RFI - UMTE X Band Transmitter

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is conducting market research via a Request for Information to identify industry sources for a Form, Fit, Function, and Interface technical refresh of legacy X Band transmitter assemblies within the Unmanned Threat Emitter enterprise. The primary objective is to consolidate and replace obsolete, single-function vacuum-tube components, such as magnetrons and klystrons, with modern commercial-off-the-shelf or non-developmental technologies, specifically solid-state power amplifier architectures. The government seeks a solution for approximately 23 to 25 units that can provide 250W of power while adhering to strict size, weight, power, and cooling constraints of existing host shelters, including an operating temperature range of -30C to +55C. The anticipated project will be executed in three phases: design, test and implementation, and production, with performance expected to begin in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2027. The government is evaluating the use of an Other Transaction Agreement for subsequent prototyping and production and encourages responses from small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Interested parties must submit an unclassified white paper by October 21, 2026, detailing their technical approach, technology readiness level, alignment with the Modular Open Systems Approach, and rough order of magnitude cost estimates for the units and associated non-recurring engineering and integration.