FAA STC for NOAA GML Greenhouse Gas Aircraft System (NGAS)

This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal or Quotation. It is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided.

Pursuant to Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to:

1. Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exist.
2. Determine whether the acquisition should utilize any of the small business programs in accordance with RFO Part 19.

Pursuant to RFO Parts 12 and 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action.

Requirement: This notice is issued by the Western Acquisition Division (WAD), in support of GML, to identify sources capable of providing the following:

The Government requires an STC for NOAA GML NGAS to extend certification to additional aircraft platforms. The Contractor shall provide Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE); hardware kitting and provisioning; and on-site surveying and installation support, to establish the structural, power, data, control, and gas flow preconditions required to operate the Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) aboard commercial Boeing 737-800 or Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft.  This requirement will be potentially structured as follows:

• Base Task for the STC Amendment, verification, and NRE
• Option Task A for hardware kitting and provisioning
• Option Task B for on-site survey and installation support

General Technical Requirements:

• Staffing: The Contractor shall provide project management, engineering, and on-site technical personnel with expertise in aircraft modifications, structural verification, fluid dynamics, FAA STC amendments, and avionics integration.
• Schedules: The Contractor shall align all engineering, surveying, and installation support to the project milestones. The Contractor shall secure the STC award six (6) months after the aircraft type and airline are identified. If Option B is exercised, the Contractor shall complete the aircraft site survey either one (1) month after the aircraft type and airline are identified or after the option is exercised, whichever is later.
• Resources: The Contractor shall utilize standard NGAS Provision components, including a structural rack, an aircraft air inlet that allows exterior air to be sampled, stainless steel air tubing to provide leak free connections between air inlet and LRU, and the Astronics CSC Sabre All-In-One (AIO) Unit (Part Number: E71-315-C01) needed for both connectivity with aircraft ARINC 429 air data system and G5 network needed to off load data from LRU and aircraft position data for downstream data analysis and quality assurance.
• Power and Wiring Provisions: The Contractor shall provide the necessary power cabling and wiring infrastructure to supply electrical power to the Sabre unit as well as the NGAS LRU systems.
• Assumptions: The Contractor shall assume only minor changes are required for FAA STC to accommodate the NGAS system on the new aircraft type, as identical space will be available in the avionics bay to meet structural, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), and fire hazard requirements.

Potential Tasks:

1. Base Request: Task 1 – STC Amendment, Verification, and Engineering (NRE)
   
   1. The Contractor shall update existing engineering documentation to amend the FAA STC for the newly identified Boeing 737-800 or Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft.
   2. The Contractor shall perform structural and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) verification to confirm the air intake (inlet) system presents no impact to aircraft static ports and poses no risk of icing, maintaining the safety baseline established on the Boeing 737-900ER.
   3. The Contractor shall process a Minor Change to add the new aircraft tails to the Master Document List (MDL) for FAA certification compliance.
   4. The Contractor shall conduct monthly project management and status update meetings to ensure proper oversight of the NGAS system certification amendment. These meetings shall commence immediately upon contract award and continue through the preparation of the STC amendment package and the final upload of the NGAS system.
2. Option A: Task 2 – Hardware Kitting and Provisioning
   1. The Contractor shall build recurring Installation Kits to provide the mechanical, electrical, and data provisions for the NGAS LRUs on the new aircraft platform.
   2. The Contractor shall configure the Astronics CSC Sabre AIO Unit to interface with the aircraft ARINC 429 ports to continuously read ambient temperature, air speed, pressure, latitude, and longitude data.
   3. The Contractor shall configure the Sabre AIO Unit to provide 5G cellular access to establish an upload pathway for both aircraft data and NGAS LRU data. The Contractor shall program this 5G access to activate only when Weight-on-Wheels (WoW) is engaged to allow for operational quality assessments of the LRUs while safely on the ground.
3. Option B: Task 3 – On-Site Survey and Installation Support
   1. The Contractor shall conduct site surveys for the designated aircraft to verify physical readiness and avionics bay space for the NGAS Provisions Installation.
   2. The Contractor shall provide on-site installation travel and support to integrate the rack, Air Inlet, tubing, and electrical connections securely into the forward left Electrical and Electronics (E&E) bay of the aircraft.

A Firm-Fixed-Price contract is anticipated for award.

Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance is as follows:

• Base Task: September 21, 2026 - September 20, 2027
• Option Task A: September 21, 2027 - September 20, 2028
• Option Task B: September 21, 2027 - September 20, 2028

 This requirement is estimated to be awarded on or before 21 September 2026. 

NAICS Code/Size Standard: The applicable NAICS Code is 541330, Engineering Service, and the size standard is $25.5M.

Submission of Information: Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice.

Companies may respond to this Sources Sought Notice by using the Google Portal Link below.

https://forms.gle/Ev8LrXFMRFXt8dDu7

Responses shall be submitted no later than 3pm MT on 21 August 2026.

Interested parties: Need to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).  Failure to submit sufficient detailed information may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as deemed appropriate for this requirement.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation.

After a review of the responses received from this notice, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE). It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor the GPE for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation.