Air Force Wants New 1,000-Nautical Mile Range Missile for Air, Sea Targets

Overview

The Air Force has announced a new Long Range Weapon program seeking air-to-air and air-to-surface missile variants with a minimum 1,000-nautical mile range, prioritizing the air-to-air variant and possibly engaging multiple vendors under an IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity)-style vehicle. This is a high-severity opportunity for defense and aerospace contractors that build long-range strike systems and precision-guided munitions, and it aligns with broader Department of Defense focus on China and long-range kill-chain concepts for Pacific operations. Contractors should act now to position technical capabilities, teaming arrangements, and export/compliance posture to be competitive when the official solicitation is released. Early capture work will improve chances to shape requirements, demonstrate relevant performance data, and qualify as a prime or key subcontractor. Use this Action Kit to prioritize immediate monitoring, capture sequencing, and compliance preparedness. For capture fundamentals and proposal planning, see our Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts). For compliance-specific reference, consult our CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide) and CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide).

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Monitor for the official solicitation and any draft RFP or sources-sought notices tied to the Long Range Weapon program and IDIQ vehicle.
• [ ] Convene a rapid capture team (engineering, business development, contracts, legal, compliance) and assign a single point of capture lead.
• [ ] Inventory and map in-house technical capabilities against the stated minimum 1,000-nautical mile range requirement and the prioritized air-to-air variant.
• [ ] Identify and flag relevant NAICS codes from your portfolio for outreach and teaming (see tags for candidate NAICS).
• [ ] Run an initial compliance posture check for regimes named in the event (ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement), CMMC, NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171), EAR) and record major gaps for remediation.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Draft a capability white paper and an executive one-page tailored to the Long Range Weapon program (air-to-air emphasis) summarizing range, guidance, survivability, and integration plans.
• [ ] Begin outreach to potential partners and suppliers (propulsion, seekers, warhead integration, avionics) and capture basic teaming agreements/non-binding letters of intent.
• [ ] Start a technology risk assessment for achieving sustained 1,000-nautical mile performance (propulsion, guidance, communications/ISR integration).
• [ ] Establish a compliance remediation plan with prioritized tasks (export classification, cybersecurity SSP/POA&M, flow-down plans).

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Prepare proposal artifacts and reusable technical modules (performance case, test plans, trade studies) so first-draft content can be generated rapidly once solicitation drops.
• [ ] Complete or advance required compliance milestones (CMMC readiness, NIST 800-171 SSP and POA&M entries, ITAR/EAR export control determinations) to reach proposal eligibility.
• [ ] Finalize teaming agreements and performance delivery models (prime vs. subcontract arrangements) and align past performance narratives to the program profile.
• [ ] Schedule live demonstrations, modeling & simulation validations, or hardware-in-the-loop tests to produce measurable performance evidence.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] ITAR — Determine whether systems, components, firmware, or technical data are ITAR-controlled; implement export-control controls and export-review processes.
• [ ] DFARS — Assess DFARS applicability to contracts and plan for flow-down contractual requirements and incident/notification processes.
• [ ] CMMC — Conduct a CMMC readiness assessment and define a target level appropriate to long-range weapons programs; begin remediation to reach that target.
• [ ] NIST 800-171 — Prepare or update a System Security Plan (SSP) and a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) covering Controlled Unclassified Information relevant to the program.
• [ ] EAR — Classify hardware and software under EAR where applicable and document licensing strategies for international activities or transfers.

Resources

• ITAR — (regulation text) [placeholder link — consult official export-control source]
• DFARS — (regulation text) [placeholder link — consult official DFARS text]
• CMMC — (guidance and program materials) [placeholder link — consult CMMC resources]
• NIST 800-171 — (publication text) [placeholder link — consult NIST publications]
• EAR — (regulation text) [placeholder link — consult official EAR guidance]
• Air Force acquisition guidance — (monitor Air Force solicitations and notices) [placeholder link]
• Internal guides:
• Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts)
• CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide)
• CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

• Cabrillo Signals War Room — The War Room has already detected this Long Range Weapon program event and delivered this briefing within minutes. It will continuously monitor Air Force and DoD (Department of Defense) sources for changes to the solicitation, draft RFPs, sources-sought notices, or IDIQ award actions, and push real-time alerts to your capture team so you never miss an update relevant to 1,000-nautical mile range weapon opportunities.
• Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — When this event changes opportunity priorities, the Match Engine automatically rescors your active pipeline and prospective opportunities. It will update opportunity relevance and keyword matches (e.g., long-range, air-to-air, air-to-surface, missile systems) so your BD team sees which existing pursuits gain or lose priority and which accounts/NAICS buckets to engage first.
• Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — Use the Intelligence Hub to track affected agencies (Air Force, DOD), NAICS codes, and the Long Range Weapon/IDIQ vehicle profile. Configure saved searches and alerts in the Intelligence Hub to notify you when matching solicitations, amendments, or sources-sought notices appear on SAM.gov (System for Award Management) or agency portals.
• Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Proposal Studio generates compliance matrices, pulls relevant past performance language, and creates first-draft technical approaches tailored to the air-to-air and air-to-surface variants using your stored win themes and evidence. The Proposal OS bid/no-bid engine will factor in the Signals War Room alert and Match Engine rescoring to recommend pursuit decisions.
• Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — The Workflow Tracker enforces a 9-gate capture process from opportunity identification through post-submission. It auto-routes compliance and security reviews (CMMC/NIST/DFARS tasks), tracks supplier export-control certifications, and produces audit-ready documentation packages to demonstrate readiness during proposal evaluations.

Call to action: If you want, Cabrillo Club can run a tailored saved search and a capture readiness briefing for this Long Range Weapon program and pre-populate Proposal Studio templates with your past performance and technical modules for rapid response.