Improved Tactical Aviation Armament System (ITAAS)

Request for Solutions:

Improved Tactical Aviation Armament System (ITAAS)

1. PURPOSE

This special notice is to inform vendors of an existing Request for Solutions (RFS). The purpose of this RFS is to solicit innovative proposals for a crew‑served weapon mount designed for helicopter integration. NSWC Crane has developed a notional concept to reduce the system’s footprint and is seeking additional support from industry experts to transition this concept into a functional prototype for potential deployment. The Government will evaluate the solutions with the intent of awarding a Project Order under the Expeditionary Missions Consortium (EMC2) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 4022.

2. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

2.1 EMC2

Vendors interested in responding to this RFS must be members of the (EMC2). Interested parties should visit emccrane.org for membership information. This project will be managed by a Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division Project Manager. The RFS released via the weblink listed above for EMC2 on 19 March 2026.
 

2.2 PROJECT OVERVIEW

A preliminary  notional concept for a crew-served weapon mount design to attach to a helicopter has been developed to reduce the footprint of the system, NSWC Crane is looking for additional support from industry experts to transition the notional concept into a functional prototype for potential deployment.  Assistance is required to assess the notional design for manufacturing and develop a working prototype. NSWC Crane is open to minor design changes based on manufacturing best practices, within the preliminary drawing package, in order to improve manufacturability of the design. The current design concept increases modularity to allow for multiple weapon systems to be utilized while minimizing overall footprint of the design. Additionally, the concept improves on the existing fielded system by increasing capabilities for the warfighter improving their effectiveness in combat. However, the current concept has not been assessed from a manufacturing standpoint to improve manufacturability of the system to reduce cost of production. This next step will allow the prototype to move into testing to evaluate the effectiveness of the design and potentially move to full scale production. This will enhance the competitiveness of the US defense industry and support Foreign Military Sales, strengthening international partnerships. Prototype will be used for internal testing to support flight clearance.

Amendment 01: 07 April 2026

1. Solution due date is extended from 09 April 2026 to 16 April 2026 at 12:00 PM ET.
2. Attachment 8, Technical Design Package, has been incorporated for reference and is made available on the Members Only site.  This is not the exact system, but it is a very similar system that is allowed to be shared before the contract is awarded given some of actual system are FMS drawings and have limited visibility.

All other items remain unchanged.