US Army High Altitude Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (HA-ISR) Support

This is a combined Sources Sought and Notice of Intent to Sole Source announcement. The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), on behalf of the Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) G-2, intends to award three separate Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) sole-source contracts to support the interim transition of legacy Contractor Owned, Contractor Operated (COCO) airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms to a Government Owned, Government Operated (GOGO) model. This notice is published for market research purposes to identify any other parties that may be capable of satisfying the Government’s requirement and to provide a synopsis of the proposed contract actions.

The Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only the following Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements."

Intended Source 1: Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC): 2 Aircraft "ATHENA S"

Intended Source 2: L3 Technologies (now L3Harris Technologies, Inc.): 1 Aircraft "ARES"

Intended Source 3: MAG Aerospace: 2 Aircraft "ATHENA R"

HQDA G-2 requires uninterrupted access to highly specialized airborne ISR platforms, integrated mission equipment (SIGINT, sensors, datalinks), and cleared personnel to ensure a seamless transition of legacy capabilities to the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) Program of Record.

HQDA G-2 concluded that Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), L3 Technologies, and MAG Aerospace are the only sources capable of meeting the Government’s requirement without a substantial duplication of cost and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the requirement.

The justification is based on the following:

Unique OEM Status and Proprietary Data: The intended vendors are the OEMs of the proprietary aircraft, possess integrated mission systems, and hold active Army Airworthiness Releases (AWRs) for these specific platforms.

Avoidance of Substantial Duplication of Cost: Awarding this requirement to any other source would require the Government to incur hundreds of millions of dollars in non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs to acquire, modify, and certify a duplicate fleet of legacy aircraft. 

Prevention of Unacceptable Delays: Only the incumbent OEMs can guarantee that the capability is in place by award deadline. A competitive action would introduce a multi-year lead time for aircraft acquisition and integration, resulting in a catastrophic operational gap.

Cleared Personnel and Facilities: The intended sources currently employ the required workforce of which approximately 85% possess active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearances and have access to the necessary secure facilities (SCIFs).

While the Government intends to proceed with a sole-source award, all responsible sources are invited to submit a capability statement demonstrating their ability to meet the requirements outlined above.

Interested parties who believe they are fully capable of meeting this requirement must submit a capability statement that provides clear and convincing evidence of their ability to perform this work without incurring the substantial duplication of cost or unacceptable delays described herein. Page limit: (5) five. 

The capability statement must include, at a minimum:

Company name, address, UEI, CAGE code, and business size status.

Approach demonstrating how the contractor can provide the required modified aircraft, integrated mission systems, and obtain Army Airworthiness Releases to meet a November 2027 deadline.

A narrative explaining how the contractor can fulfill this requirement without the Government incurring substantial NRE and duplicate acquisition costs.

Evidence of an available workforce possessing the requisite TS/SCI clearances and access to required secure facilities.