Description
The Air Force Aerial Targets Branch is conducting market research through an RFI to identify commercial and near‑term solutions for a family of aerial target systems spanning low‑cost expendable drones to high‑end reusable full‑scale replicas. The solicitation seeks technical concepts, performance data, and rough‑order‑of‑magnitude (ROM) cost estimates for three tiered target categories, with emphasis on affordability, attritability, recoverability, and repairability. Respondents may propose system‑level platforms or individual subsystems (e.g., C2, payloads, sensors) and must address security (FIPS‑140‑2) and modular SWaP‑C considerations.
• Three-tier “Family of Targets” framework (Tier 1 high‑end reusable, Tier 2 mid‑tier attritable, Tier 3 low‑cost expendable) with performance envelopes ranging from supersonic fighter‑like to sub‑150 kt swarm drones.
• Required deliverables include a technical overview, alignment to the four priority areas, ROM unit‑cost, NRE, sustainment estimates, and C2 architecture compatibility.
• Submission deadline is 28 September 2026 16:00 CT; questions due by 28 August 2026 16:00 CT. No contract award or budget is disclosed at this stage.