Hypersonic Booster Development and Integration

The Department of Defense, United States Air Force (USAF), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Munitions Directorate is currently conducting market research seeking capabilities statements from potential sources, including small businesses. The purpose of the effort is for the provision of an advanced booster capable of delivering a variety of payloads across different ranges at hypersonic speeds to include development and procurement.

Effort objectives include the development of the booster, the interface between the main vehicle and the booster, integration equipment, test equipment and any support equipment needed before, during and after the flight test. The booster will be matured to a test capacity, then integrated into a flight vehicle for an experimental flight test. The government is interested in boosters that do not exceed 275 inches (inclusive of any separation system) with a max diameter that does not exceed 33 inches.

Thrust Vector control must be included as a control methodology. The proposed system must be a solid rocket motor. Other capability measurements of interest are, but not limited to, flight path angle, total impulse, speed, range, payload characteristics. Vendors should acknowledge if they have experience integrating payloads from other vendors, supporting flight test operations, and working with ground support equipment. Finally, the government is interested in when the capability would be ready for delivery.

All interested vendors shall submit a response demonstrating their capability to perform this effort to the Primary Point of Contact listed below. Proposals are not being requested or accepted at this time. As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No solicitation (Request for Proposal) exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation.

The decision to solicit for a contract shall be solely within the Government’s discretion. Any information submitted by respondents to this sources sought is voluntary. This sources sought notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any government assessments.

CAPABILITIES STATEMENT: All interested vendors shall submit a capabilities statement that demonstrates their capability to provide/perform the requirement stated in this notice. The response must not exceed 1 page of narrative with a 2nd page for images, graphs, and/or tables. Responses may be submitted electronically to the following e-mail address: shannon.paradise@us.af.mil.

All correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that reads “SOURCES SOUGHT: Hypersonic Booster Development and Integration.” If this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through e-mail filters at Eglin AFB. Filters are designed to delete emails without a subject or with a suspicious subject or attachment. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xsls, or .xls documents are attached to your email.

All other attachments may be deleted. For responses containing Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and/or Proprietary Information, please email the point of contact listed in this post at least 24 hours prior to the response due date for transmission instructions via DoD SAFE. RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 1:00 P.M. (CST) ON 2 Oct 2024. Direct all questions concerning this requirement to Shannon Paradise at shannon.paradise@us.af.mil.