SAM.gov
NSN: 5960-01-153-8780 P/N: 585R224H01, 585R224H03 Noun: Electron Tube Application: F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar Dual Mode Transmitter 4 Oct 2021 Section C 1/3 SECTION C: 1. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE SATISFIED TO BECOME A QUALIFIED SOURCE a. Prequalification Notice: The offeror shall notify the appropriate government Small Business Office or, if responding to a solicitation, the contracting officer in the appropriate government contracting office, of intent to qualify as a source for this Electron Tube. b. Facilities, Testing, and Inspection Capabilities: The offeror must certify to the government that they have, or have access to, the required facilities and equipment to repair, inspect, test, package, and store the item. The offeror shall make their facilities, equipment, tooling, and personnel available for evaluation and inspection by the government. c. Data Verification: The offeror must verify that they have a complete data package. This verification must include a complete list of all procedures, drawings, and specifications, including change notices, in the offeror’s possession including, at a minimum Northrop Grumman (97924) drawing 585R224. The offeror may also be required to produce copies of all applicable procedures, drawings, or specifications. d. Repair Process Verification: The offeror must repair this item to conform to the government requirements as prescribed within the ESA-approved engineering/technical data package. The offeror must show compliance with Unique Identification (UID) requirements in accordance with DFARS 211.274 as prescribed within the ESA-approved engineering/technical data package. The offeror must provide, at their own expense, data showing the results of all quality, performance, and environmental evaluations conducted by the offeror to show compliance with the government requirements as prescribed by 416 SCMSGUEAA. The offeror shall also identify its sources for materials and its standards for internally used processes. e. Test and Evaluation and/or Verification: The offeror, at their own expense, shall prepare and submit to 416 SCMSGUEAA for their prior approval, a qualification test plan/procedure detailing how they intend to verify compliance with all performance, environmental, mechanical, and quality assurance requirements identified by Drawing 585R224H01,H03. After completion of the approved qualification testing, the offeror shall be required to submit a complete test report of the results to 416 SCMSGUEAA for their review and approval prior to the contract award. The government retains the right to exercise the option to inspect the testing processes, including on-site witnessing of any or all documented testing. To allow accomplishing this, the offeror shall notify the government at least 30 days in advance of the occurrence of any testing that will be used as a basis for qualification. The offeror’s facilities shall be made available for government inspection during these tests. f. Qualification Article Verification: The offeror must provide, at their own expense, a pre-contract award qualification article for evaluation by the government. This article must comply with all of the requirements of Drawing 585R224H01,H03.. This article shall be subjected to a form, fit, REPAIR QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS NSN: 5960-01-153-8780 P/N: 585R224H01, 585R224H03 Noun: Electron Tube Application: F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar Dual Mode Transmitter 4 Oct 2021 Section C 2/3 and function evaluation to demonstrate compatibility with the weapon system and to evaluate the repair capability of the offeror. Offerors will be notified whether or not their qualification article passed or failed the required qualification testing within 90 days of submitting a product for qualification testing. Note that successful completion of the qualification testing does not guarantee any contract award. If the offeror is deemed qualified and awarded the contract, a post-contract award first article exhibit may be required to verify production capability. g. Qualification Requirement Cost Estimate: Estimated likely costs for testing and evaluation, which will be incurred by the potential offering party to become qualified are $4.500. h. Qualification Time Completion Estimate: It is the estimate of the engineering support activity that completion of this qualification effort should require 180 days. This is based on complexity of the Electron Tube and other factors. i. Qualification Time Limitation: An offeror may not be denied the opportunity to submit and have considered an offer for a contract if the offeror can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the contracting officer that the offeror (or its product) meets these standards for qualification or can meet them before the date specified for award of the contract. The award will not be delayed to provide the vendor with an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to meet the standards specified in this qualification requirement. j. Evaluation of Proposals Not Previously Qualified: The offeror must be fully qualified in order to be eligible for a contract award. Therefore, the offeror must fulfill all of the requirements stated, in writing, in the qualification requirement before the date specified for award of the contract. Once all requirements are met, the offeror will be listed as an approved repair source for this item. Approval, however, does not guarantee subsequent contract award. REPAIR QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS NSN: 5960-01-153-8780 P/N: 585R224H01, 585R224H03 Noun: Electron Tube Application: F-16 AN/APG-68 Radar Dual Mode Transmitter 4 Oct 2021 Section C 3/3 2. SOURCE QUALIFICATION WAIVER REQUIREMENTS Sources who meet any of the following Source Qualification Waiver Criteria (QWC) may apply for a waiver of all or part of the qualification requirements. If a waiver is granted and the offeror is awarded a contract, the offeror may still be required to provide a post-contract award first article exhibit to verify production capability: a. QWC1: The potential source submits written certification that the articles have been supplied to the government or original equipment manufacturer (e.g., DD Form 250, Material Inspection and Receiving Report, Purchase Order invoice, etc). b. QWC2: NA c. QWC3: A source qualified to provide an assembly is usually qualified to provide subassemblies, major components, and items of that assembly. d. QWC4: A source qualified to provide earlier dash numbers of a basic P/N may be qualified to provide other dash numbers of that same basic P/N, provided there is no increase in complexity, criticality, or other relevant requirements. e. QWC5: A source qualified to provide a similar or like item can be qualified to provide the required item. However, for approval, the engineering authority must verify that there is no increase in complexity, criticality, or other requirements over that of the similar item. At a minimum, the source shall provide a complete set of drawings for the similar item and written proof, such as purchase orders, shipping documents, etc., to show that the similar item was provided to the original equipment manufacturer or DoD. f. QWC6: A source previously qualified to provide an item, but which has been purchased, sold, merged, absorbed, reformed, split, etc., may qualify if it can be established that the qualification is currently with the requester and that the requester has the same or equivalent facilities, tooling, equipment, personnel, and utilizes the original forging, castings, etc., in the repair process. g. QWC7: NA