Sources SoughtPosted Oct 14, 2026·Responses due Oct 23, 2026

Off-Axis Parabolic Mirrors

Air Force and Space Force · FA8601 AFLCMC PZIO

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
334516
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
FA860127Q0003
Set-aside
No Set aside used
PSC
1680
Place
Wright Patterson AFB, OH, USA
Contact
Alejandro Quiles (alejandro.quiles_sanchez.1@us.af.mil)
CSV Email

Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.

Where this opportunity stands

Every notice posted under solicitation FA860127Q0003 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Oct 14, 2026 · this notice
    Sources Sought
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Dec 9, 2026 to Apr 11, 2027, middle of the range Jan 20, 2027.
Measured from 253 past early notices at Dept of the Air Force that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Oct 14, 2026).

Next steps for this stage

Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.

  • Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
  • Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
  • Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.

What the notice says

Notice from the United States Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Installation Contracting Division, Base Support Contracting Branch at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), Ohio: INTRODUCTION: AFLCMC Operational Contracting Branch at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on behalf of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), is conducting market research through a Sources Sought Notice to identify potential sources, including small businesses, capable of manufacturing and delivering customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors and associated protected-gold coati… (show all)

ng services. These precision optical components will support AFIT�s Extreme Light Laboratory and its ultra-intense laser experiments involving advanced laser-matter interactions. This notice is issued solely to determine the availability and capability of qualified sources to meet the Government�s requirements. This notice is not a solicitation, request for quotation, or commitment by the Government to award a contract. A small business set-aside determination has not yet been made for this acquisition. REQUIREMENTS: The Government requires a contractor to provide all labor, materials, equipment, manufacturing capability, quality assurance, testing, inspection documentation, packaging, transportation, and other resources necessary to produce and deliver customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors and associated protected-gold coating services to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The required items and services include, but are not limited to: System and Compatibility Requirements: a. The contractor shall provide 66 customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors for use in AFIT�s Extreme Light Laboratory. b. Each mirror shall use a fused-silica substrate. c. Each mirror shall have a diameter of 30 mm. d. Each mirror shall have a parabolic focus at 45 degrees. e. The mirrors shall be compatible with the Government�s ultra-intense laser research application and shall provide the precision focal spot required for the Extreme Light Laboratory. Performance and Operational Specifications: a. The optical surface roughness shall be less than 1 nm root mean square (RMS). b. The scratch/dig specification shall be 20-10. c. The backside of each mirror substrate shall be polished. d. The contractor shall perform quality testing and inspection sufficiently to verify compliance with all required optical and surface-quality characteristics. e. The contractor shall provide applicable test data and inspection documentation with the delivered mirrors. Reagents and Consumables: a. The contractor shall provide protected-gold coating services for the required OAP mirrors. b. The protected gold coating shall be applied to the fused-silica substrate. c. The coating shall provide an average reflectivity of not less than 97 percent. d. The required reflectivity wavelength shall be 780 � 40 nm. e. The required angle of incidence shall be 45 degrees. f. The contractor shall provide all materials, coating consumables, and related manufacturing resources necessary to meet the stated coating requirements. Physical and Safety Specifications: a. The contractor shall package and protect the mirrors to prevent damage during handling, shipment, and delivery. b. The contractor shall provide all required quality, inspection, and test documentation with delivery, including available certificate of conformance, material certification, surface-measurement data, and coating-performance data, as applicable. c. The contractor shall ship all required mirrors and associated documentation to the Government-designated delivery location at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. d. Delivery shall be completed within 98 calendar days after receipt of order (ARO). e. The mirrors delivered shall be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal and proper use for a minimum period of two years after Government receipt. SUBMISSION DETAILS: Interested parties are requested to submit a capability package that provides clear and convincing evidence of their ability to provide the services outlined above. In addition, interested parties must provide the following information: Company Name, Address, CAGE Code, and Unique Entity ID (UEI). Point of Contact (Name, Phone Number, and Email Address). Company business size status under a relevant NAICS code 334516. Prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://www.sam.gov to be eligible for a Department of Defense contract award. CLOSING: Responses to this Sources Sought notice must be submitted via email no later than October 23, 2026, at 11:00am Eastern Time. All correspondence sent via email must contain the subject line: �FA860127Q0003, Sources Sought: Off-Axis Parabolic Mirrors.� Be advised that due to network filters, attachments ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Please submit all response packages directly to the following Points of Contact (POCs): Contract Specialist: Name: Alejandro Quiles Email: alejandro.quiles_sanchez.1@us.af.mil Contracting Officer: Name: Jessica Stamper Email: jessica.stamper.2@us.af.mil This is a Sources Sought notice for market research purposes only. In accordance with Revolutionary FAR Overall (RFO) 15.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary and will not be reimbursed by the Government. The Government�s assessment of the capability statements received will factor in whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside. Attachments: Statement of Work List of Minimun Requirements

Who won similar work

40 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Match: Same agency (Air Force and Space Force), same NAICS 334516.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
BRUKER AXS LLC · $BRKR2$588KJul 28, 2026
ARHAB LLC2$412KMay 14, 2025
MALVERN PANALYTICAL INC2$73KSep 2, 2026
VERMONT PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGIES CORP1$5.2MSep 29, 2026
HAMAR LASER INSTRUMENTS, INC.1$2.6MAug 25, 2025
JS WILLEY LLC1$2.5MAug 31, 2026
ECTRON CORP1$1.4MSep 4, 2026
WILLRICH PRECISION INSTRUMENT COMPANY1$1.0MSep 16, 2026
ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS CORPORATION1$950KJul 22, 2025
IDSC HOLDINGS LLC1$926KJun 26, 2026

Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in.

Latest awards

Competitive landscape

For the 8 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.

  • 0 of these past winners lobbied Air Force, Dept of since 2024 (0 filings)
  • 0 of their lobbyists list a past Air Force, Dept of job
  • No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
  • 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
See who and the source records with Pro

Policy around it

Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.

  • 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
  • 32 rules from the department in the last 12 months
  • 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
See who and the source records with Pro

Market

For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards.

  • 1 of the past winners are listed companies
  • 0 insider buys and 0 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
See who and the source records with Pro

Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.

Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.