# U.S. Navy Seeks F-35 Mission Planning Redesign

The U.S. Navy is conducting market research for a five-year follow-on effort to redesign the F-35 Mission Planning Environment, known as ARCHER. The planned single-award IDIQ is estimated at **$50 million to $100 million** and is expected to cover about 278,800 labor hours of systems engineering, analysis, subject-matter expertise, and program planning and management; work requires Top Secret clearance. Responses to the sources-sought notice are due by **5 p.m. Pacific on October 17, 2026 (11 days remaining)**, with award anticipated around May 20, 2027. The Navy anticipates an other-than-full-and-open or sole-source approach, but says responses will help determine whether a small-business set-aside is appropriate.

- Companies with relevant engineering and program-support capabilities can use the sources-sought response to demonstrate qualifications and inform the Navy’s small-business set-aside decision. No industry day is planned.
- The incumbent support contract, held by Computer Systems Center Inc. and valued at up to $49.3 million, ends June 10, 2027. The follow-on’s anticipated May 2027 award makes transition planning and continuity of F-35 mission-planning support relevant to prospective offerors and incumbent teams.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Information Technology
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** October 05, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Navy (USN)
- Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD)
- Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
- F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO)

### Vendors
- Computer Systems Center Inc. (incumbent contractor)
- Lockheed Martin (F-35 manufacturer and mission-planning hardware and software developer)

### Sources
- [Before an F-35 takes off, pilots plan the mission on ground software and load it into the jet. The U.S. Navy is now lining up a five-year contract to help redesign that software, with an award expected next spring.

https://t.co/zZboqcAw8z](https://x.com/DylanMalyasov/status/2106763763714269636) - twitter-defense
- [U.S. Navy Seeks Major Redesign of F-35 Mission Planning](https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-navy-major-redesign-f35-mission-planning) - Military Watch Magazine