AFLCMC Force Protection Systems Division at Hanscom AFB released a full Draft RFP for the Global Unified Airbase Readiness and Defense (GUARD) multiple-award IDIQ. The vehicle covers acquisition and sustainment of Integrated Base Defense Security Systems for the Air Force Security Forces community. The draft sets a maximum quantity of $1.98 billion over an ordering period of up to ten years, and the formal solicitation has not yet been released.
Scope covers the full lifecycle of physical and electronic security systems, CONUS and OCONUS, built around the Defender Multi-Domain Command, Control, and Communications architecture.
The focus is on design, procurement, installation, integration, testing, delivery, and sustainment of integrated defense systems:
- Physical security refreshes, intrusion detection for new bed-down efforts, firmware and software upgrades, site surveys and system design, digital engineering and model-based systems engineering, cybersecurity assessment and authorization under the DoD Risk Management Framework, supply chain risk management, operator training, and acceptance testing
The Government anticipates ten IDIQ awards and will reserve two of them for qualified small business offerors so that small business set-aside Delivery Orders can be issued later. More consequentially, small business offerors advance to the Phase II technical evaluation in addition to the fifteen highest-scoring offerors, even if their Phase I scores fall below a large business.
OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT
- Opportunity: Global Unified Airbase Readiness and Defense (GUARD) multiple-award IDIQ
- Agency: Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Force Protection Systems Division (AFLCMC/ESSK), Hanscom AFB, MA
- Notice: Draft RFP Active
- Final RFP Release: TBD
- Estimated Funding: $1.98 billion
- Ordering Period: Two-year base with one-year options, not exceeding ten years
- Anticipated Awards: Ten IDIQ contracts, two reserved for qualified small business offerors
- Set-Aside: Full and Open; Small Business
- NAICS: 561621, Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths); PSC 6350
- Evaluation: Highest Technically Rated Offeror with Reasonable/Realistic Price; 2 phases
- Access Requirement: A DD2345 Militarily Critical Technical Data Agreement gates the Bidder’s Library
WHY THIS OPPORTUNITY MATTERS
The evaluation is a two-phase structure that front-loads qualification and then tests capability live. How it works:
- Phase I is Relevant Experience and Artifacts, self-scored against a government-provided matrix with no page limit; the fifteen highest scorers advance, plus every qualified small business offeror.
- Phase II is a Technical Evaluation built on two Sample Problems, each with a one-hour presentation, sharing a combined 40-page limit. No amendments to submitted Sample Problems are permitted after proposal submission
The order model also changes from the predecessor, IBDSS Next. Under that contract, Design and Install work and Sustainment were divided regionally and performed by a single contractor per region. Under GUARD, Sustainment stays regional but Design and Install efforts are competed among IDIQ holders separately, producing smaller and more frequent Delivery Orders awarded on imminent need. A holder that loses a region still has a path to work.
On-ramp and off-ramp provisions apply throughout the ordering period, so the pool is not fixed.
Competitive offerors typically bring:
- A DD2345 on file before the RFP, since it gates the Bidder’s Library
- Documented integration of electronic security systems at DoD installations
- RMF assessment and authorization experience
- Supply chain risk management depth
- CONUS and OCONUS installation capacity
- The ability to prepare two Sample Problems and present them live
WHO SHOULD CONSIDER THIS OPPORTUNITY
This vehicle is built for firms that design, integrate, and sustain physical and electronic security systems at military installations. Firms with experience in the following should assess their fit now:
- Small businesses integrating electronic security, intrusion detection, and access control at federal sites
- Physical security and force protection systems integrators working CONUS and OCONUS
- Firms performing cybersecurity assessment and authorization under the DoD Risk Management Framework
- Digital engineering and model-based systems engineering practitioners in security systems
- Supply chain risk management and program protection specialists
- Installation, commissioning, and sustainment contractors with federal site survey experience
- Current IBDSS Next subcontractors seeking a prime seat on the successor vehicle
HOW OST CAN HELP
The draft comment window has closed, but the formal RFP is still ahead, and the Government will publish consolidated Industry Day questions and answers before release. This leaves real time to prepare. OST supports firms competing for multi-phase IDIQ awards with:
- Bid/No-Bid assessment: Scoring yourself honestly against the Relevant Experience matrix and judging your odds within the small business reserve
- Capture planning: Positioning with AFLCMC/ESSK and building the experience record that drives your Phase I score
- Teaming strategy: Identifying complementary partners via OST’s partnering portal (200+ companies) to close integration, cyber, and OCONUS gaps
- Past performance strategy: Selecting and documenting the relevant experience artifacts that earn points under the Government’s matrix
- Proposal development: Phase I submission, Sample Problem development, and Phase II presentation prep where no revisions are allowed
With $1.98 billion of capacity, ten anticipated awards, two reserved for small business, and an advancement rule that carries qualified small businesses into Phase II regardless of ranking, GUARD is one of the more deliberately structured small business opportunities in the force protection market. The draft package is public, and the formal RFP has not been posted. If this interests you, please book a call with OST Partner and President Bill Schalik via the button below.
Schedule a discussion today.
