16th Air Force Commercial Solutions Opening

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) Call, "CALL 0005," issued by the 16th Air Force, seeks innovative commercial approaches and technologies to address challenges in the Department of the Air Force's Information Network (DAFIN) and warfighter communications. The goal is to improve resource allocation, address critical skill gaps, enhance training, strengthen defensive cyber capabilities, expand DAFIN cyberspace mission support, and achieve full operational capability of DAFIN-SOCs. The solicitation focuses on two specific topics: Topic 007 (Air Force Information Network - AFIN) and Topic 016 (Defense Cyberspace Operations - DCO & DCO-IDM).

The Air Force is seeking solutions that will:

• Eliminate redundancies and streamline processes in defensive cyber weapon systems.
• Optimize resource allocation for enhanced operational effectiveness.
• Provide skilled subject matter expertise.
• Maintain Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of defensive cyber weapon systems.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive training programs.
• Improve governing, identification, protection, detection, response, and recovery of defensive cyber weapon system capabilities.
• Expand DAFIN cyberspace mission support.
• Ensure full operational capability of DAFIN-SOCs.

Specific capability needs include:

• Intelligent Security Operations Maintenance Support (24/7 monitoring, AI-driven anomaly detection, rapid fault detection, automated remediation).

• Adaptive Network Infrastructure Support (agile management, threat detection, automated backups, AI-powered optimization, scalable virtualized/cloud management).

• Automated System Administration & End-User Support (intelligent user account management, automated OS/application installation, streamlined troubleshooting, proactive security policy enforcement).

• Proactive Cybersecurity Governance & Compliance (dynamic policy development, automated compliance checks, streamlined Assessment and Authorization (A&A) support).

• Strategic Project Management & Training (efficient IT project management, AI-driven training, smart inventory management).

• Awards will be in the form of contracts or other transactions (OT).

• Funding is competitive and contingent upon fund availability.

• The government reserves the right to fund all, some, one, or none of the proposals, or fund only a portion of a proposal.

• Fiscal Year 2026 funding is anticipated with a period of performance of 4 years (exceptions may be considered).

• Contract types may be Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or Fixed Price Incentive (FPI).

• This is a two-step submission process:

  • Step I: Submit a Quad Chart and White Paper by 26 January 2026. Offerors are encouraged to monitor Sam.gov for amendments.
  • Step II: Select offerors from Step I will be invited to submit full proposals.

• Evaluation criteria for Step I include Technical Merit/Applicability, Importance to the 16th Air Force Mission, and Funds Availability. All factors are of equal importance.

• Evaluation method is peer or scientific review.

• White paper and quad chart submissions are to be sent to 16af.cso.workflow@us.af.mil with the subject line "CALL 005 OSCARS".

• Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).

• Offerors must be considered responsible and have a satisfactory performance record.

• Offerors must possess required personnel security clearances and facility clearances for classified work.

• "Innovative" refers to new technologies, processes, or methods as of the proposal submission date.

• Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should not be included in responses.

• White paper responses are not offers and do not form a binding contract.

• No reimbursement will be made for costs associated with responding.

• All submissions become Government property.

• There are no specific Technology Readiness Level (TRL) requirements, but proposed solutions should be mature enough for assessment and demonstration within a year (ideally).

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This document is a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) solicitation from the 16th Air Force, authorized by 10 USC 3458 and DFARS 212.70. The CSO aims to competitively award contracts for innovative commercial items, technologies, and services based on proposals received. The goal is to acquire solutions that fulfill requirements, close capability gaps, or provide potential technology advancements, including new applications of existing technologies. All items, technologies, and services acquired under this CSO will be treated as commercial items.

This CSO is an umbrella solicitation and does not request white papers or proposals at this time. Specific requirements, topics, evaluation criteria, and proposal instructions will be detailed in "Calls" issued under this CSO. Potential offerors are responsible for monitoring SAM.gov for these Calls. The Calls will define broadly defined Topics and more specific problem topic interest areas. The 16th Air Force is seeking innovative and novel solutions across various "Areas of Interest," including:

• Electromagnetic Warfare (EW)
• Information Operations (IO)
• Electromagnetic Digital Communications
• Multi-Domain Innovation
• Weather and Climate Resources
• Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)
• Air Force Information Network (AFIN)
• Geophysics and Seismology
• Air and Space
• Directed Energy Weapon (DEW)
• Nuclear and Nuclear-Related Materials Analysis
• Materials Modeling and Analysis
• Enterprise Wide Integration and Architecture Modernization
• Enterprise Asset and Lifecycle Management Improvements
• High Performance and Secure Cloud Computing and Dev Ops Solutions for Data Ingestion, Exploitation, and Dissemination
• Defense Cyberspace Operations (DCO) & Defense Cyberspace Operations-Internal Defense Measures (DCO-IDM)

Awards may result in FAR Part 12 contracts or Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs). The CSO remains open indefinitely with an annual update. The Government is not obligated to make any award and awards are subject to the availability of funds. The potential for an increase in value and level of effort for resultant awards exists.

This CSO utilizes a two-step process for Calls:

1. Submission of a white paper and/or proposal in response to a posted CSO Call.
2. Proposals will only be accepted from Offerors invited after Phase I review to submit a full proposal.

Small businesses must demonstrate the ability to safeguard their systems and data and meet the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) level required by each Call. Resources like Project Spectrum are available to assist small businesses. Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and possess a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

• Funding is not available at this time.
• Unsolicited proposals will not be accepted.
• Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should not be included in responses.
• The Government reserves the right to amend solicitation requirements.
• Price will be determined fair and reasonable using market research.