Department of Defense · Department of the Air Force · FA8601 AFLCMC PZIO
Account requiredWhy it scored this way
Every reason behind the verdict rather than the headline one — which of your certifications match, how much runway is left, whether the work is your size, and what we would need to know to sharpen it.
The requirements that decide a bid — bonding, clearances, experience minimums, page limits — live in the attachments, not in the notice above. Start a free trial to upload them and have them read.
Draft the paperwork
Written against this notice and what you have told us about your company. Anything we do not know is marked [NEEDS INPUT] in the draft rather than guessed at — read it before you send it. Federal notices routinely put the real requirement in an attachment; adding the documents above makes every one of these materially better.
Start a free trial to draft these. Nothing is sent to an agency on your behalf, ever — you get a document to review, edit and submit yourself.
What would disqualify you
Read straight from the solicitation documents: the bonding, clearances, insurance minimums, experience thresholds and deadlines that decide whether you can bid at all — before you write a word.
Sources Sought response
A complete draft response — capability statement, relevant past performance, business size and socioeconomic status, and answers to the agency's specific questions.
Questions to submit
Genuine ambiguities and requirements that disadvantage a smaller bidder, drafted as questions you can submit before the Q&A deadline.
Past performance write-ups
Which of your prior awards best match this requirement, and draft write-ups in the format the agency asked for.
Solicitation details
Solicitation number
FA860127Q0003
Notice type
Sources Sought
NAICS
334516
Product service code
1680
Set-aside
No Set aside used
Posted
2026-10-14
Response deadline
Oct 23, 2026, 3:00 PM UTC
Place of performance
Wright Patterson AFB, OH
Contracting contact
alejandro.quiles_sanchez.1@us.af.mil
Market intelligence
Account requiredWho wins this work, and what it pays
Comparable awards under NAICS 334516 at this agency — the incumbent, what they were paid, when their period of performance ends, and the real pricing distribution rather than the headline number. From public federal award records.
Notice from the United States Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Installation Contracting Division, Base Support Contracting Branch at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), Ohio: INTRODUCTION: AFLCMC Operational Contracting Branch at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on behalf of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), is conducting market research through a Sources Sought Notice to identify potential sources, including small businesses, capable of manufacturing and delivering customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors and associated protected-gold coating services. These precision optical components will support AFIT’s Extreme Light Laboratory and its ultra-intense laser experiments involving advanced laser-matter interactions. This notice is issued solely to determine the availability and capability of qualified sources to meet the Government’s requirements. This notice is not a solicitation, request for quotation, or commitment by the Government to award a contract. A small business set-aside determination has not yet been made for this acquisition. REQUIREMENTS: The Government requires a contractor to provide all labor, materials, equipment, manufacturing capability, quality assurance, testing, inspection documentation, packaging, transportation, and other resources necessary to produce and deliver customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors and associated protected-gold coating services to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The required items and services include, but are not limited to: System and Compatibility Requirements: a. The contractor shall provide 66 customized off-axis parabolic (OAP) mirrors for use in AFIT’s Extreme Light Laboratory. b. Each mirror shall use a fused-silica substrate. c. Each mirror shall have a diameter of 30 mm. d. Each mirror shall have a parabolic focus at 45 degrees. e. The mirrors shall be compatible with the Government’s ultra-intense laser research application and shall provide the precision focal spot required for the Extreme Light Laboratory. Performance and Operational Specifications: a. The optical surface roughness shall be less than 1 nm root mean square (RMS). b. The scratch/dig specification shall be 20-10. c. The backside of each mirror substrate shall be polished. d. The contractor shall perform quality testing and inspection sufficiently to verify compliance with all required optical and surface-quality characteristics. e. The contractor shall provide applicable test data and inspection documentation with the delivered mirrors. Reagents and Consumables: a. The contractor shall provide protected-gold coating services for the required OAP mirrors. b. The protected gold coating shall be applied to the fused-silica substrate. c. The coating shall provide an average reflectivity of not less than 97 percent. d. The required reflectivity wavelength shall be 780 ± 40 nm. e. The required angle of incidence shall be 45 degrees. f. The contractor shall provide all materials, coating consumables, and related manufacturing resources necessary to meet the stated coating requirements. Physical and Safety Specifications: a. The contractor shall package and protect the mirrors to prevent damage during handling, shipment, and delivery. b. The contractor shall provide all required quality, inspection, and test documentation with delivery, including available certificate of conformance, material certification, surface-measurement data, and coating-performance data, as applicable. c. The contractor shall ship all required mirrors and associated documentation to the Government-designated delivery location at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. d. Delivery shall be completed within 98 calendar days after receipt of order (ARO). e. The mirrors delivered shall be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal and proper use for a minimum period of two years after Government receipt. SUBMISSION DETAILS: Interested parties are requested to submit a capability package that provides clear and convincing evidence of their ability to provide the services outlined above. In addition, interested parties must provide the following information: Company Name, Address, CAGE Code, and Unique Entity ID (UEI). Point of Contact (Name, Phone Number, and Email Address). Company business size status under a relevant NAICS code 334516. Prospective contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://www.sam.gov to be eligible for a Department of Defense contract award. CLOSING: Responses to this Sources Sought notice must be submitted via email no later than October 23, 2026, at 11:00am Eastern Time. All correspondence sent via email must contain the subject line: “FA860127Q0003, Sources Sought: Off-Axis Parabolic Mirrors.” Be advised that due to network filters, attachments ending in .zip or .exe are not allowable and will be deleted. Please submit all response packages directly to the following Points of Contact (POCs): Contract Specialist: Name: Alejandro Quiles Email: alejandro.quiles_sanchez.1@us.af.mil Contracting Officer: Name: Jessica Stamper Email: jessica.stamper.2@us.af.mil This is a Sources Sought notice for market research purposes only. In accordance with Revolutionary FAR Overall (RFO) 15.201, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary and will not be reimbursed by the Government. The Government’s assessment of the capability statements received will factor in whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as a full and open competition or as a set-aside. Attachments: Statement of Work List of Minimun Requirements
Contact
Point of contact
Alejandro Quiles
Role
not stated on this notice — SAM publishes a role for only about 5% of them, so this may be a contract specialist rather than the contracting officer
Email
alejandro.quiles_sanchez.1@us.af.mil
Secondary
jessica.stamper.2@us.af.mil
Submit questions
Ambiguities and requirements worth clarifying, written as questions you can send before the deadline.
Opens in your own mail client, addressed and with a subject line — you write the message. GovSprint never sends anything on your behalf.
Emails open in your mail client and are sent from your address, so the reply comes back to you and the exchange stays yours. Confirm the correct channel and any question deadline on the notice before sending — many solicitations require questions in a specific way.
