F-35 Hand on Throttle and Stick HOTAS
Air Force and Space Force · FA9302 AFTC PZZ
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 FA930226P0016 in this department, oldest first.
- Feb 27, 2026 · this noticeAward NoticeSTIRLING DYNAMICS LIMITED · $1.1M
- Feb 27, 2026Award NoticeSTIRLING DYNAMICS LIMITED · $1.1MOpen
Next steps for this stage
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
- Note the winner and the end of the period of performance for the recompete.
- Follow the agency to see the next notice for this work.
What the notice says
The United States Air Force Test Center/Directorate of Contracting (AFTC/PZZG), Edwards AFB, CA issued a sole source contract to Stirling Dynamics Limited, 230 Bristol Business Park, Stoke Gifford Bristol BS16 1FJ, United Kingdom. The contract was executed by means of competition other than full and open. This is due to the custom-made F-35Hand on Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) 80Hz by Stirling Dynamics Limited for Building 1030. Stirling Dynamics Limited are the manufacturer of the HOTAS 80Hz that best fits the requirement. Description of Work: F-35 Hand on Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) 80Hz 032A000… (show all)
-002 Simulated Sticks Excluding Grips, Qty of 7 033A000-002 Simulated Throttles Excluding Grips, Qty of 7 9021490300-7 Essex F-35 JSF Side stick Grip, Qty of 6 9021490400-1 Essex F-35 JSF Throttle Grip, Qty of 6 Rig Calibration and Maintenance, Qty 1 In order to comply with FAR 5.207(c)(15), the reason for lack of competition is as follows: Stirling Dynamics Limited, manufactures 80Hz HOTAS. The F-35 flight simulator requires active control systems that provide high-fidelity, active force feedback to accurately replicate flight conditions for critical Pilot and Flight Qualification (P&FQ) missions. The essential technical requirement for these missions is the system's ability to continuously update force parameters in the stick and throttle at a rate of 80Hz. This 80Hz feedback capability is a unique and demanding requirement specific to the F-35 flight simulator.
Who won similar work
10 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (Air Force and Space Force), same product/service code (PSC) 6910.
Single-winner award sizes (10): middle half $39K to $297K, median $72K; range $50 to $670K.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| THE STRONGHOLD GROUP LLC · $PWR · $20.9B | 1 | $670K | Sep 14, 2026 |
| BLANCHARD TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT INC | 1 | $375K | Oct 30, 2025 |
| IPERFORMX LLC | 1 | $315K | Jun 25, 2025 |
| Operator XR LLC | 1 | $244K | Apr 10, 2026 |
| ANATOMICAL WORLDWIDE, LLC | 1 | $82K | Jul 17, 2026 |
| FOURSIGHT GROUP LLC | 1 | $62K | Aug 1, 2025 |
| AMERICAN 3B SCIENTIFIC, L.P. | 1 | $61K | Sep 22, 2026 |
| SUPERTECH INC | 1 | $32K | Sep 22, 2025 |
| LASER AMMO USA, INC. | 1 | $21K | May 19, 2026 |
| The Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $50 | Jan 3, 2025 |
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.
- $PWR reported $20.9B revenue in FY2025. The median single-winner award in these 10 past awards, $72K, is under 0.1% of that. 10-K
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Sep 22, 2026AMERICAN 3B SCIENTIFIC, L.P.$61KPatient Simulators
- Sep 14, 2026THE STRONGHOLD GROUP LLC$670KTac-Med Manikins (Brand Name or Equivalent)
- Jul 17, 2026ANATOMICAL WORLDWIDE, LLC$82KFemale Anatomy Ultrasound Training Models
- May 19, 2026LASER AMMO USA, INC.$21KVirtual Weapons Range
- Apr 10, 2026Operator XR LLC$244KWeapons Simulator
- Oct 30, 2025BLANCHARD TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT INC$375KKen Blanchard Training Materials
- Sep 22, 2025SUPERTECH INC$32KMETC - Male Radiographic Mannequin
- Aug 1, 2025FOURSIGHT GROUP LLC$62KPKB - Cognitive Assessments - USSOCOM
- Jun 25, 2025IPERFORMX LLC$315KF35 Flight Training Simulator
- Jan 3, 2025The Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies, Inc.$50Cyber Operations Supplemental Skills Training IV (CyOSST IV)
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
- 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.