EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. The U.S. Air Force is making another run at industry for enabling technologies to improve simulation and evaluation of current and future weapons in realistic and non-destructive flight and mission simulations.
Officials of the Air Force 96th Test Wing's 782nd Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., re-issued a solicitation (FA2486-25-X-0001) on Thursday for the Hardware-in-the-loop of Advanced Navigation & Guidance Sensors (HANGS) project.
Hardware-in-the-loop simulations will provide high-fidelity performance assessment for system development, risk mitigation prior to live flight tests, testing scenarios that are not feasible for live flight, and evaluation of candidate components and technologies for system improvements, Air Force experts say.
The Air Force originally issued this HANGS solicitation last May, with responses expected in August 2025, yet re-issued the solicitation on Thursday in hopes of receiving more promising proposals.
Enabling technologies
HANGS seeks enabling technologies to help evaluate the feasibility of seekers and sensors; position, navigation, and timing (PNT); guidance, navigation, and control; RF data links; mission computers; and flight software. Prototypes should relate to missile offense, missile defense, and strategic weapons.
HANGS has four technology areas of interest: dynamic real-time multispectral scene generation and projection/injection systems; midcourse and navigation environment simulation; datalink and radio communications simulation; and high-frame-rate real-time simulation.
Dynamic real-time multispectral scene generation and projection seeks to render band-specific imagery into one or more sensors, either by free-space projection, or by digital injection.
Imagery should involve infrared, ultraviolet, visible-light, and RF bands; multi-object, clutter, and background scenes; target and background modeling; and compatibility with industry standards.
Navigation simulation
Midcourse and navigation environment simulation involves real-time projection of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and alternative PNT solutions, including propagation, environmental, and countermeasure effects.
Datalink and radio communications simulation involves multi-protocol datalink and radio communication among several real and simulated guided weapons, including propagation, environmental, and countermeasure effects; simulation of large networks, network loading, and transport; and simulation of commercial low-Earth-orbit satellite communications networks.
High-frame-rate real-time simulation involves computers able to carry out correlated real-time flight simulations for several systems at very high frame rates, including graphics processors. Several contract awards are expected.
How to respond
Companies interested should email enhanced white papers no later than 31 Jan. 2026 to the Air Force's Heather Stiles at [email protected], and to Logan Deming at [email protected].
Email questions or concerns to Heather Stiles at [email protected], and to Logan Deming at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/5a3114985dec4d76aa356d219e74d03e/view.
