Prototype / solution competitionClosedUS

Air Force - Small UAS & Asymmetric Capabilities - Commercial Solutions Opening

SAM.gov (U.S. federal contract opportunities) · the publisher calls it «Prototype / solution competition»

The Air Force is running a five-phase CSO call for mature, flight-proven small UAS platforms that can be air-launched and carry a 35 lb communications relay payload, with Phase 1 Solution Briefs due 15 October 2026 and the call now archived as closed. The attachment cites the parent CSO as FA8629-25-S-C001 and the call as CSO Call 002, which conflicts with the page's FA8629-26-S-C001 and Call-001 labels, so the references should be verified before any use. (machine-written summary)

Deadline: 15 Oct 2026 (time: see source); Source text: «Response deadline (SAM.gov data field): 15 October 2026 17:00 EDT»
Need owner: AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER
Round: Call 001
References: FA8629-26-S-C001(Call-001)
What is needed: The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is seeking commercial or non-developmental baseline sUAS platforms for long-range, single-use, uncrewed air-launched autonomous vehicle
Who is sought: This call under CSO FA8629-25-S-C001 is open to both U.S. and international vendors.
Maturity: The proposed platform must be a mature TRL 6 prototype with established flight heritage (including successful launch-to-flight transitions) in relevant field conditions outside of a laboratory.
How to respond: All materials, including questions and Solution Briefs, must be sent to the Asymmetric Warfare Org Box (Inbox: usafoffensivesmalluas@groups.af.mil).
Access: Norwegian suppliers: not stated — check the access terms; Source text: «This call under CSO FA8629-25-S-C001 is open to both U.S. and international vendors. Any company selected for an award that does not possess a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code or Dunn and Bradstreet (DUNS) number will be required by the Department of Defense (DoD) to register in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov).»
Membership required: Not stated
Funding: Not stated
Possible follow-on: Furthermore, in accordance with applicable prototyping authorities, the Government explicitly reserves the right to award a non-competitive follow-on production contract or transaction (Phase 5) to any vendors that successfully completes the prototype/integration phases.
Commitment: The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none for an award.
Published by the source: 2026-09-30

Sources

Attached document · Official publisher: https://sam.gov/api/prod/opps/v3/opportunities/resources/files/31cdaa5bc5c34b10afbcee69f4eff7d1/download · read 2026-11-03
Publisher page · Official publisher: https://sam.gov/opp/e99a0b4ea0734d26bb5ee178d0356b6e/view · read 2026-11-03
Formal notice · Official publisher: https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/e99a0b4ea0734d26bb5ee178d0356b6e/view · notice in our contracts register

Changes

2026-11-03 · Status in the source: "open" → "closed"
2026-11-03 · type label: "Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO)" → "Prototype / solution competition"
2026-11-03 · need owner: "Department of the Air Force" → "AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER"
2026-11-03 · Summary: "The Air Force seeks commercial or non-developmental mature TRL 6 small UAS platforms, with a 35 lb communications relay payload integration, through a five-phase CSO with Phase 1 Solution Briefs due 15 October 2026 at 17:00 EDT. The attachment is titled \"Call 002\" and cites FA8629-25-S-C001 while the page says Call 001 under FA8629-26-S-C001, so the reference should be confirmed before responding." → "The Air Force is running a five-phase CSO call for mature, flight-proven small UAS platforms that can be air-launched and carry a 35 lb communications relay payload, with Phase 1 Solution Briefs due 15 October 2026 and the call now archived as closed. The attachment cites the parent CSO as FA8629-25-S-C001 and the call as CSO Call 002, which conflicts with the page's FA8629-26-S-C001 and Call-001 labels, so the references should be verified before any use."
2026-11-03 · follow on text: "the Government explicitly reserves the right to award a non-competitive follow-on production contract or transaction (Phase 5) to any vendors that successfully completes the prototype/integration phases." → "Furthermore, in accordance with applicable prototyping authorities, the Government explicitly reserves the right to award a non-competitive follow-on production contract or transaction (Phase 5) to any vendors that successfully completes the prototype/integration phases."
2026-11-03 · no commitment text: "The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards, a single award, or no award at all in any phase." → "The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none for an award."
2026-11-03 · relevance reason: "The call explicitly seeks commercial baseline small UAS platforms and a communications relay payload for them." → "The call seeks small unmanned aircraft platforms and their communications relay payload integration, so it is directly relevant to UAS suppliers."
2026-10-10 · supersedes contracts: null → 1

Last checked against the source 2026-11-03.