LARS Hardware Refresh
Air Force and Space Force · FA8509 AFLCMC WIUKA
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 FA8509-27-R-B005 in this department, oldest first.
- Oct 6, 2026 · this noticePre-solicitation
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
The Government has a requirement to obtain a hardware refresh of the Lightweight Airborne Recovery System (LARS), formally identified as Personnel Locator System (PLS) v12 AN/ARS-6, on the HC-130J due to the existing system being end of life from widespread component obsolescence. Any refreshed LARS are required to maintain all current system capabilities and project a minimum 10-year period of sustainability. Such capabilities include Terminal Area Communications (TAC), Terminal Area Guidance (TAG), and Combat Survivor Evader Locator/Next Generation Survival Radio (CSEL/NGSR) full compatibili… (show all)
ty. In addition, the LARS hardware refresh shall produce a Form, Fit, Function (FFF/F3) version of the current system. The USAF's MC-130J, the USAF's HH-60W, and the USN's MH-60S will benefit from a FFF hardware refresh of LARS as well. This effort will consist of the Non-recurring Engineering (NRE) required to produce a refreshed hardware configuration for LARS. This includes all necessary design reviews, developmental testing events, operational testing events, etc. It is also expected that up to five test articles will be required to fully prove out the refreshed LARS ability to fulfill the requirements described above. The effort associated with the retrofitting/fielding of the proved refreshed LARS will be a separate contract. The resultant contract is planned to have a period of performance of three (3) years, consisting of one (1) base and two (2) option periods. The Government intends to issue a Sole Source Solicitation to: Cubic Defense Application, Inc. 9233 Balboa AVE San Diego, CA 92123-1513 CAGE Code:87G32 Large Business The authority for this requirement is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. Electronic procedures will be used for this solicitation. Request a copy of the solicitation from the following website: www.sam.gov. Approximate issue date of the solicitation is October 21, 2026. Approximate response date for receipt of proposal is November 20, 2026.
Who won similar work
56 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (Air Force and Space Force), same NAICS 541330.
Single-winner award sizes (56): middle half $438K to $30.0M, median $5.7M; range $23K to $4.0B.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION · $NOC · $42.9B | 5 | $362.3M | Sep 28, 2026 |
| SYSTEM HIGH CORPORATION | 5 | $1.1M | Jul 1, 2026 |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION · $LMT · $77.0B | 3 | $37.6M | Aug 26, 2026 |
| BAE SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS & SERVICES INC. | 2 | $1.2B | Sep 21, 2026 |
| BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. | 2 | $102.1M | Feb 25, 2026 |
| L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INTEGRATED SYSTEMS L.P. | 2 | $48.5M | Mar 30, 2026 |
| PCI AVIATION LLC | 2 | $14.3M | Apr 24, 2025 |
| JACOBS TECHNOLOGY INC. | 1 | $4.0B | Jun 3, 2025 |
| LEIDOS, INC. | 1 | $475.0M | May 29, 2026 |
| BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC | 1 | $81.5M | Mar 31, 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. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.
- $NOC reported $42.9B revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 56 past awards, $5.7M, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
- $LMT reported $77.0B revenue (12 months to Jun 28, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 56 past awards, $5.7M, 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 6, 2026HMH, LLC$356KRunway Pavement Geotechnical Investigation & Material Failure Analyis$HMH: no recent revenue figure in SEC filings (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 28, 2026NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$22.3MF-35 Radar Sustainment Support Follow-OnMateriality: 0.05% of $NOC revenue (Low) SEC
- Sep 25, 2026SBCC-RS&H JOINT VENTURE, LLC$594KMAHG181094CR Repair Runway Charrette, Keesler AFB, MSNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 21, 2026BAE SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS & SERVICES INC.$6.3MAward Notice: F-15 Specialized Engineering and Technical Services/Avionics Systems Supportability Analysis ProgramNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 18, 2026PAVEMENT TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, INC.$1.3MPavement Condition Inspection Studies FY26No listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 18, 2026RTX CORPORATION$19.3MContractor Engineering and Technical Services (CETS) F100Materiality: 0.02% of $RTX revenue (Low) SEC
- Sep 16, 2026RAYTHEON COMPANY$3.6MDistributed Ground Station United Kingdom (DGS-UK) ProgramMateriality: <0.01% of $RTX revenue (Low) SEC
- Sep 2, 2026GLOBAL DIVERSIFIED, INC$300KAEWS Tower SurveysNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 2, 2026EDL CONSTRUCTION INC$176K442/509 Sunshade Lighting and Inspection ServicesNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Aug 26, 2026LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$32.6MContractor Engineering and Technical Services (CETS)Materiality: 0.04% of $LMT revenue (Low) SEC
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 Air Force, Dept of since 2024 (22 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Air Force, Dept of job
- $759K from their corporate PACs since 2024 to members of House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Armed Services
- 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
- 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. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 2 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 2 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.