Sources Sought_Midwave Camera
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 FA860127Q0011 in this department, oldest first.
- Oct 14, 2026 · this noticeSources Sought
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: The AFLCMC Operational Contracting Branch, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio is seeking capabilities packages of potential sources including Small Businesses (SB). This sources sought synopsis is published for market research purposes only, to identify potential sources capable of delivering a Midwave Camera with the capabilities described herein for the Air Force Institute of Technology, located … (show all)
at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (WPAFB). The Government is seeking capabilities packages from all potential sources, including but not limited to: small business (SB), 8(a) participants, HUBZone Small Business, Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Firms that respond shall review the attached instructions and technical requirements and submit responses that: Specify that offered products meet the specifications provided below; and Provide detailed information to show clear technical compliance. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS/QUOTES. All interested firms shall submit a response to the Primary Points of Contact, Ms. Claire Hess at claire.hess@us.af.mil and Ms. Jessica Stamper at jessica.stamper.2@us.af.mil, demonstrating their capability to provide a Midwave Camera. Responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. A solicitation for this requirement does not exist, therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. The decision to solicit for a contract will be solely within the Government's discretion. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this acquisition is 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing) with a small business-size standard of 1,000 employees. Firms responding should indicate socio-economic status (8(a) with Graduation Date, SDVOSB, EDWOSB, WOSB, small business, and/or HUBZone). Respondents are further requested to indicate their status as a foreign-owned/foreign-controlled firm and any contemplated use of foreign national employees on this effort. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business set-aside based upon responses hereto for any subsequent action. All prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database to be awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) contract. A small business set-aside decision has not yet been made. Respondents should note the potential application of Limitations on Subcontracting (RFO 52.219-14) and the Non-Manufacturer Rule (RFO 52.219-33) to a future acquisition that may result from this Sources Sought. Respondents should consider how the primary tasks identified in this notice will be broken out between prime contractor and subcontractors and address subcontracting in their response, if applicable/necessary. Any information submitted by respondents to this Sources Sought is voluntary. This Sources Sought notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government reimburse any costs associated with the submission of information in response to this notice. Respondents will not be individually notified of the results of any Government assessments. The Government's assessment of the capability statements received will factor into whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside for small business or any particular small business program. CAPABILITIES PACKAGE: All interested firms shall submit a capabilities package to provide the Midwave Camera that explicitly demonstrates their capability to provide the required service. The capabilities package should be brief and concise yet clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated requirements. However, the response must not exceed five (5) pages. Capabilities Packages submitted in response to this sources sought synopsis must be received at the following e-mail addresses NO LATER THAN 29 OCTOBER 2026 AT 3:00 PM EASTERN TIME. All correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that reads: Midwave Camera. If this subject line is not included, the email may not get through email filters at WPAFB. Filters are designed to delete emails without a subject or with a suspicious subject or attachments. Attachments with files ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Ensure only .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xlsx or .xls documents are attached to your email. All other attachments may be deleted. Responses shall be submitted via email to the following addresses: claire.hess@us.af.mil and jessica.stamper.2@us.af.mil Please direct all questions concerning this acquisition to Ms. Claire Hess at claire.hess@us.af.mil and include the necessary subject line indicated above. Attachments: Instructions Technical Requirements
Who won similar work
19 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (Air Force and Space Force), same product/service code (PSC) 6650.
Single-winner award sizes (19): middle half $94K to $438K, median $187K; range $50K to $7.4M.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPECTRO SCIENTIFIC INC · $AME · $7.9B | 1 | $7.4M | Mar 3, 2025 |
| VERMONT PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGIES CORP | 1 | $5.2M | Sep 29, 2026 |
| GASTOPS INC | 1 | $2.9M | Aug 27, 2025 |
| Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC | 1 | $1.6M | Jun 18, 2026 |
| NEWCO INC | 1 | $608K | Jun 13, 2025 |
| ADAM N EVE SAFETY LLC | 1 | $269K | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Quality Vision International Inc. | 1 | $222K | Apr 23, 2025 |
| KEYENCE CORPORATION | 1 | $217K | Jul 8, 2026 |
| GOOCH & HOUSEGO (KEENE) LLC | 1 | $193K | Jun 12, 2025 |
| AIT PRODUCTS LLC | 1 | $187K | Jun 10, 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. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings.
- $AME reported $7.9B revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 19 past awards, $187K, 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 1, 2026THERMAL BRO'S INC.$72KThermal Imaging BinocularsNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 29, 2026VERMONT PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGIES CORP$5.2MDual Axis Digital AutocollimatorNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 28, 2026STABLE LASER SYSTEMS INC$57KStable Optical Cavity Absolute Reference SystemNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jul 8, 2026KAY KAY LLC$94KBlack Body ControllerNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jul 8, 2026KEYENCE CORPORATION$217KKeyence VXH-X1 Microscope SystemNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jun 18, 2026Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC$1.6MSigma SEMNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Jun 10, 2026AIT PRODUCTS LLC$187KB-1 BorescopeNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Feb 11, 2026DIGITAL MICROSCOPE ASSOCIATE LLC$78KKeyence MicroscopeNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Sep 17, 2025ADAM N EVE SAFETY LLC$269KLong Distance BinocularsNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Aug 27, 2025GASTOPS INC$2.9MChipCheck Service Repair NSN 6650-01-665-6490No listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
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. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 1 insider buys and 1 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.