WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking industry input on a potential Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to modernize its Very High Frequency/Frequency Modulated (VHF/FM) radio communications infrastructure across the National Airspace System (NAS), according to a market survey and statement of work issued by the agency.
The effort is being led by the FAA Command and Control Communications (C3) Division, also known as AXE-400, and the NAS Recovery Communications (RCOM) program. The initiative is intended to ensure survivable, secure, and redundant command-and-control communications capabilities for the agency, particularly during emergencies, system outages, and disasters when commercial communications services may be unavailable.
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Modernization moves
According to the FAA, the planned modernization supports a mandated transition from 25 kHz wideband channels to 12.5 kHz narrowband channel spacing in the 162–174 MHz VHF/FM band, as required by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The agency said more than 1,000 sites nationwide require equipment replacement as part of the transition.
The FAA is currently evaluating industry capability to supply, maintain, and support a range of communications equipment and services, including VHF/FM radios, land mobile radio (LMR) systems, repeaters, handheld radios, desktop base stations, antenna systems, and associated test and programming equipment. The effort also includes software provisioning, maintenance agreements, logistics tracking, installation services, and technical support.
Interoperability is key
A key requirement of the planned contract is compliance with Project 25 (P25) digital radio standards to ensure interoperability with public safety and emergency response communications systems. The FAA also requires vendors to provide asset tracking, including serial-number-level inventory management and FAA-approved asset tagging across deployed systems.
The agency said the contract will be structured as an IDIQ vehicle with firm-fixed-price delivery orders covering equipment procurement, maintenance, upgrades, and related services. The FAA also indicated that emergency delivery orders may be issued during declared national emergencies to support continuity of operations across the NAS communications network.
In addition to equipment modernization, the FAA is seeking vendor input on training, installation support, software updates, and lifecycle maintenance strategies, including co-termination of existing and future maintenance agreements.
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The FAA said responses to the market survey will help shape its acquisition strategy, which may include full and open competition, small business set-asides, or other procurement approaches. The anticipated evaluation method is lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA), provided all technical requirements are met.
Responses for this inquiry are due on 6 July 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern. The FAA named Stephania Ivory as the primary point of contact for this project. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/cd8ab0ddcf9f4714844b7372d8dcc7e9/view.
