Companies that build command-and-control technology for the Air Force and Space Force are about to get a new contract door to compete through, and small businesses will have a reserved lane behind it. Brig. Gen. Joshua Williams, the Air Force's portfolio acquisition executive for command, control, communications and battle management (C3BM), told reporters Sept. 16 that his office is creating a multiple-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity vehicle called Megatron for the DAF Battle Network and other capabilities, DefenseScoop reported. The SAM.gov special notice for the vehicle, numbered FA861227RB001, gives industry until Sept. 30 to comment on a draft statement of work.

"The DAF Battle Network depends on an industrial base that can innovate, integrate and deliver at the speed of relevance, and we need to build business mechanisms to enable their ability to do that," Williams said on the sidelines of AFA's Air, Space and Cyber Conference, according to DefenseScoop.

What Will the Megatron IDIQ Buy?

The special notice, titled DAF Battle Network "Megatron" MAC IDIQ, says the vehicle "will be a hybrid supply and service contract vehicle supporting the development, procurement, assembly, delivery, and sustainment of PAE C3BM product lines." Ordering offices will be able to buy capabilities across six areas the notice names: digital architecture, sensor integration, secure processing, connectivity, applications, and synthetic environment development.

DefenseScoop describes the DAF Battle Network as the department's system-of-systems approach to connecting sensors, effectors and logistics technology, and as the Air Force and Space Force contribution to the Pentagon's Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) effort. According to the department, the outlet reported, the architecture integrates roughly 50 programs of record across the two services.

Williams said Megatron will not be limited to a single DAF Battle Network program; his office is building it to support multiple appropriations and span different programs, DefenseScoop reported.

"This contract is about integration to win," Williams said. "We want industry to understand the mission problem, bring their best ideas, and be prepared to deliver interoperable and adaptive capability." He said the vehicle will also accommodate commercial solutions, continuous software delivery and software pathways.

Two Awardee Pools, a Part 15 Competition and Decentralized Ordering

The notice states the structure plainly: "This vehicle will be awarded with a Small Business pool and an unrestricted pool of awardees." The SAM.gov record lists the set-aside as partial small business, with NAICS code 541715, a research and development classification, and product service code AC13. Julianne Payne is the procuring contracting officer.

An Aug. 5 entry in the notice says the acquisition strategy "has been officially approved, and decision authority has been delegated." The Air Force will compete the IDIQ under RFO Part 15 source selection procedures, the negotiated-procurement rules as rewritten in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul.

Ordering will not run through a single office. "The vehicle will be decentralized, allowing all DAF program offices and DoW agencies to place orders," the notice says.

The notice gives no contract ceiling, no ordering period and no count of awards planned for either pool. Williams told reporters the contract's ceiling and work period have not been finalized. The Air Force will use requests for information and other industry engagement to define what it needs, he said.

Megatron's Schedule: Draft RFP in Late Q4 FY26, Award in Q3 FY27

The notice's Aug. 5 entry lays out the schedule in fiscal quarters, in these words: "Draft RFP: Targeted for late Q4 FY26. Final RFP: Anticipated in mid Q1 FY27. Anticipated Award: Targeted for Q3 FY27."

The federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30, so a late Q4 FY26 draft RFP would arrive by the end of this month if the target holds. The first quarter of fiscal 2027 runs October through December 2026, and the third quarter runs April through June 2027. Bidders should plan from the notice's fiscal-quarter language, not calendar-year paraphrases.

The landing page went up Aug. 5. Version 2, posted Sept. 4, added the draft statement of work and opened industry day registration. The notice ID will stay the same through later postings.

How Do Companies Get the Controlled Draft SOW?

The draft statement of work and its feedback template are marked Controlled Unclassified Information and posted under controlled access. Companies must request access through the notice's attachments section. The notice says requests "will be vetted by the contracting team against active SAM.gov entity registrations and CAGE codes in accordance with foreign participation restrictions."

A public cover memo attached to the notice carries the feedback instructions. All feedback and questions must use the provided template and reach Payne by email no later than Sept. 30 at 1700 EDT.

A virtual industry day follows on Oct. 7 from 0800 to 1200 EDT over Teams Live. Col Bai Lan Zhu will open with a briefing on the ABMS mission. Jeffery "Ryan" Compton, the Megatron program manager, and Payne will then brief the upcoming RFP. Registration closes Oct. 5 at 1700 EDT. The Air Force will not schedule one-on-one sessions because of the expected volume, and it will post all questions received, with government responses, to SAM.gov after the event.

What It Means for Contractors

The clock that matters now is the Sept. 30 feedback deadline, and the access request has to come first. A company cannot comment on a draft it has not been cleared to read, and the notice says access requests are checked against active SAM.gov registrations and CAGE codes.

Small businesses get a reserved pool on a hybrid supply-and-service vehicle built for an architecture the department says integrates roughly 50 programs of record. Firms near the size standard for NAICS 541715 should decide early whether to bid as a small-business prime or team with an unrestricted-pool bidder.

Decentralized ordering changes where business development happens after award. If every DAF program office and DoW agency can place orders, a seat on Megatron means competing for work from many buyers, not one program office.

Written feedback is the main channel for shaping the requirement. With no one-on-one sessions and a Q&A that will be published, the template due Sept. 30 is where a company can argue for changes before the final RFP locks the terms.

The open items are large: ceiling, ordering period, number of awardees per pool and evaluation criteria. The draft RFP and the Oct. 7 briefing are the next places those answers can appear.

Sources