Solicitation
PMA CSS Competition PMA 261
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summarySet aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB): the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division wants program and project management, administrative, budget and financial management, and corporate operations support for the PMA-261 H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters program office. Bidders need Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) access for staff and a Top Secret facility clearance held by the prime. Offers are due October 28, 2026, 5:00 PM Central (an amendment moved it to Nov 12, 2026, 5:00 PM EST); the place of performance is listed as MD. More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 22, 2026. It moves the due date from Oct 28, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026, which is the date shown on this page. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 15, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 22, 2026. The due date moved from Oct 28, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. Some details are in the notice's attachments, which this summary didn't read. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB): the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division wants program and project management, administrative, budget and financial management, and corporate operations support for the PMA-261 H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters program office. Bidders need Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) access for staff and a Top Secret facility clearance held by the prime. Offers are due October 28, 2026, 5:00 PM Central; the place of performance is listed as MD.
Who can bid
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) set-aside; only businesses that qualify as SDVOSB can bid
- Facility Security Clearance (FCL: the Government's clearance of a company to handle classified work) at the Top Secret level, held by the prime offeror
- Staff with Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) access for the work
How to submit: due October 28, 2026, 5:00 PM Central. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch
- Serious: Service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside. Only SDVOSB firms can bid, as shown on SAM.gov.
- Serious: Top Secret facility clearance required of the prime. The prime itself must hold a Top Secret facility clearance, so a subcontractor's clearance does not satisfy it.
- Serious: TS/SCI access needed for the work. Staff must be able to work with Sensitive Compartmented Information, which limits who can be hired.
Read from the notice text only.
Full summary
What they want
- Program and project management support for PMA-261 integrated product teams (IPTs)
- Administrative support
- Budget and financial management support
- Corporate operations support
- Help the teams plan, execute and manage programs so capabilities are delivered on time and within budget
- Perform work needing TS/SCI access; no TS/SCI deliverables are required
- Place of performance
- MD (as listed)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- October 28, 2026, 5:00 PM Central (from the version posted Oct 15, 2026; amended since)
Not in the notice text
- The notice text is a short summary; the request for proposals (RFP) with evaluation factors, submission instructions, contract length, labor categories and price format is not in it.
- How and where to submit offers is not stated.
- The contract type, period of performance and value are not stated.
- The exact place of performance beyond MD is not stated.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified through SBA's VetCert can bid as the prime contractor. The notice also names requirements: Not certified through VetCert yet? Apply on VetCert (SBA), or start with the SDVOSB guide. More open service-disabled veteran-owned set-asides under NAICS 541330
- You must hold a facility security clearance (FCL) at TOP SECRET.
- How and where to submit is in the notice text and its attachments on SAM.gov.
- Architect-engineer services tied to buildings or construction are usually bought under the Brooks Act: the agency ranks firms on qualifications from an SF 330 first, then negotiates a price with the top firm. How A/E contracts work.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 15, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Naval Air Warfare Center Air Div, Patuxent River, MD
- Product/service code
- R408 · Support – Professional: Program Management/Support
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541330)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 12, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 15, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Oct 28, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 15, 2026 · SolicitationDue Oct 23, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside