F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office Aircraft Armament Equipment (AAE) GPU-8 and GPU-9 Gun Pods Procurement – Notice of Intent

Special Notice Solicitation:

N00019-24-RFPREQ-JSF000-0876 Agency/Office:

Naval Air Systems Command Location: F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO)

Title: F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office Aircraft Armament Equipment (AAE) GPU-8 and GPU-9 Gun Pods Procurement – Notice of Intent Description(s): NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE This notice is being published in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subparts 5.101 and 5.201 requiring dissemination of information for proposed contract actions. This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract action and is not a request for competitive quotes/proposals.

The statutory authority for this sole source procurement is 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) (formerly 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1 “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) intends to solicit and negotiate a contract action with General Dynamics (GD) for GPU-8 (F-35C) and GPU-9 (F-35B) missionized gun pod units.

The resulting contract is anticipated to be Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) awarding in Q1 2026. The contract scope is primarily for production of hardware. Recurring and nonrecurring support labor associated with the material production and delivery will also be included under this contract.

GD is the only known qualified and responsible source able to fulfill the requirements specified herein determined by a Request for Information (RFI - notice ID: N00019-JSF-AAE) posted to SAM.gov and other market research. GD is the sole developer and manufacturer of the GPU-8 and GPU-9 for the F-35. GD alone has the requisite knowledge, experience, proprietary technical documentation, and technical expertise to furnish the required products.

Furthermore, the delivery requirements for these systems do not allow for the extensive process of developing another system for the same purposes. Therefore, GD is the only source able to fulfill the requirements specified herein. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency prior to the closing of this synopsis. Interested sources who submit data are responsible for appropriately marking information if it is proprietary in nature.

The Government shall not reimburse interested sources for any information provided. No requests for capability briefings will be honored. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested vendors must respond to this notice on or before 10 January 2025 at 1500 Eastern Time by sending an email to Kieran.Farrell@jsf.mil.

This notice is not a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, make an award (or awards), or be responsible for any cost incurred by interested parties prior to award of a contract for the effort described above. The data associated with the F-35 JPO is export controlled and is not available to foreign sources or representatives.

Primary Point of Contact: Kieran Farrell Contract Specialist Kieran.Farrell@jsf.mil Secondary Point of Contact: Joseph Delmontagne Contracting Officer Joseph.Delmontagne@jsf.mil Contracting Office Address: 200 12th Street South Suite 600 Arlington, Virginia 22202 United States