US Navy seeks to boost production of new anti-radar missile

Overview

The U.S. Navy has issued an RFI to double production capacity for Advanced Emission Suppression Missiles from 300 to 600 units per year, creating an urgent procurement opportunity for contractors with mature (TRL 6+) anti-radiation missile designs that can integrate with F/A-18 and F-35 platforms. This demand spike is driven by guided missile shortages following the Iran War and is accentuated by the Navy's pause in the AGM-88G AARGM-ER program until FY2028, leaving room for alternative solutions. Contractors should act now to position technology readiness, production scale plans, and compliance postures to be competitive for anticipated follow-on solicitations and production vehicles. Expect the Navy and Naval Air Systems Command to pursue flexible contract vehicles; monitor for IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity), OTA, or Production Other Transaction notices tied to this expansion. Early capture and supplier engagement will be critical to demonstrate near-term producibility and platform integration readiness. See Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts) for capture fundamentals and the related CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide) and CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide) for security and data handling basics.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Monitor for the official solicitation, RFI updates, and sources-sought notices from the Department of the Navy / Naval Air Systems Command rather than relying on secondary reports.
• [ ] Rapidly triage current missile designs against the TRL 6+ threshold and platform compatibility with F/A-18 and F-35 to identify candidate designs for pursuit.
• [ ] Conduct a preliminary supply-chain and production-capacity assessment to identify bottle‑necks, critical subcontractors, and lead-time risks that would affect ramping to 600 units/year.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Prepare a capability statement and concise technical package that documents TRL evidence, flight test data, integration plans for F/A-18/F-35, and producibility metrics for rapid submission when opportunities appear.
• [ ] Validate export-control and cybersecurity readiness for a competitive response: inventory ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)/EAR-controlled items and review DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) 252.204-7012 / NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) control coverage and any CMMC readiness gaps.

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Build and formalize a production-scale capture plan: secure firm subcontractor agreements, firm up manufacturing flow, and model cost and schedule to support an IDIQ/OTA/POT award.
• [ ] Achieve or plan for required compliance milestones identified by solicitations (e.g., NIST 800-171 control implementation, DFARS clause flowdowns, CMMC certification path, export licenses) and document these in proposals and bid packages.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] DFARS 252.204-7012 — Ensure safeguarding of covered defense information and incident reporting per the clause as applicable to solicitations and contracts.
• [ ] NIST SP 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) — Implement and document applicable controls for protection of controlled unclassified information (CUI) referenced by DFARS and solicitations.
• [ ] CMMC — Determine required CMMC level when specified in solicitation language and prepare certification path and evidence.
• [ ] ITAR — Inventory technical data, defense articles, and services to determine ITAR jurisdiction; prepare DDTC registrations and license strategies as required.
• [ ] EAR — Assess dual‑use components for EAR jurisdiction and license requirements; document commodity jurisdiction determinations and licenses or license-exception eligibility.

Resources

• DFARS clause: DFARS 252.204-7012 (search for the clause text on official DFARS resources)
• NIST SP 800-171: NIST Special Publication 800-171 (search NIST.gov for the full text)
• CMMC: CMMC program guidance (search official program pages for current requirements)
• ITAR: Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) guidance (search DDTC / U.S. State Department)
• EAR: Export Administration Regulations (Bureau of Industry and Security) (search BIS / U.S. Commerce Department)
• Agency guidance: Naval Air Systems Command (search Naval Air Systems Command official site) and Department of the Navy official publications

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this event and delivered this briefing within minutes. For this opportunity the War Room will continuously monitor Navy and Naval Air Systems Command sources, capture postings, and policy updates related to Advanced Emission Suppression Missiles and the AGM-88G AARGM-ER pause, delivering real-time alerts for RFI updates, sources-sought postings, and solicitation releases so your capture team never misses a development.

Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — The Match Engine automatically rescales your opportunity pipeline when this event changes the market. It updates opportunity match scores and keyword relevance for firms with TRL 6+ anti-radiation designs, platform-integration experience for F/A-18/F-35, and manufacturing capacity indicators. Use the updated scores to prioritize bids and allocate capture resources to the highest-fit opportunities.

Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — The Intelligence Hub tracks affected agencies, vehicles, and NAICS alignments associated with this event. Configure saved searches to alert you when IDIQ, OTA, or Production Other Transaction solicitations matching this profile are published on SAM.gov (System for Award Management). The hub also centralizes tags like ITAR, DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST 800-171, CMMC, and EAR so you can filter opportunities by compliance surface.

Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Proposal Studio generates compliance matrices and first‑draft technical approaches tailored to this event using your past performance and TRL evidence. It auto-populates win themes, produces a producibility and integration narrative for F/A-18/F-35, and outputs a bid/no-bid recommendation factoring in match scores and compliance readiness.

Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — The Workflow Tracker implements a 9-gate capture process for this program: it routes technical, contracts, security, and legal reviews; tracks supplier certifications and export-license status; and assembles audit-ready package folders for DFARS and export-control documentation required by solicitations.

Explore these features in your Cabrillo Club console to automate monitoring, qualification, and proposal generation for this expanding missile-production opportunity.

Related reading: Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts), CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide), CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)