Intent to Sole Source: Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Machine: Maintenance and User Training
Air Force and Space Force · FA8601 AFLCMC PZIO
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 FA860126Q0108 in this department, oldest first.
- Jul 29, 2026 · this noticeSpecial Notice
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
INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE The United States Air Force, AFLCMC/PZIBA, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433-5344 publishes this notice of intent to award a sole source contract for informational purposes only. This proposed action is for the acquisition of Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) maintenance and training for the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) located at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433. The Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of RFO 6.103-1(b), �One responsible source. Agencies may contract without providing for full and op… (show all)
en competition when the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements�, resulting in a firm fixed price contract. To ensure mission readiness and data integrity for AFIT teaching and research, it is recommended to award a sole-source contract to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Life Technologies Corporation (a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). Only the OEM possesses proprietary training, specialized calibration tools, and software access required to maintain this complex system. Utilizing an unauthorized third-party vendor will immediately void existing OEM support and introduces severe schedule risks that would delay critical Fall 2026 academic and research deliverables. The Contracting Officer has determined that only one source is reasonably available: Life Technologies Corporation (a division of ThermoFisher Scientific). This proposed procurement will be a Sole Source under North American Industry Classification System code (NAICS) 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,000 employees. The proposed source is Life Technologies Corporation (a division of ThermoFisher Scientific), 5781 Van Allen Way, Carlsbad, CA 92008 USA. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, quotation, or exception to the intent to purchase on a sole source basis, which shall be considered by the Government if received within five (5) days of this notice. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The Department of Defense (DoD) has determined the System for Award Management (SAM) to be the single DoD registration for contractors who conduct business or who are interested in conducting business with the DoD. Contractors must be registered in SAM prior to award for contracts issued after 29 May 2012. You may contact SAM at 866-606-8220. SAM website: www.SAM.gov. The contact for this acquisition is Dametria Walder and Claire Hess. Any information should be e-mailed to dametria.walder@us.af.mil and claire.hess@us.af.mil no later than 11:00 am EDT, Monday, 03 August 2026. Only inquiries/information received by this date will be considered. Be advised that all correspondence sent via e-mail shall contain a subject line that reads �FA860126Q0108 AFIT qPCR maintenance and training.� Note that e-mail filters at Wright-Patterson AFB are designed to filter e-mails without subject lines or with suspicious subject lines or contents (i.e., .exe, or .zip files). Therefore, if this subject line is not included, the e-mail may not get through the e-mail filters. Also, be advised that .zip or .exe files are not allowable attachments and may be deleted by the e-mail filters at Wright-Patterson AFB. If sending attachments with e-mail ensure only .PDF, .doc, or .xls documents are sent. The e-mail filter may delete any other form of attachments. Attachments: Statement of Work Redacted Sole Source Justification
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.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRUKER AXS LLC · $BRKR | 2 | $588K | Jul 28, 2026 |
| ARHAB LLC | 2 | $412K | May 14, 2025 |
| MALVERN PANALYTICAL INC | 2 | $73K | Sep 2, 2026 |
| VERMONT PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGIES CORP | 1 | $5.2M | Sep 29, 2026 |
| HAMAR LASER INSTRUMENTS, INC. | 1 | $2.6M | Aug 25, 2025 |
| JS WILLEY LLC | 1 | $2.5M | Aug 31, 2026 |
| ECTRON CORP | 1 | $1.4M | Sep 4, 2026 |
| WILLRICH PRECISION INSTRUMENT COMPANY | 1 | $1.0M | Sep 16, 2026 |
| ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS CORPORATION | 1 | $950K | Jul 22, 2025 |
| IDSC HOLDINGS LLC | 1 | $926K | Jun 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.
- Sep 29, 2026VERMONT PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGIES CORP$5.2MDual Axis Digital Autocollimator
- Sep 28, 2026STABLE LASER SYSTEMS INC$57KStable Optical Cavity Absolute Reference System
- Sep 16, 2026WILLRICH PRECISION INSTRUMENT COMPANY$1.0MGranite Surface Plate
- Sep 10, 2026GENERAL ELECTRODYNAMICS CORPORATION$706KGEC MD8060 Manual Upgrade
- Sep 4, 2026ECTRON CORP$1.4MPrecision Thermocouple Calibrator-Simulator
- Sep 2, 2026TEXAS SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS Justin TX 76247 USA$70KPortable Optical Emission Spectroscopy Testing System
- Sep 2, 2026MALVERN PANALYTICAL INC$24KEmpyrean Goniometer Motor Replacement
- Aug 31, 2026JS WILLEY LLC$2.5MLow and High Temperature Calibration Baths
- Aug 15, 2026AB SCIEX LLC$100KAward Notice - USAFA Liquid Chromatography Replacement
- Aug 10, 2026TECH NEXUSES, INC.$125KStruers or Equal Universal Hardness Tester
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
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
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
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.