The Defense Logistics Agency has just issued a Sources Sought Solicitation looking for companies that can produce this sole-source air conditioning duct used on the C-130 aircraft. The duct, NSN 1660-01-581-4165 has a manufacturer’s part number of 698270-1.
Currently Lockheed Martin is the only supplier. DLA would like to see more competition for this item. Last year the military purchased 81 ducts at $5,659 each for a total contract value of $444,436. The MLC price per unit is $9,388.
There are no drawings available for this item but DLA has often made samples available for contractors that wish to reverse engineer sole source items.
This pre-solicitation is market research required by law, which is published before issuing a sole-source justification to the incumbent supplier. This provides vendors additional time to reach out to buyers and let them know their desire to compete for this business.
All offers are due by September 20, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A5-23-R-0181 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search. BidLink can help you acquire a sample of this item to reverse engineer.
DLA Aviation will be issuing a five year contract for supply of humidity indicator plugs used in various military aircraft. This aluminum alloy plug has a manufacturer’s part number of BL/D9398 and is a commercial off-the-shelf item.
The last company to sell these to the military is AGM Container which sold them for $89.17 each in quantity of 560. DLA estimates that they will purchase 1,839 humidity indicators each year over the contract term. Based on past procurement history pricing we estimate the value of this contract at $818,355.
All offers are due by August 25, 2023. This opportunity is set-aside for small business only.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A6-23-R-XE23 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
DLA Aviation has determined that it wants to see more competition for supply of navigational lamps used on the F-16 aircraft. There has been only one supplier of this item over the last nine years.
The tail lamp assembly, NSN 6220-01-443-2990 is 6.3″ x 1.6″ and operates on 115 volts AC. It is an NVIS compatible navigational tail light with one incandescent bulb. It is a Single Contact Bayonet Candelabra.
The lamp assembly was last sold to the military by Control Products Corporation for $8,383 in quantity of 11. DLA estimates that they will purchase 28 units each year and expects to spend $363,186 annually including contracting costs. The manufacturer’s part number is 4000056-001.
The government is so interested in finding more suppliers for this item that they are making samples available for companies to reverse engineer. A technical data package and drawings are also available.
There is no current solicitation for this item, but DLA has indicated that it would like to communicate with companies that could produce it in the future.
To learn more about this item, log into BidLink and put 6220-01-443-2990 into the “Search for Anything” box. BidLink can assist your company in acquiring samples from DLA.
DLA Aviation ASC Commodities Division has issued a solicitation for assorted hardware kits. Each kit, NSN 5305-01-628-1647 contains 12,103 assorted screws, nuts and other hardware, both SAE and metric. The manufacturer’s part number is AP100214. The resulting contract will have one base year and four option years for a total of five years where DLA will issue periodic delivery orders.
The approved source for this item is Sanitz Enterprise, Inc., but if other companies can supply it they may submit a Source Approval Request package to be considered as a supplier. Any company can re-sell the original kit from Sanitz. They were last sold to the military by R&M Government Services for $6,128 each in quantity of 33. Kampi Components has also sold this kit to the military.
The government estimates that they will purchase 205 hardware kits over the five year contract. We estimate the value of this contract at $1.2 Million.
All offers are due by September 8, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A6-23-R-0428 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a three year contract to supply tachometers for the AF/M32A-60 Turbine Air Start Cart. This cart is used to air start aircraft such as the A-10 “Thunderbolt II” and F-16 “Fighting Falcon” turbines.
The electronic tachometer, NSN 6680-00-944-3117 has a 3.2″ diameter and 4.5″ depth. Technical documentation is available on this item so new companies can compete.
The last company to sell this item to the military was Kelly Manufacturing which sold them for $3,387 each in quantity of 9. The solicitation includes an annual demand of 32 totaling 96 units over the three year duration. We estimate the value of this contract at $325,152.
This solicitation is set-aside for small businesses. All offers are due by August 14, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A6-23-R-XG11 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
Lt. Col Zachary ‘Rooster’ Probst taxis a F-16C Fighting Falcon from the 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron.
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for the supply of amplifiers. These amplifiers, NSN 5831-01-053-9287 are part of the refueling intercom system.
The last company to supply these to the military was DNE Technologies which sold them for $4,823 each in quantity of 8. The government expects to order 65 amplifiers over the five year term for an estimated contract value of $313,495.
Technical data is available on this item so new companies can compete. All offers due by August 11, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A7-23-R-0725 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
DLA Aviation is looking for more companies to compete to supply this rubber boot used on the B-2 bomber. This boot, NSN 1650-01-605-1747 has a manufacturer’s part number of 8898-105. The part is managed out of Tinker AFB.
Since there is only one supplier, the government has determined that it could see more competitive pricing if it could encourage more companies to make this item. They are so interested in expanding the supplier base that they are making samples of the item available for companies to reverse-engineer. Currently there are no drawings nor technical data available.
Boot – 1650-01-605-1747
The only supplier is Triman Industries, which sold 46 units in 2018 for $17,367 each. DLA estimates that they will purchase 111 units each year.
DOD estimates that they spend $3.2 Million each year purchasing this item, but based on past procurement history pricing it looks more like $1.9 Million excluding contracting costs.
There is no current solicitation for this item, but DLA has indicated that it would like to communicate with companies that could produce it in the future.
To learn more about this item, log into BidLink and put 1650-01-605-1747 into the “Search for Anything” box. BidLink can assist your company in acquiring samples from DLA.
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for supply of PAR56 light bulbs. These 300 watt, 120V flood light bulbs have a 10,000 beam candlepower rating. The contract will have two base years and three option years for a total of five years.
The last company to supply these was Janel’s Industries which sold them for $12.99 each in quantity of 383. Janel has been the only supplier since 2019. There is no set quantity in the solicitation, but DLA estimates that they will purchase 1,481 bulbs each year over the contract term. Based on past procurement history pricing we estimate the value of this contract to be $96,190.
This solicitation is set aside for small businesses only. All offers are due by June 15, 2023.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A6-23-R-XB89 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
There is an art to searching for government solicitations. The government uses multiple classification systems, misspells or abbreviates names, uses the wrong commodity classes, and lots of other mistakes. Having a broad collection of searches is necessary to make sure you are not missing anything.
The first mistake people make is only searching by one type of search term. NSN lists are great for following an exact list of items, but can miss other similar opportunities. Item names are fraught with misspellings and variants. FSCs are broad searches, but yield many results to dig through.
Use Multiple Searches
The best strategy is to set up multiple searches that automatically track the things that describe what you sell.
FSC / NAICS – Everything the government buys gets categorized in one or both of these. These searches will produce a lot of results, so filtering by the things you don’t supply can help pare down the list. You will see everything in the commodity class that the government is buying, providing a broad picture of where the opportunities lie. Not every buyer uses both FSC and NAICS, so make sure you’re following the commodity / industry classes that fit what you sell.
NSN / PART LIST – National Stock Numbers (NSN) are preferred over part numbers because of the ambiguity of the part numbering system. There are 94 different items in the FLIS with a part number of 123. NSN lists allow you to track a specific list of items. Create one for items you sell and one for your competitor’s items.
ITEM NAMES – Look at FSC searches to see what item names the Government uses. Note the abbreviations, truncation, colloquial names, and misspellings. Make a list of these. If you want to be exact with your item names, use Item Name Codes (INC).
CAGE CODES – If your company has items in the FLIS, track your CAGE code. Make a list of your competitor’s CAGE codes and follow them as well. Look through their lists and add items to your Item Name and NSN lists.
Further Refinement
If you don’t have any source approvals, filter anything that needs source approval from your searches. If its something that requires drawings, filter out items that don’t have Technical Data Packages (TDP). Use AMC codes to filter by data availability. Add a list of NSNs and item names that you don’t produce to further pare the results. If you filter on Small Business designation, keep in mind that different data sources use different classifications. Using refinements are key to reducing the number of solicitations you need to dig through every day.
DLA Aviation has issued a solicitation which will result in a five year contract for supply of landing gear used on the Black Hawk UH-60 aircraft. Depending on the ability of a contractor to supply all the require quantity, a second contract may by issued to another supplier.
This fixed tail landing gear, NSN 1620-01-623-9230 replaces NSN 1620-01-325-8223. The landing gear assembly is composed of aluminum alloy, copper alloy, and Steel comp 4130.
DLA estimates that they will purchase 48 of these each year over the five year term. There is no past procurement history for either of the above NSNs, but DLA has an estimated net price of $3,726 each. We estimate the value of this contract at $894,000.
All offers are due by May 31, 2023. Technical data is available so new companies can compete.
To learn more about this opportunity, log into BidLink and put SPE4A7-23-R-0649 into the “Search for Anything” box. More solicitations like this can be found using BidLink’s intelligent solicitation search.
