NIWC Atlantic Airborne Laser Comms Turret (AOI 27-A001)

Executive Summary

NIWC Atlantic wants a flight-certified laser communications and optical timing turret for NASA's PC-12 research aircraft, plus a compact C-band transceiver telescope that fits inside it. Best fit: teams with TRL 6/7 airborne optics. Solution briefs are due October 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT on Vulcan.

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This is Area of Interest 27-A001 under the NIWC Atlantic Rapid Capabilities Cell Commercial Solutions Opening (N65236-26-S-0001). Awards are prototype other transaction agreements for a 16-month, single-phase effort, and a winning prototype may lead directly to a follow-on production agreement without further competition. Every brief must show how the CSO's nontraditional participation requirement is met.

Solicitation at a Glance

• Agency: Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, Rapid Capabilities Cell, with NASA Glenn Research Center as a partner
• Solicitation: Commercial Solutions Opening N65236-26-S-0001
• Area of Interest: 27-A001, Resilient Airborne Free-Space Optical Communications Turret
• Command Focus Area: Battlespace Connectivity
• Award Vehicle: Prototype other transaction (OT) agreement, with possible follow-on production without further competition
• Funding: Not published in the AOI
• Period of Performance: 16 months, single phase; prototype deliverables at month 12, flight-test support months 12 to 16
• Technology Maturity: Preference may be given to TRL 6/7
• Security: Must be able to receive and store CUI; no facility clearance required
• Due Date: October 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT (solution brief on Vulcan)

Think your company qualifies? Talk with BW&CO before the October 15 deadline.

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What Is AOI 27-A001?

AOI 27-A001 is a prototype call from NIWC Atlantic's Rapid Capabilities Cell. It asks industry for a flight-certified, aero-optically resilient, dual-turret system that carries both free-space optical communications (FSOC) and optical time transfer. The system must work across ground, littoral and multi-altitude airborne conditions. NIWC Atlantic will run the work with NASA Glenn Research Center and a nontraditional defense contractor, using iterative sprints and bi-weekly syncs with government partners.

What Problem Is NIWC Atlantic Trying to Solve?

Electronic warfare and GPS-denied or RF-denied environments put Navy, Marine Corps and joint air and maritime operations at risk. Concepts such as Distributed Maritime Operations and JADC2 need very high-bandwidth links and precise timing between moving nodes without relying on RF or satellite navigation. Optical links and optical clock synchronization can provide that, but they have mostly worked in calm ground labs. In flight, boundary layers, transonic shocks, aero-optical aberrations, airframe vibration and tight size, weight, power and drag limits break beam coherence and tracking. The AOI notes that commercial optical gimbals also lack the airworthiness certification, shock resilience and fine pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) performance needed for aircraft integration.

Priority Capability Areas: What NIWC Atlantic Is Looking For

You can propose to one line of effort or both. The brief must say clearly which.

• Line of Effort 1, Airborne Optical Terminal and Gimbal System: an FAA-certified, ruggedized turret gimbal designed, machined and assembled for NASA Glenn's Pilatus PC-12 research aircraft.
• PAT control and jitter suppression: transition and implement government-off-the-shelf PAT software, embedded sensors and closed-loop motor drivers that reject vibration, angular base motion and high-frequency aero-optical jitter.
• Aero-optical modeling: CFD (RANS/LES), boundary layer wake evaluations and flat versus conformal window trade studies, validated by wind tunnel testing up to transonic speeds.
• Airworthiness: structural FEA under static and dynamic limit loads, drag, lift and moment at never-exceed airspeed (V_NE), window destructive pressure evaluations, and documentation that meets NASA Airworthiness Review Board standards.
• Validation: link acquisition and optical time transfer on 650 m to 2 km laser test range baselines, ground-to-vehicle links at 0 to 30 mph in GPS/RF-denied conditions, 1.6 km over-water links, and multi-altitude flights.
• Adaptive optics: multi-spectral adaptive optics for simultaneous multi-wavelength propagation in turbulence, with hardware plus modeling and simulation for air-to-air and ground-to-air profiles.
• Line of Effort 2, Air-qualified optical transceiver telescope: a self-contained monostatic transceiver that drops into the Line 1 turret. Optical C-band, 5 W maximum transmit power, single-mode fiber interface, 80 to 125 mm clear aperture sized for links up to 30 km, and a volume of 145 mm x 145 mm x 254 mm.
• Fine tracking: a multi-axis fast steering mirror with a 1 kHz threshold and 10 kHz objective bandwidth, a feedback loop for alignment in turbulence, and well-defined interfaces to the Line 1 coarse tracking system and government command and control software.
• Environment: survive commercial PC-12 flight inside a sealed turret whose internal air sees thermal and pressure changes; show MIL-STD certifications where applicable.

Highly desired attributes include flight-proven aero-optic testing, wind tunnel capability in a 3 ft x 3 ft cross-section up to transonic speeds, direct NASA or DoD airworthiness flight release experience, a turret that supports both classical high-bandwidth data and precision optical time transfer, and stable link acquisition without GPS or RF positioning. Secondary attributes are conformal window readiness, low SWaP-C power and battery backup, and 6-DOF maritime motion testing for sea states 1 through 6.

Funding and Award Terms

• Funding: The AOI does not publish a dollar amount.
• Agreement type: Prototype other transaction agreement under the CSO.
• Schedule: One 16-month phase. Prototypes are due at month 12, with flight-test support from month 12 to month 16.
• Follow-on: Any prototype OT awarded under this AOI may result in a direct follow-on production agreement without further competitive procedures.

Eligibility and Participation

• Nontraditional participation: The brief must explain how the nontraditional business participation requirement in CSO paragraph 6.2 is met. If a teaming partner meets it, name that partner and give its CAGE code. If you meet it through cost share, say so explicitly.
• Maturity: Preference may be given to mature optical tracking, gimbal control and aero-optical mitigation at TRL 6/7.
• Experience to highlight: airborne instrumentation design, finite element flight load analysis, high-speed optical beam steering and outdoor laser range testing.
• Security: You must be able to receive and store CUI. No facility clearance is required.

How to Apply

• Register on Vulcan (vulcan-sof.com) and open the AOI 27-A001 call. Briefs emailed to the contracting officer are not accepted.
• Write a solution brief of up to 15 PowerPoint slides or 5 pages that meets CSO N65236-26-S-0001 paragraph 7.2.
• Name your line of effort, Line 1, Line 2 or both, and articulate each clearly.
• Show nontraditional participation per CSO paragraph 6.2, including any teaming partner's name and CAGE code or an explicit cost-share statement.
• Keep CUI out of the brief.
• Submit by October 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT. Late submissions will not be considered.
• Send questions to Jessie Rehwoldt at jessie.m.rehwoldt.civ@us.navy.mil.

What Happens After You Submit?

• Down-select: The Government may limit how many companies it invites to pitch, based on the evaluation considerations in CSO paragraph 7.2.2. Selected companies are notified in writing.
• Virtual pitches, tentatively October 29 and 30, 2026: open with a bottom-line-up-front solution overview, the collaborative division of labor and a top-level cost breakdown.
• Technical briefing: show your hardware and software running a representative tracking, PAT stabilization or aero-optic data scenario, including real-time telemetry, line-of-sight stabilization under simulated disturbance and physical proof of core capabilities.
• Execution roadmap: present a complete solution and a credible path to full flight demonstration.
• Quiet period: no press releases or public announcements about AOI 27-A001 before the Government's down-select notice for pitches, or you risk exclusion.

Is This Opportunity a Good Fit for Your Company?

It fits companies that already fly or flight-test optical terminals, gimbals, fast steering mirrors or adaptive optics, and that can show TRL 6/7 hardware. Laser communications, optical time transfer and aero-optics teams that can work with NASA and DoD airworthiness boards are the core audience. A Line 2 brief suits a company with a compact C-band transceiver that meets the size, aperture and steering bandwidth limits.

It fits less well if your technology is still at lab scale, if you cannot hold CUI, or if you cannot pull together a pitch-ready demonstration by late October. Those teams can partner with a turret or terminal provider on one line of effort, or look for SBIR topics in laser communications and PNT.

How BW&CO Can Help

BW&CO has helped deep-tech and dual-use founders secure more than $350M in non-dilutive funding. For CSO prototype calls like AOI 27-A001, we help you:

• Decide quickly whether to bid Line 1, Line 2 or both.
• Build a 15-slide or 5-page solution brief around the AOI's stated attributes.
• Structure nontraditional participation, teaming and cost share to meet the CSO.
• Prepare the pitch overview, technical demonstration and flight roadmap.
• Plan the path from prototype OT to follow-on production.

Plan Your AOI 27-A001 Submission

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AOI 27-A001?

A NIWC Atlantic Rapid Capabilities Cell area of interest seeking a flight-certified airborne free-space optical communications and optical time-transfer turret, plus a matching transceiver telescope, under CSO N65236-26-S-0001.

When is the deadline?

Solution briefs are due on Vulcan by 11:59 p.m. EDT on October 15, 2026. Late submissions will not be considered.

How much funding is available?

The AOI does not publish a dollar amount. Pitches must include a top-level cost breakdown.

What kind of award is it?

A prototype other transaction agreement for a 16-month, single-phase effort. It may lead to a follow-on production agreement without further competition.

Can I propose to only one line of effort?

Yes. You can propose to Line 1, Line 2 or both, as long as the brief clearly states which.

Do I need to be a nontraditional defense contractor?

The brief must show how the CSO's nontraditional business participation requirement (paragraph 6.2) is met. You can meet it yourself, through a named teaming partner with a CAGE code, or through an explicitly stated cost share.

Do I need a security clearance?

No facility clearance is required, but you must be able to receive and store CUI. The brief itself must not contain CUI.

What aircraft will the system fly on?

NASA Glenn Research Center's Pilatus PC-12 research aircraft.

When are the pitches?

The Government anticipates virtual pitches, tentatively on October 29 and 30, 2026.

Can BW&CO help with an AOI 27-A001 submission?

Yes. We help teams decide fit, write the solution brief, structure nontraditional participation and prepare the pitch. Book a call with our team.

Source: AOI 27-A001 Resilient Airborne Free-Space Optical Communications Turret (SAM.gov)