Electronic Safe and Arm Devices (ESAD)

Updated Oct 20, 2026

Sources Sought from the Department of the Army, for work in Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. Due Nov 19, 2026, 3:30 PM (UTC-5), 30 days left.

Official notice and attachments

Description

The U.S Army Contracting Command-Rock Island at Picatinny, on behalf of the Department of War (DoW) Fuze Integrated Product Team (IPT) is seeking feedback from industry on Continental United States (CONUS) sources and information regarding the existing capability to manufacture Electronic Safe and Arm Devices (ESAD) fuzes for munitions, as well as Ignition Safety Devices (ISDs) for rocket motors.

Disclaimer: this RFI is for market research purposes only and shall not be construed as a request for proposal, nor as an obligation on the part of the Government. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or reimburse any contractors for any information or administrative costs associated with responding to this notification. Participation in this effort is strictly voluntary and any of the information stated above is subject to change.

The Government intends to use the information received to develop a whitepaper and investment strategy to support the scale-up necessary to expand and secure the domestic electronic fuzing and ignition systems industrial base. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary information in any resultant solicitation(S). Proprietary information should be marked as such.

If a formal solicitation is generated at a later date, the Government will publish a solicitation notice. DESCRIPTION: The Government is specifically seeking to understand the industrial base's capacity to scale production in response to emerging high-rate defense requirements. These include supporting Weaponized Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for Drone Dominance, Launched Effects (LE), Counter-UAS (cUAS) technologies, low-cost/high-rate systems, alongside the increased production demand for existing munition systems.

To enable this scalability, the Government must identify critical manufacturing, testing, and component-level supply chain bottlenecks, specifically concerning high-voltage firing capacitors, solid-state high-voltage switches, and In-Line Initiators (ILI) to include Explosive Foil Initiators (EFIs) / Low Energy Exploding Foil Initiators (LEEFIs) / Exploding Foil Deflagrating Initiators (EFDIs).

The PSC code is 1390 – Fuzes and Primers RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS: The U.S. Government is requesting information from all interested CONUS sources having relevant ESAD and ISD manufacturing, assembly, energetic loading/integration, and testing capabilities. Respondents shall describe their prior experience, existing facility capabilities, relevant equipment, and personnel. With respect to the Government’s interest in the above, to adequately assess capability, responses shall address the following specific requirements: Past Performance and Demonstrated Experience: Describe your company’s historical experience and proven capability in developing, manufacturing, assembling, and qualifying electronic fuzing systems (i.e. ESADs, ESAFs, etc.) and rocket motor ignition devices (ISDs, Arm & Fire Devices, etc.) over the past five (5) years.

Specifically address: Deliveries and Programs: List specific types, nomenclatures, and physical form factors of ESADs and electronic ISDs delivered. Detail total annual quantities delivered, peak production rates achieved, and whether your company served as the Prime or Subcontractor. Manufacturing and Production Infrastructure: Describe demonstrated experience operating electronics manufacturing and assembly lines, including Surface Mount Technology (SMT), Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Assemblies, Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)-controlled cleanroom environments, and energetic integration bays.

Qualification, Testing, and Compliance History: Detail past performance qualifying systems to military safety and performance standards. Identify major cost and schedule drivers, specifically contrasting automated versus manual testing procedures. Additionally, describe your environmental stress testing experience and how it aligns with the operational envelopes of low-cost platforms.

Workforce Experience: Detail the baseline technical competencies and certifications (e.g., IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, energetic material handling) of your current workforce across touch labor, high-voltage analog electrical engineering, RF design, and test engineering. Future Capabilities, Surge Capacity, and Scalability: Detail your facility’s ability to scale manufacturing throughput, adopt automated production/inspection methods, expand engineering capacity, and overcome component supply bottlenecks to meet anticipated defense surge demands.

Specifically address: Production Rates and Surge Capacity: State your facility's current minimum viable annual production rate (economic run rate) and absolute maximum surge capacity (assuming multi-shift operations). Provide a projected year-by-year production profile from Government Fiscal Year (GFY) October 2027 through GFY 2031, detailing ramp-up capacity to support: Weaponized UxS / Purpose Built Attritable Systems (PBAS) to support Drone Dominance Munitions Acceleration Council (MAC) requirements Launched Effects (LE), Counter-UAS (cUAS) interceptors, and other similar low-cost, high-rate systems.

Component Supply Chain and Critical Bottlenecks: Identify lead times, cost drivers, sole/single-source dependencies, and/or End-of-Life (EOL)/Product Change Notices (PCN) across key ESAD/ISD component technologies such as High-Voltage Firing Capacitors, High-Voltage Switches, Explosive Foil Initiators (EFIs) / LEEFIs, Logic and Processing Devices (one-time programmable - OTP logic devices, microcontrollers, field-programmable gate arrays – FPGAs, etc. Detail mitigation strategies, domestic alternative sources, or government investments needed.

Advanced Manufacturing, Automation, and Facility Expansion: Outline planned or required capital investments, facility expansions, or automated assembly cells needed to support high-rate surge. Detail current and planned implementations of flexible automation cells, automated in-li

The description continues in the official notice.

Contracting contact

• Antonius Gill · [email protected]
• Charlotte A. Sylvain-Ceraul · [email protected]

As published on the official notice. Ask questions in writing and before any questions deadline the notice sets.

Is your business small enough?

For NAICS 332993, a business counts as small if it has no more than 1,500 employees (SBA size standard). This notice is set aside, so only businesses under that size, or in the named program, can bid. SBA table, current as of Oct 15, 2026.

Companies that win this kind of work

Federal contractors paid for ammunition manufacturing work, who also hold Army contracts (last 12 months): possible competitors, or partners to team with.

• The Boeing Company $1.3 billion in this trade
• Raytheon Company $1.0 billion in this trade
• General Dynamics OTS (Wilkes Barre), LLC $389.5 million in this trade
• Amtec Corporation $283.1 million in this trade
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation $252.3 million in this trade

About the buyer

The Department of the Army awarded $83.1 billion in contracts in the last 12 months; its biggest suppliers were Lockheed Martin Corporation, Raytheon Company and The Boeing Company. See what Army is buying now.

Ammunition Manufacturing contracts right now

There are 9 open government contract opportunities in this trade (NAICS 332993), 6 posted in the last 7 days; 33% are set aside for small businesses. The agencies buying the most are Department of the Army, Department of the Navy and Department of the Air Force. Most of the work with a stated place is in New Jersey and Missouri. A notice in this trade gives a median of 24 days from posting to deadline; this one gives 31 days.

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