RADOME INSPECTION, REPAIR, AND ENGINEERING SERVICES

This Sources Sought notice is for planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with RFO 5.101 provided at: https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-5#FAR_5_101.

No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or services or to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this Source Sought notice, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service (NWS), and Radar Operations Center (ROC), located in Norman, OK is conducting market research seeking information regarding capabilities for an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contact (IDIQ) to provide inspection, repair, and engineering services of WSR-88D radomes throughout 160 operational radar systems across the United States and at selected overseas locations.

The Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) program is a joint effort of the Department of Commerce (DOC), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The operational user agencies involved are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the DOD’s United States Air Force (USAF) and the DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The NEXRAD Program has deployed 160 operational Weather Surveillance Radars - 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) weather radar systems throughout the United States and at selected overseas locations.

The WSR-88D ROC located in Norman, OK has support management responsibility for these radars for the tri-agency NEXRAD program. Part of the support management responsibility associated with these radars is the maintenance of the radome structure in a fully operational condition to ensure the mission of the tri-agency radar network can be continuously met. Timeliness of radome repairs, both routine as well as catastrophic failure replacement, is critical to the mission of the WSR-88D radar system.

The WSR-88D Radome was designed and manufactured by L3 Communications - ESSCO (Formerly Electronic Space Systems Co.) and is known today as CPI ESSCO. The radome configuration is Model S38-90, Part Number 8531-1, and its associated subsystems whose design and engineering data is the proprietary property of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Consistency in the radome configuration baseline is mandatory at all WSR-88D sites to sustain the quality of the meteorological products generated as a result of the radar antenna sending and receiving signals at the specific frequency assigned to NEXRAD. Changing the characteristics of the S38-90 radome engineering design would adversely impact the quality of meteorological products produced by the NEXRAD radar. Because the WSR-88D radome is a rigid spherical structure which encloses the antenna equipment and protects it from the elements, the structural soundness of the sphere must be maintained to ensure the protection of the radar equipment. Any delamination of a radome panel can contribute to the weakening of the spherical structure and subsequent protection of radar equipment. It is necessary to periodically inspect the soundness of the radome and lightning protection system conditions at various WSR-88D sites which are exposed to extreme environments or have experienced a catastrophic event. Additionally, some radomes are located at remote mountainous sites with severe weather environments where the wind and ice loading are excessive. These sites are only accessible at certain times of the year for a limited period of time and require frequent maintenance. Timeliness of inspection and subsequent repair are critical in these situations to restore the WSR-88D radome to its original operational condition. WSR-88D radars must be 96% operationally available in order to meet the diverse meteorological missions of the NEXRAD tri-agency partners.

The Government does not own the data rights to the engineering and maintenance data associated with the WSR-88D radome as they are cost prohibitive to the Government. The Government maintains copies of the engineering and maintenance data, but does not have permission from the OEM to distribute the plans outside the Government.

Additionally, the Government does not have the resources, to acquire, replenish and manage supplies and materials as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) other than two catastrophic radome kits and miscellaneous parts stored in forty-foot Conex containers currently stored in Shrewsbury, MA.

The NWS is seeking vendor capabilities for a potential 5-year IDIQ that would involve inspection, repair, and engineering services of WSR-88D radomes throughout 160 operational radar systems across the United States and at selected overseas locations.

PWS Attachments will not be provided for this Sources Sought Notice, but will be provided if and when a formal solicitation is posted.

1. Capability statements shall clearly show an understanding and compliance with the attachment Performance Work Statement (PWS).

1. Please provide your company profile:

• Company Name as listed in System for Award Management (SAM)
• Company Address
• The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code for this requirement is 561210 Facility Support Services.
• Provide your Unique Entity ID if registered (12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov). The website can be accessed and utilized free of charge at https://sam.gov/content/home
• Small Business Administration (SBA) certified small business concern status and/or economic status (if applicable)
• Primary point of contact information and secondary point of contact (Name, Title, Phone, and Email)
• Provide information relating to any common commercial practices regarding providing the needed supplies that the Government should be aware of
• Provide any other relevant information not specifically mentioned in this Sources Sought notice that your company feels would be beneficial to the Government to consider in finalizing its market research and acquisition strategy.

Government Point of Contact

Company brochures will not be considered in lieu of the response requirement. Interested vendors are invited to submit an electronic copy of their response to Taylor Wisneski, Contract Specialist, taylor.wisneski@noaa.gov no later than 10:00 AM CST on October 30, 2026. Any questions or responses regarding this notice must be submitted to Taylor Wisneski via the above email address provided. Information received in response to this Sources Sought notice will be considered solely to conduct informed decisions regarding the potential procurement strategy of this requirement.

Responses to the Sources Sought announcement are not offers and cannot be accepted by NOAA to form a binding contract. 

This Sources Sought notice is serving as market research.  If interested vendors decide not to respond to this Sources Sought notice, it will not preclude them from submitting a response for any subsequent competitive NOAA solicitation.