Avionics Upgrade for C208 Program

Active

Contract Opportunity

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes. In accordance with Part 10 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the U.S. Government (USG) is conducting market research. The response time has been edited to 5:00 PM August 19th Eastern Daylight Time. The intended purpose is to identify potential sources that may possess the capability to provide for the Air Force’s full requirement. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Further, the Air Force is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals at this time. Responders are advised that the USG will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the USG to form a binding contract.

Objective: The Department of the Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Mobility Aircraft, International Programs Division, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH, intends to award a single award, Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and Cost Plus Fixed-Fee contract. The potential purchase will consist of the procurement, integration, and installation of five (5) EO/IR Turret Systems, five (5) Multiple Processing Units (MPU), five (5) Video Switch Matrix Units, and five (5) Flip Up Display Monitors onto five (5) customer owned Cessna AC-208B Combat Caravan light-attack, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft, along with informal on-the-job familiarization training.

Written responses to this request shall contain sufficient documentation to establish a bona fide capability to fulfill this requirement. The intent of this notice is not a request for competitive proposals. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 5:00 pm, EDT. Tuesday, 19 August 2025 and should be sent to michael.benincasa@us.af.mil. Information received as a result of this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining the appropriate acquisition decision for the procurement. This notice does not constitute a solicitation for offers. This is NOT a RFP, and respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The USG shall not pay for information received.

If, after reviewing the requirements document, you desire to participate in the market research, you should provide documentation that supports your company’s capability and costs associated in meeting these requirements. Failure to provide documentation and costs may result in the government being unable to adequately assess your capabilities.

Included in your response, please provide at a minimum the following business information for your company/institution and for any teaming or joint venture partners:

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  Company/Institute Name:

  
  

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  CAGE Code:

  
  

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Respondents should identify themselves as a small business and/or any other socioeconomic designations such as Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) or 8(a) business. RFI issuance does not restrict the USG’s ultimate acquisition approach. The USG will neither award a contract solely based on this notice, nor pay for any information that is submitted by respondents to this RFI.

FMS Aircraft Program Request for Information (RFI):

Information obtained from industry’s response to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP. The program’s Period of Performance (POP) should not exceed 28 months – 32 months after contract award.

Requirements for Commercial Aircraft and Support Items:

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   Background

   
   

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  A Partner Nation (PN) previously procured five (5) AC-208 Cessna Caravans through U.S. Foreign Military Sales. The AC-208’s were procured to provide the partner with a single, organic asset that can find, fix, and finish enemy combatants in one package. The aircraft has similar capabilities to the MQ-9 in terms of finding targets with a high-fidelity targeting pod, launching hellfire missiles at targets, and having an extended loiter time to remain on station. Current operations have shifted away from overt signatures and buildings to personnel hiding in obscure environments.

  
  

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  Upon completion of the upgrade, the PN desires the capability to gain Positive Identification (PID) of individual people with fidelity beyond 1.5 kilometers (km). Current capabilities require the aircrew to “burn” the target by flying directly overhead. After flying overhead to gain PID (inside the AGM-114 Hellfire minimum launch range), the aircraft must execute a turn away from the target to build enough range for an attack run-in within the hellfire weapons employment zone, at which point the target is no longer visible. This was verified by a senior U.S. pilot (with over 2,000 hours of experience as an evaluator/instructor in fighter and Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft) flying onboard the AC-208. Recent missions highlight the PN’s desire to use the AC-208 as their primary strike platform, but it is only successfully utilized on targets that can be acquired beyond three nautical miles (e.g. 04APR25 VBIED strike).

  
  

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   Details of the Request

   
   

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  The PN requests procurement, integration and installation of the following components onto each of their five (5) AC-208 Combat Caravan light-attack, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft:

  
  

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  Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) airborne surveillance and reconnaissance turret

  
  

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  Multiple Processing Units (MPU)

  
  

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  Video Switch Matrix Units

  
  

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  7” Flip Up Display Monitors

  
  

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  Technical Manuals Updates

  
  

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  Familiarization/Differences Training on Component Upgrades:

  
  

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  2-week training program for 10 individuals, focused on new features and functionalities by the hardware upgrades. The underlying software and system functionality will remain unchanged.

  
  

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  Operational Framework

  
  

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  An assessment of current fleet configuration.

  
  

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  An airworthiness Type Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the equipment being installed. The approval from the FAA is required prior to the installation.

  
  

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  Installation and integration of components onto the aircraft must be performed at the customer’s Main Operating Base (MOB) in an austere location.

  
  

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  Customer requires that 80% of the operational fleet (4/5 aircraft) must always be available for operations, so installation must be done sequentially

  
  

Destination Information:

Point of Debarkation will be shared later if the customer moves forward with the requirement

Contracting Office Address:

2240 B Street, Bldg. 11, Room B01, WPAFB, Ohio 45433

Places of Performance:

Will be shared later if the customer moves forward with requirement.

Questions may or may not be answered in response to this posting.

Primary Point of Contact:

Contracting Officer, Michael Benincasa, michael.benincasa@us.af.mil

Attachments/Links