Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detection and analysis services
NASA · NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
NASA is planning to buy "Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detection and analysis services". This is an early notice: it is not taking bids yet. The work is in Merritt Island, FL, USA. The original due date (Feb 9, 2026) has passed; check the latest amendment for the current one. In the last 2 years, similar work (matched on the agency only, a loose match) went to 10 or more companies, usually for about $3.9M per award. An award could come any day: the usual time to award has passed.
Put together from the facts on this page; the details and sources are below.
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 80KSC026B0001 in this department, oldest first.
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
1/14/2026: Posted Q&A attachment Section 1: Introduction The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detection and analysis services. The UAS detection and analysis data generated in performance of this requirement will be utilized to make rapid and critical decisions to protect NASA personnel, the public, launch vehicles, flight hardware, critical high value assets, and security interests, and is required to be fully mission capable at the start of perform… (show all)
ance. Performance for the UAS Detection and Analysis Services Contract is anticipated to commence no earlier than April 1, 2026. Performance under this contract will involve access to and/or generation of classified information, work in a security area, or both, up to the level of Secret. NASA KSC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or Small Business and HBCU/MSI subcontracting goals for this requirement. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 561621, Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths), and the corresponding small business size standard is $25M, calculated in accordance with 13 CFR 121.104. Section 2: Background and Requirements: KSC is comprised of over 144,000 acres of land. All UAS flights over KSC property, whether inside or outside the security perimeter, are restricted and only occur with the approval of KSC Flight Operations. Additionally, KSC is coincident with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR), over which unauthorized UAS flights are also prohibited. Attached is a draft performance work statement (PWS); however, the complete requirements under the PWS are to be defined. Performance requirements contemplated include, but are not limited to the following, which are based on the best information available at the time of publication and is subject to revision: Provide UAS detection and analysis services that can accurately detect and identify unknown UAS out to a distance of at least 40NMI (with a goal of 100NMI), Provide a rapid and timely information to multiple users for response and mitigations at all times and be fully compatible with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), US Air Force, and US Space Force counter UAS systems, procedures, and protocols. The UAS detection system shall be capable of providing technical and threat analyses for KSC and will provide real-time detection and alerting capabilities to NASA KSC personnel. The UAS detection system must also integrate Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Air Force, and US Space Force analysis techniques and tools into hardware, response tactics, procedures, and law enforcement options. All detection, tracking, and informational systems shall be capable of providing and supplying: Identification and operational information (to include but not limited to: type, serial number, location, speed, direction of travel, operator location), Alert(s) to indicate when a drone has been detected and is unknown, and Notification(s) of drone(s) that have been detected, are known, and whitelisted by the system. The notification(s) must be generated independent of any existing KSC based communications infrastructure and systems and produce performance data, Shall be capable of providing independent data paths to users at KSC. The UAS detection system shall provide a �user accessible dashboard� complete with: Threat tracking, Automated alerts, Detected drone positional and movement data, Must be map based and easily readable. The UAS detection system must be able to provide continuous coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, and the contractor shall provide rapid (within 24 hours) on-site support as needed to ensure the system is fully operational at all times. System shall provide at least 2 primary detectors at separate two separate remote locations on KSC, along with 2 secondary sensors co-located with primary sensors Section 3: Industry Engagement The UAS detection and analysis acquisition team intends to hold various industry engagement opportunities throughout the acquisition process. At this time, the UAS detection and analysis acquisition team contemplates one-on-one meetings with industry following receipt of capability statements. The purpose of the one-on-one meetings is to provide respondents an opportunity to elaborate on any capabilities expressed in their respective capability statements of the sources sought notice, to enhance the Government�s understanding of industry capabilities and feedback. Meetings will take place from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time, the week of March 2, 2026, via conference call or Microsoft Teams. Meetings will not exceed 45 minutes in length. Respondents interested in meeting with the UAS detection and analysis acquisition team are requested to provide in its capability statement the names, company affiliation, and titles of those who will attend (to include your respective contract manager(s) or contract administrator(s)). Note: All other interested parties may contact the contracting officer listed on Section 4 to schedule time to meet with the team to provide comments or feedback regarding strategy feedback or capabilities. Industry is further encouraged to revisit this notice for announcement of any additional engagement opportunities in the future. Section 4: Submission Information Interested firms having the required capabilities to meet the above requirements should submit a capability statement of no more than no more than 20 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. A page is defined as one side of a sheet, 8 1/2" x 11", with at least one-inch margins on all sides, using not smaller than 12-point type. Foldouts count as an equivalent number of 8 1/2" x 11" pages. Responses must be submitted electronically in portable document format (PDF), with searchable text. The capability statement must include: Company�s name, address, and a point of contact (name, title, and e-mail address) Unique entity identifier and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code Number of years in business and annual receipts corresponding to the period of measurement used (see 13 CFR 121.104(c)) Company�s size under NAICS 561621, Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) Company�s socioeconomic status GSA Contract Number with expiration date, MAS, and SIN (if applicable) for the UAS Detection and Analysis Services Ownership, affiliate information (as applicable) including parent company and joint venture partners. Interest as a prime or subcontractor Company�s specific capabilities that are relevant to the requirements contemplated above. It is not sufficient to provide brochures or generic information. Capability statements must include the company�s specific area(s) of interest, as well as reference to any contracts performed during the last five years that are applicable to those areas. For each contract, identify the contract number, agency or customer, period of performance, the company�s role (i.e., prime or subcontractor), and contract or subcontract value. Please advise if the requirement is considered a commercial or commercial-type product. A commercial product and commercial service is defined in FAR 2.101, Definitions. All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Jusitn Ko at justin.j.ko@nasa.gov no later than February 9, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Please reference NASA/Kennedy UAS Detecti
Recent Agency Awards (Loose Match)
169 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (NASA), any industry: a loose match.
Loose match: same agency, any industry. Read the titles before treating these as competitors.
Single-winner award sizes (118): middle half $754K to $25.3M, median $3.9M; range $26K to $1.8B.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amentum Technology, Inc. · $AMTM · $14.1B | 2 | $1.2B | May 20, 2026 |
| ARES TECHNICAL SERVICES CORPORATION | 2 | $739.8M | Aug 7, 2026 |
| SIERRA LOBO INC | 2 | $548.2M | Apr 24, 2026 |
| SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE San Antonio TX 78238 USA | 2 | $86.4M | Feb 14, 2025 |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado Boulder CO 80309 USA | 2 | $40.3M | Oct 6, 2026 |
| SIERRA SPACE CORP | 2 | $26.3M | Jan 8, 2026 |
| AECOM TECHNICAL SERVICES, INC. | 2 | $12.0M + 1 shared | Aug 20, 2025 |
| ASCA, INC | 2 | $10.6M | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. | 2 | $3.6M | Jul 7, 2025 |
| ASCEND AEROSPACE AND TECHNOLOGY, LLC | 1 | $1.8B | Sep 10, 2025 |
Value counts new single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling (same contract, or the same office, day and amount); that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Contract modifications are not new awards and are not added in either (1 here). Notices whose amount is a placeholder such as $999,999,999 are not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings.
- $AMTM reported $14.1B revenue (12 months to Jul 3, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 118 past awards, $3.9M, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Oct 13, 2026FEI COMPANY$1.7MThermoFisher Helios 5 CX PurchaseNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 8, 2026OMITRON, INC.$23.5MOrbital Safety Analysis Support Services (OSASS) AwardNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 6, 2026LINDE INC.$33.1MRequest For Proposal (RFP) NASA Agency-wide Acquisition of Nitrogen and Oxygen 4 (NANO 4)Materiality: 0.09% of $LIN revenue (Low) SEC
- Oct 6, 2026The Regents of the University of Colorado Boulder CO 80309 USA$25.3MTotal and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) Mission Operations and Data ProcessingNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 2, 2026MODULATE SPACE CORPORATION$38.0MAWARD - 5G System for Lunar Surface Communications Evaluation and Radio Propagation MeasurementsNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Oct 2, 2026ASCA, INC$10.0MASCA Blanket Purchase AgreementNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 30, 2026SKYMARK REFUELERS LLC$397K3K Dual Compartment/Dual Pumping GSE Refueling TruckNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 24, 2026GLOBAL ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS, INC.$5.6MTropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Extended Operations Host ContractNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 18, 2026INTERNATIONAL AEROSPACE COATINGS INC$317KAward Notice for Aircraft PaintingNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 18, 2026SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP.$5.9B (modification)Modification to the SpaceX Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities (CCtCap) ContractContract modification, not a new award (Materiality N/A)
Materiality: one award's value as a share of the winner's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings (or its last fiscal year, as noted when you point at it). Low under 1%, Medium 1 to 5%, High 5% or more. Many awards are paid over several years, so this overstates a single year's share.
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.
- 2 of these past winners lobbied Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) since 2024 (12 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) job
- $46K from their corporate PACs since 2024 to members of House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
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.
- 8 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 16 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
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. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 0 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
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, including the subsidiaries a company lists in its SEC filings. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.