Active Expendable Decoy (AED) Procurement and Support

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is conducting a non-competitive, sole-source procurement for the AN/ALQ-260(V) Anti-Missile Countermeasures Active Expendable Decoy (AED) system, including initial spare impulse cartridges and associated support equipment. Awarded to Leonardo UK, LTD, the contract is justified under FAR 6.302-1 and 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) due to the contractor's unique capabilities and 14 years of joint research and development with the UK Ministry of Defence. The government determined that any other source would result in an unacceptable delivery delay of approximately eight years, which would jeopardize urgent warfighter needs for radio frequency countermeasure capabilities integrated with the F-35 platform. The contract structure consists of a base year and up to one option period, with authority expiring on September 30, 2026. Performance will take place in Luton, UK, with final acceptance expected at Patuxent River, Maryland. The procurement process bypassed standard competitive evaluation factors, such as Lowest Price Technically Acceptable or trade-off analysis, because Leonardo UK, LTD was identified as the only responsible source capable of meeting the technical and timeline requirements. While the contract includes provisions for hardware-in-the-loop, software validation, and safe separation testing to ensure F-35 compatibility, specific pricing, CLIN structures, and detailed packaging standards were not disclosed in the available documentation.