Uncrewed Aerial System ( UAS ) Munition Payload Interface Solution - Sources Sought

2026-11-03

INTRODUCTION : The U . S . Army Contracting Command – New Jersey ( ACC - NJ ), on behalf of the Office of the Project Manager , Close Combat Systems ( PM CCS ), Picatinny Arsenal , NJ , is issuing this sources sought notice as a means of conducting market research to identify potential sources having an Uncrewed Aerial System ( UAS ) munition payload interface solution that is compliant with , is planned to be compliant with , or is an enhanced variant of either the Picatinny Common Lethality Interface Kit ( CLIK ) Design Standard , or its counterpart for small UAS applications , the small Universal Payload Interface ( sUPI ). The U . S . Government intends to use the results of this market research to solicit under the Title 10 USC 4022Authority of the Department of Defense to carry out certain prototype projects , and Title 10 USC 4023 Procurement for Experimental Purposes Authority , however other contracting strategies may be considered based on the results of the market research . Multiple awards may be pursued . All small business set - aside categories will be considered . Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged , and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding submissions . The Government intends to have an industry day during the Summer of 2026 to share a draft of the Request for Proposal ( RFP ). Interested sources are encouraged to monitor SAM . gov , which is where any Industry Day Notice will be posted . All contractors interested in this potential future solicitation , must be registered in the System for Award Management ( SAM ). DISCLAIMER : THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY . THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL ( RFP ) TO BE SUBMITTED . IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION , AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT . RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS , AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT . NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT . ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY . PROGRAM BACKGROUND : The U . S . Government is prioritizing the rapid deployment of low - cost , domestically produced UAS ’ s , in an effort to achieve battlefield superiority by 2027 , focusing on innovation , speed , and frontline adaptability . For example , at the small unit level , the use of small UAS ’ s to deliver munition payloads , significantly enhances combat capabilities , in that they act as a force multiplier , providing a safer and more accurate means of engaging targets . The U . S . Army is determined to pursue streamlined means of acquiring and delivering a wide range of UAS technologies at an accelerated pace , in order to provide lethal and protective capabilities to soldiers . REQUIRED CAPABILITIES : The U . S . Army has an immediate need for lethality integrated onto unmanned systems , in order to achieve and maintain overmatch capability . The Picatinny CLIK addresses this need by establishing a design document that specifies a common interface between the UAS platform and payload designs . Widespread adoption of CLIK will enable rapid integration of payloads onto commercially available UAS platforms that are compliant with the Picatinny CLIK design standard . Picatinny CLIK is intended to allow payloads to be platform - agnostic and transferable across various sizes and types of UAS ’ s , while supporting diverse lethal and protective capabilities , including anti - personnel , anti - materiel , anti - armor , obscuration , neutralization , and deception . The sUPI within the CLIK ecosystem , is a platform - to - payload interface tailored for smaller ( Group 1 & 2 ) platforms . The assemblage of devices ( platforms , payloads ) that are Picatinny CLIK - compliant , will collectively form the Picatinny CLIK ecosystem . Picatinny CLIK also has the following additional properties : a ) The physical interface will be scalable across classes of sUAS to maximize compatibility of weapon payloads . b ) Power and data requirements will be defined to operate the weaponized payloads , and transfer data to and from onboard lethal effects for mission programming . NOTE : The Government - owned Technical Data Packages ( TDP ) are marked as Distribution A – approved for public release : distribution is unlimited . ELIGIBILITY : The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is336411 , with a Small Business Size Standard of1 , 500 . The Product Service Code ( PSC ) is1550 . SUBMISSION DETAILS : Interested companies shall respond by providing the Government with the following information : 1 ) Brief summary of the company ' s capabilities , including a description of facilities , personnel , and technical and manufacturing capability . 2 ) Description of any history or experience manufacturing items that are compliant with CLIK or items that feature CLIK alternatives . 3 ) Provide Rough Order of Magnitude ( ROM ) prices for an approximate FY26 and / or FY27 production quantity of 1 , 000 units . If relevant , include a brief description of modifications necessary to make existing product designs Picatinny - CLIK compliant . 4 ) Respondents are encouraged to provide feedback / comments regarding the CLIK design standard . 5 ) Provide the organization ’ s name , address , technical point of contact , position , phone number , e - mail address , mailing address , CAGE Code , Unique Entity Identifier ( UEI ), website address , FAX , business size , and type of ownership for the organization ( public , private , joint venture ). 6 ) Due to current global supply chain and other factors , respondents are asked to identify any components or materials that may be subject to price volatility or scarcity , and address what their firm is doing to mitigate risk related to obtaining materials , price impacts , and production stability . Interested businesses shall submit a brief capabilities statement package ( no more than ten 8 . 5 X 11 inch pages , font no smaller than 10 point ), demonstrating the ability to provide the products / systems listed in this Technical Description . Documentation shall be in bullet format . No phone or email solicitations with regards to the status of the RFP , will be accepted prior to its release . Your response to this Sources Sought , including any capabilities statement , shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist , ( Zachary Smith ), in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format ( PDF ), via email ( zachary . m . smith112 . civ @ army . mil ), and the Contracting officer ( Peter W . Gerhard ) ( peter . w . gerhard . civ @ army . mil ), no later than 12 : 00 p . m . Eastern Standard Time ( EST ) on 02 March 2026 , and reference this notice number in subject line of e - mail and on all enclosed documents . No award will be made as a result of this posted notice . All information is to be submitted at no cost or obligation to the Government . The Government will accept written questions via email only . In addition to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer , please include the following personnel on any question submissions : MAJ Jacob LaGue , jacob . a . lague . mil @ army . mil . Information and materials submitted in response to this request WILL NOT be returned . DO NOT SUBMIT CLASSIFIED MATERIAL . If your organization has the potential capacity to provide the required products / systems , please provide the following information : 1 ) Organization name , address , primary points of contact ( POCs ) and their email address , CAGE Code , UEI , FAX , website address , telephone number , business size , and type of ownership for the organization ( public , private , joint venture ); and2 ) Tailored capability statements addressing the requirements of this notice , with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability . If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability , organizations shall address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements . All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary , will be fully protected from any release outside the Government . Attachments :- Picatinny_CLIK_1760580463_Distro A - sUPI_Payload_Brief_Distro A - sUPI_Platform_Brief_Distro A ---- INDUSTRY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - 24 February 2026 ---- QUESTION 1 : When you state 1 , 000 units , does that mean 1 , 000 munitions ? If so , how many release mechanisms are you looking for to go with the 1 , 000 munitions ? RESPONSE 1 : It would be 1 , 000 units of whatever CLIK - compliant module you organization wants to bring to the table , whether that ’ s a weapons release system , munition , etc . QUESTION 2 : What problem are you looking to solve with this sources sought ? It ' s clear the CLIK and the smaller sUPI for the Group 1 - 2 systems , appear to be the solutions desired . It would really help if we understood the problem well enough to respond . RESPONSE 2 : See below . 2a ) The Government is conducting market research to understand what UAS lethal payload components exist amongst industry , that are either compliant with the design standard defined by the Picatinny CLIK ecosystem , or could become compliant . This could be a weapons release system to drop existing munitions or purpose - built munitions , a fireset box to employ existing munitions or purpose - built munitions , munitions , etc ., which adhere to the CLIK design standard to enable a modular , “ plug - and - play ” environment . The intent is to create an ecosystem of CLIK - compliant platforms and payloads so the Warfighter does not have to overcome the burden of integration , and can quickly swap out payloads to meet specific mission requirements . 2b ) The publicly releasable Picatinny CLIK and sUPI ICDs , can be downloaded from this website : https :// ac . devcom . army . mil / picatinny - clik /. Please continue to monitor this website for more detailed documents . 2c ) To clarify , the Government views sUPI as the common platform - to - payload interface for the PBAS program . The larger CLIK ICD is better suited for the larger Medium / Long Range Reconnaissance programs ( MRR / LRR ). QUESTION 3 : Is there a specific target for this device / system ? That could mean either a specific Group of UAS is targeted , or the integration is planned with specific platforms in mind . RESPONSE 3 : See below . 3a ) The Picatinny CLIK ecosystem is currently supporting the PBAS , MRR , and LRR programs . Each program has their own specific target requirements that generally fall under the categories of anti - personnel , anti - materiel , and anti - armor , from a lethality perspective . 3b ) The offices of primary responsibility for those programs , will dictate the specific platforms . Picatinny Arsenal is responsible for the safe and rapid integration of lethal payloads onto any platform selected by those programs . Adopting the Picatinny CLIK design standard is key to ensuring any payload can integrate with any platform . QUESTION 4 - Is this effort to standardize the munition payload interface aligned with PM UAS Marketplace efforts ? We ' ve been anxiously awaiting to see the results that come out of their Group 2 process , which wrapped up nearly 60 days ago now . RESPONSE 4 : This effort is to standardize the platform - to - payload interface , so that the Warfighter can very quickly employ the right payload for the mission at hand , every time . QUESTION 5 : Is the Army requesting ROM pricing on a Qty 1 , 000 , on a total warhead solution that utilizes the sUPI interface , a fuzing solution without warhead that utilizes sUPI , or something else ? RESPONSE 5 : The Government is conducting market research to understand what UAS lethal payload components exist amongst industry , that are either compliant with the design standard defined by the Picatinny CLIK ecosystem ( to include sUPI ), OR could become compliant . This could be a weapons release system to drop existing munitions or purpose - built munitions , fireset box to employ existing munitions or purpose - built munitions , munitions , etc ., that adhere to the CLIK design standard to enable a modular , “ plug - and - play ” environment . The intent is to create an ecosystem of CLIK - compliant platforms and payloads , so the Warfighter does not have to overcome the burden of integration , and can quickly swap out payloads to meet specific mission requirements . The ROM for the 1 , 000 units would support whatever component or subcomponent your company wishes to submit , that is either already CLIK / sUPI compliant , or if not , a described path to becoming compliant .

New Jersey

2026-04-29