Air Force to issue $750M IT contract for drone squadron operation center

The Air Force is preparing to issue an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for IT and technology services for an operations center dedicated to flying a squadron of drones.

The contract has a $750 million ceiling and would be to service network and data curation for the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Squadron Operation Center Enterprise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

The center plans and operates drone missions around the world, which are an increasingly important part of the military’s strategy to use integrated technology systems to guide military operations in war zones.

“The requirement is to Install, configure, operate, maintain, manage, and troubleshoot equipment and networks to support long-haul communications (both satellite and terrestrial), and provide help desk function,” the request states.

The Air Force plans to issue an eight-year contract with requirements for small businesses to be included in work delivered under the contract. The contractor will also need to keep IT systems up to date in the center with tech-refreshes over the period of the contract.

The Air Force expects to release the RFP by early August, it said.