Sources Sought
SOURCES SOUGHT FOR COOPERATIVE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS HYPERSONIC INFRARED TARGET SENSING – TRANSITION OPPORTUNITY (HITS-TO)
Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army · Sol. W911NF-26-HITS-TO
Due in 8 days
AI summary Beta
The Army (ACC-APG Durham) is running a Sources Sought for Cooperative Research and Development partnerships to transition Department of War laboratory hypersonic infrared target sensing technology to U.S. industry, national labs, UARCs and FFRDCs. The goal is to mature these technologies to TRL 6 or higher for infrared seekers on hypersonic weapons, with partnerships lasting up to five years. No funding is available; partners are expected to pay their own way.
Watch out for
- No funding provided. Partners must fund their own share of the work, which is hard for a small business without outside financing.
No funding is available through this notice.
- CUI and security requirements. You need a DD2345 and CUI handling that meets NIST SP 800-171, and possibly clearances, and the work may face ITAR or EAR export restrictions.
documentation confirming their ability to perform CUI or classified work.
- Technical specialty and TRL expectations. Respondents are expected to show a track record of moving lab innovations to TRL 6 or higher in hypersonic IR optics, materials, test or modeling.
Transition Success: Proven track record of transitioning laboratory innovations to TRL-6 or
- Not a standard contract. Outcome is a possible CRADA, which is not a procurement contract, so any later paid work is uncertain.
within five years. In some cases, partnerships could lead to future funded contractual
- Amended deadline and rules. The deadline was extended and the notice was amended; use the revised attachment and the 15 October 2026 1600 ET deadline.
Amendment 2: Submission Deadline extended till: 15 October 2026, no later than 1600 ET
Full brief
What they want
- Partners to mature and manufacture IR optics, subsystems and systems for hypersonic seekers
- Objective I: Innovative imaging and tracking systems (TA 1 or 3)
- Objective II: Optical materials, IR-transparent materials and coatings (TA2)
- Objective III: Test and evaluation, hardware-in-the-loop IR test facilities (TA5)
- Objective IV: Modeling and simulation, multi-physics hypersonic and IR models (TA4)
- Hardware or software suitable for a TRL 6 or higher demonstration
- Contract type
- No contract: Sources Sought leading to possible Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), which involve no federal funds to the partner
- Period of performance
- Collaboration not to exceed five years
- Estimated value
- No funding available through this notice
- How they'll choose
- Capability statements screened by DoW HITS leadership; the most qualified respondents selected for further discussions. Preference to entities willing to use their own resources.
- Offers due
- 2026-10-15 4:00 PM Eastern Time (extended by Amendment 2)
- How to submit
- Email to HITS_RFI@army.mil; use DoD SAFE (https://safe.apps.mil/) for CUI submissions
- Page limits
- TCSS narrative not to exceed 6 pages; cover sheet and past performance appendix do not count against the limit
What they'll judge offers on
- Existing capabilities and expertise in a relevant technical area
- Ability to perform engineering development and maturation over the collaboration
- Ability to finance its part of the collaboration
What to include when you submit
- Adobe PDF format
- File name: HITS-TO#_SS_[Company Name], where # is the objective number
- Include a cover sheet with legal name, address, UEI, CAGE code, administrative and technical points of contact, socio-economic status and TO Objective number
- Each TCSS may address only one of the four TO Objectives; you may submit multiple TCSS
- Up to three past projects from the last five years in an appendix, with technical challenge, PIs, period, funding and deliverable
- Provide current DD2345 to verify CUI handling per NIST SP 800-171
- State Facility Clearance level and provide company name and CAGE code for verification in NISS
- Self-certification statement can confirm CUI or SECRET-eligible status and cleared personnel
- Label proprietary information clearly
You must have
- Ability to perform U.S. controlled unclassified information (CUI) or classified work; documentation required
ability to perform U.S. controlled unclassified information (CUI) or classified work will be
- Current DD2345 and NIST SP 800-171 CUI handling capability
Verify the ability to handle and store CUI in accordance with NIST SP 800-171 by
- U.S. entity (industry, national lab, UARC or FFRDC) with a valid SAM.gov UEI and CAGE code
Unique Entity ID (UEI) Valid UEI from SAM.gov.
Not in the notice text
- NAICS code, PSC and place of performance are blank in the notice fields
- Whether any set-aside applies (listed as none)
- Details of the DoW laboratory innovations, shared only after an NDA
- Terms of any eventual CRADA
Is this a fit for your business?
Create a free accountFedReady checks notices like this against your business profile, tracks deadlines, and alerts you to new matches. Creating an account is free.
Key facts
- Response due
- Oct 15, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Solicitation
- W911NF-26-HITS-TO
- Agency
- Dept of Defense · Dept of the Army
- Office
- W6QK ACC-Apg Durham
- Contracting contact
- HITS RFIHITS_RFI@army.mil
- Versions
- 3 (amended since first posted)
Full notice text from SAM.gov
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS HYPERSONIC INFRARED TARGET SENSING – TRANSITION OPPORTUNITY (HITS-TO) This Sources Sought notice is intended to create technology transition pathways from United States (U.S.) Department of War (DoW) (legally operating as the Department of Defense) laboratories to potential U.S. partners in industry, national labs, University Affiliated Research Center (UARCs), and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) working on material and technology solutions related to hypersonic infrared target sensing. HITS-TO will mature transformational innovations and jointly create the leap-ahead technologies required to place an infrared seeker on a hypersonic weapon as rapidly as possible. No funding is available through this notice. Amendment 1: Respondents may submit as many TCSS proposals as they choose, but each may address only one of the TO Objectives listed above. Please see the document HITS-TO SourcesSought_Revised. Amendment 2: Submission Deadline extended till: 15 October 2026, no later than 1600 ET