Sources SoughtPosted Oct 23, 2026·Responses due Dec 22, 2026

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) TRAINING, MISSION PLANNING, MISSION REHEARSAL, SIMULATION, AND QUALIFICATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

NAVAIR and air warfare centers · NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND

In plain words

NAVAIR and air warfare centers is planning to buy "REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) TRAINING, MISSION PLANNING, MISSION REHEARSAL, SIMULATION, AND QUALIFICATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS". This is an early notice: it is not taking bids yet. The work is in Patuxent River, MD, USA. Responses are due Dec 22, 2026. In the last 2 years, similar work went to 4 companies, usually for about $36.1M per award. An award is expected between December 2026 and May 2027.

Put together from the facts on this page; the details and sources are below.

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
334220
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
N00019-26-DRPM-RAS-AIRPMO-0294
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
1550
Place
Patuxent River, MD, USA
Contact
John Barr (john.m.barr1.civ@us.navy.mil)
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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 N00019-26-DRPM-RAS-AIRPMO-0294 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Oct 23, 2026
    Sources Sought
    View
  • Oct 23, 2026 · this notice
    Sources Sought
  • Oct 23, 2026
    Sources Sought
    View
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Dec 22, 2026 to May 28, 2027, middle of the range Dec 22, 2026.
Measured from 11 past early notices at Dept of the Navy with NAICS 334220 that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Oct 23, 2026).
Held to the response deadline (Dec 22, 2026): no award is forecast before responses are in.

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

DISCLAIMER THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IS FOR INFORMATIONAL AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS A MARKET RESEARCH TOOL BEING USED IN ACCORDANCE WITH FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10 TO IDENTIFY FIRMS POTENTIALLY CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE CAPABILITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN AND TO INFORM POTENTIAL FUTURE ACQUISITION PLANNING. THIS RFI IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, INVITATION FOR BID, REQUEST FOR QUOTATION, SOLICITATION, OR COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND CANNOT BE ACCEPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT. THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO … (show all)

OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR ISSUE A FUTURE SOLICITATION AS A RESULT OF THIS RFI. ANY QUANTITIES OR DELIVERY SCENARIOS REFERENCED IN THIS RFI ARE PROVIDED SOLELY TO SUPPORT MARKET RESEARCH AND CAPACITY PLANNING AND DO NOT CONSTITUTE A GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENT, ACQUISITION FORECAST, MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM PURCHASE QUANTITY, OR COMMITMENT TO PROCURE ANY QUANTITY. RESPONSE TO THIS RFI IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT REIMBURSE RESPONDENTS FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PREPARING OR SUBMITTING A RESPONSE, PROVIDING SUPPORTING INFORMATION, PARTICIPATING IN FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSIONS, OR PARTICIPATING IN ANY SUBSEQUENT MARKET RESEARCH ACTIVITY. INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI WILL NOT BE RETURNED. FAILURE TO RESPOND TO THIS RFI WILL NOT PRECLUDE A COMPANY FROM PARTICIPATING IN ANY FUTURE MARKET RESEARCH EFFORT, TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATION, OR COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION RELATED TO GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 UAS TRAINING, MISSION PLANNING, MISSION REHEARSAL, SIMULATION, AND QUALIFICATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK OR COMMENTS REGARDING ANY RESPONSE. NO TELEPHONE RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED. INTRODUCTION The Aircraft Project Management Office (AIR PMO), under the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager Robotic Autonomous Systems (DRPM RAS), is conducting market research regarding commercially available and emerging Group 1 and Group 2 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Training, Mission Planning, Mission Rehearsal, Simulation, and Qualification Management Systems. For market research and planning purposes, the Government is seeking information regarding industry�s ability to provide and support these capabilities at scale. Potential future demand could involve thousands of training devices, simulator stations, software licenses, or equivalent deployed units. However, no procurement quantity, acquisition strategy, or requirement has been established, and any quantities referenced in this RFI are illustrative planning assumptions only. The Government requests white papers from interested parties with commercially available or emerging capabilities. Responses will assist the Government in identifying potential solutions; understanding technical approaches, system maturity, interoperability, scalability, implementation considerations, and business models; refining capability objectives and potential requirements; and informing acquisition planning and potential procurement strategies. This RFI follows the Air PMO virtual Industry Day conducted on 03 September 2026. Participation in the Industry Day is not a prerequisite for responding to this RFI. Interested parties may respond regardless of whether they attended the event. This RFI is an independent Air PMO market research effort and is not associated with or conducted in support of the Drone Dominance Program. Respondents should address the capability areas and information requested in this RFI without assuming any relationship to that program�s requirements, acquisition approach, funding, schedule, or procurement quantities. BACKGROUND Simulation-based training has the potential to enhance operator proficiency, improve training availability, increase training throughput, reduce operational risk, and provide realistic Mission Planning and Mission Rehearsal capabilities for Group 1 and Group 2 UAS. These capabilities may enable operators to safely practice in realistic and challenging operational and threat environments, emergency procedures, and degraded system behaviors that may be impractical, unsafe, or cost-prohibitive to execute using live aircraft. Simulation-based training may also reduce operational impacts associated with range availability, airspace restrictions, spectrum congestion, weather delays, aircraft maintenance requirements, and logistical constraints while supporting standardized, repeatable, and scalable training across multiple UAS platforms. The Government seeks to understand current industry capabilities, technology maturity, innovative approaches, best practices, and limitations relevant to these objectives. MARKET RESEARCH PROCESS This RFI represents the white-paper phase of Air PMO's market research effort. The Government may use information received to support capability development, requirements refinement, acquisition planning, evaluation of commercially available and emerging solutions, and potential procurement strategies. Following review of submitted white papers, the Government may invite selected respondents to participate in follow-up discussions or technical demonstrations to further assess the maturity, suitability, and applicability of proposed solutions. Selection for, or participation in, a follow-up activity does not constitute a competitive range determination, source-selection decision, commitment to procure, or preference for any future acquisition. Any invitation and associated instructions will be issued separately. The Government may elect not to conduct follow-up activities and is not obligated to provide feedback to respondents. INFORMATION REQUESTED Respondents should provide a concise white paper describing how their solution addresses the capability areas in this RFI. Responses should identify current capabilities separately from planned, developmental, or partner-provided capabilities. At a minimum, the white paper should address the following: Company profile, business size and socioeconomic status, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and primary point(s) of contact. Executive summary of the proposed solution and the operational or training problem it addresses. Description of the complete solution, including software, hardware, peripherals, hosting or deployment model, licensing, and any Government-furnished equipment or services required. A capability cross-reference identifying each applicable Capability Area of Interest as currently available, configurable, developmental, not available, or provided by a third party. For developmental capabilities, identify the anticipated availability date and key dependencies. Supported Group 1 and Group 2 UAS platforms, flight models, ground control stations, hand controllers, payloads, mission-planning tools, and training environments, including the approach and estimated effort to add new aircraft or configurations. Technical maturity and commercial availability, including Technology Readiness Level or equivalent maturity evidence, operational use, customer base, relevant contracts, and available test or performance data. System architecture, interfaces, data formats, application programming interfaces, standards, modularity, and approach to integration with Government or third-party systems. Training-management, instructor, evaluation, after-action review, records-management, and qualification-management functionality. Cybersecurity, identity and access management, data protection, software-update, cloud or on-premises deployment, and authority-to-operate status or experience, as applicable. NDAA and supply-chain compliance status, including identification of any noncompliant components, planned remediation, dependencies, or assumptions. Implementation approach, schedule, lead times, training and support model, sustainment, warranties, upgrades, and product roadmap. Production, licensing, integration, deployment, and delivery capacity, as ap

Who won similar work

12 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same office (NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND), same product/service code (PSC) 1550.

Single-winner award sizes (6): middle half $4.0M to $74.3M, median $36.1M; range $2.3M to $611.5M.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION · $NOC · $42.9B9$77.8MOct 9, 2026
THE BOEING COMPANY · $BA · $94.0B1$611.5MOct 13, 2026
GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC1$77.0MAug 14, 2025
INSITU, INC. · $BA · $94.0B1–Jul 31, 2026

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 (6 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.

Investor context
  • $NOC reported $42.9B revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 6 past awards, $36.1M, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
  • $BA reported $94.0B revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 6 past awards, $36.1M, 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.

Latest awards
  • Oct 13, 2026THE BOEING COMPANY$611.5MMQ-25 Stingray LRIP Lot 1 & Lot 2 AACMateriality: 0.65% of $BA revenue (Low) SEC
  • Oct 9, 2026NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$66.0MMulti-ECP Incorporation SynopsisMateriality: 0.15% of $NOC revenue (Low) SEC
  • Sep 29, 2026NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$6.1MNotice of Award for Last Time Buy (LTB) 7 Procurement 1 for End-of-Life PartsMateriality: 0.01% of $NOC revenue (Low) SEC
  • Jul 31, 2026INSITU, INC.$590.2M (modification)AIR PMO Common Hardware and Sustainment ServicesContract modification, not a new award (Materiality N/A)
  • Apr 8, 2026NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$1.5M (modification)NGC LRIP 6/7 Mass Sim - Modification to Contract #N0001919C0008Contract modification, not a new award (Materiality N/A)
  • Sep 22, 2025NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$5.7M (modification)LRIP 5, 6, & 7 ECP Production Cut-InsContract modification, not a new award (Materiality N/A)
  • Aug 14, 2025GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC$77.0MMQ-9A Unmanned Air System (UAS) Engineering Logistics Support (ELS) Follow-on ContractNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
  • May 16, 2025NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$108.0M (modification)MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) B5 & B11 IFC4.0 Retrofit InstallationContract modification, not a new award (Materiality N/A)
  • May 14, 2025NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$2.3MNotice of Award for LTB 6 Procurement 10 for End-of-Life PartsMateriality: <0.01% of $NOC revenue (Low) SEC
  • May 9, 2025NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION$3.4MMQ-4C Triton DMS LTB ProcurementMateriality: <0.01% of $NOC 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 4 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 Navy, Dept of or U.S. Marines since 2024 (32 filings)
  • 0 of their lobbyists list a past Navy, Dept of or U.S. Marines job
  • $799K 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
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.

  • 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
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. 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 1 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, 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.