Sources Sought
Sonar Gondola Detailed Design and Fabrication
Department of Commerce · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
AI summaryThe Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Eastern Acquisition Division in Norfolk, VA, for the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), is checking which firms could design and build a sonar gondola (a housing for the ship's sonar transducers) for the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER (R-352). This is a sources sought notice, not a solicitation: it asks for a capability statement of up to three pages by the response due date, November 9, 2026, 3:00 PM Eastern. A draft statement of work (SOW) sets design deliverables due March 15, 2027 and a target gondola completion of October 1, 2027. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Eastern Acquisition Division in Norfolk, VA, for the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), is checking which firms could design and build a sonar gondola (a housing for the ship's sonar transducers) for the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER (R-352). This is a sources sought notice, not a solicitation: it asks for a capability statement of up to three pages by the response due date, November 9, 2026, 3:00 PM Eastern. A draft statement of work (SOW) sets design deliverables due March 15, 2027 and a target gondola completion of October 1, 2027.
How to submit: Email the capability statement to Contract Specialist Tamara Horton at tamara.horton@noaa.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (5)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Worth checking: Engineering deliverables due March 15, 2027. All design and installation deliverables are due by this date, with design reviews 45 and 60 days after award, so the schedule depends on the award date.
- Worth checking: Fabricator must be ABS qualified. The builder needs ABS certified welders, past marine work and a quality control plan covering welder certifications, test, inspection, dimension and material certification.
- Minor: Sources sought: not an offer. This is market research only. Responses are not offers, no solicitation exists yet, and the Government will not pay for the information sent.
Show all 5Show fewer
- Minor: Date passed (Jul 30, 2026): Draft requirements. The statement of work is a draft dated 30JUL2026, so scope and dates may change before a solicitation.
- Minor: Ship checks while the ship is not in dry dock. The design team must check the vessel's fit without the ship in dry dock and work with Kongsberg and the ship's survey staff.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. Show which files.
- Statement of Work - Gondola Detailed Design and Construction REV1.pdf (read)
- Sources Sought Notice_Gondola NF.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Detailed design of a sonar gondola based on the Kongsberg Gondola Feasibility Study dated July 28, 2026, holding the 16 listed transducers and sensors and allowing for future transducer upgrades.
- Keep the design within the minimum extent below the baseline shown in the feasibility study so the ship's draft is not hurt, and meet American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) construction standards as applicable.
- Consult the equipment makers and the ship's survey department, and hold a preliminary design review about 45 days after award and a final design review 60 days after award, with ship checks while the ship is not in dry dock.
- Build the gondola, or subcontract it to a fabricator with ABS certified welders, marine industry experience and a quality control plan. Track 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% progress milestones, then crate it for NOAA to ship to the shipyard.
- Engineering package: installation and modification work specifications, removals drawings for the existing blisters and sonar sea chests, installation and modification drawings, a special dry docking plan, updated docking plan (REV H) and general arrangement drawing, and a weight report with the ship's GHS model updated.
- Finish all engineering deliverables by March 15, 2027, with rough drafts available no more than 30 days before the final draft date.
- Period of performance
- Draft SOW: engineering deliverables due March 15, 2027 (15MAR2027); target completion of the new gondola October 1, 2027 (1OCT2027); shipyard installation targeted for a dry docking in the first quarter of fiscal year 2028 (Q1 FY28)
- Place of performance
- SC, USA (as SAM.gov gives it)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 9, 2026, 3:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email the capability statement to Contract Specialist Tamara Horton at tamara.horton@noaa.gov
- Page limits
- Capability statement: 3 pages maximum
What to include when you submit
- Company profile: company name and address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI, the number SAM.gov gives each business).
- Type of business (large, small, or a specific socioeconomic status) as validated in the System for Award Management (SAM) under NAICS 336611.
- Company point of contact with name, phone number and email address.
- Describe your capabilities for meeting the requirements in the draft Work Specification.
- Mark clearly any information you consider proprietary.
Not in the notice text
- The contract type, estimated value, set-aside plan and solicitation date are not stated; no set-aside is shown for this notice.
- Where the design, fabrication and installation will be done is not stated beyond SAM.gov's "SC, USA".
- The reference documents named in the draft SOW (Kongsberg Gondola Feasibility Study, docking plan NF-085-002 REV G, general arrangement NF-085-001, shell expansion and blister drawings) were not in the files read.
- How responses will be used to pick sources, and any evaluation approach, is not stated.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside. Any business can reply: this is market research, and no bid is being taken yet.
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- Dept of Commerce NOAA, Norfolk, VA
- Product/service code
- J020 · Maint/Repair/Rebuild of Equipment – Ship and Marine Equipment
- Business type
- Aircraft, ship & vehicle parts (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 336611)
- Related notices
Other notices that name this solicitation, or that this one names.
- High-Performance Computing Software Development and Technical Services · REQUIREMENTS-25-1463-27Posted earlier Oct 8, 2026 · Due Oct 27, 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
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
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