4mm and 6mm Video Borescopes

Video Borescopes with 6mm, 6mm with working channel, 4mm insertion tubes.

Borescopes are complex inspection tools, consisting of hardware, electronics, computing capabilities, optics and software. The basic components of a borescope kit include a probe or insertion tube to inspect places where it is difficult to see, small screen to maximize the view of a probe, light source to improve visibility of areas that need to be inspected, and different probe tips to allow for different viewing and measurements. Measurement capability limits the number of borescopes which can meet the USAF requirement. Borescopes are critical tools in the Air Force’s aircraft program as they facilitate internal engine inspections and are also commonly used for foreign object search and removal in cockpits and other areas of the aircraft. Borescopes enable maintainers to look inside the internal chambers of an engine without disassembling it. The commercial borescope is comprised of a variety of different configurations, sizes, and types.

Sources Sought Synopsis

4mm and 6mm Video Borescopes

Support Equipment and Vehicles (SE&V) Program Office

Robins Air Force Base

AFLCMC/ROZ

CAUTION:

The Government is conducting market research to identify potential sources that may possess the expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet the requirements for qualification and production of the 4mm and 6mm Video Borescopes for use by United States Air Force (USAF) personnel to inspect aircraft engines.  The level of security clearance and amount of foreign participation in this requirement has not been determined. 

Contractors/Institutions responding to this market research are placed on notice that participation in this survey may not ensure participation in future solicitations or contract awards.  The government will not reimburse participants for any expenses associated with their participation in this survey.

FAR 52.215-3—Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997) 

1. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this Sources Sought Synopsis (SSS) or to pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in the subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 
2. Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only.  It shall not be used as a proposal

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Below is a document containing a description of the Borescope requirement and a Contractor Capability Survey, which allows you to provide your company’s capability and to provide industry feedback regarding various aspects of this effort.
2. If after reviewing these documents, you desire to participate in the market research, you should respond and provide documentation that supports your company’s capability in meeting these requirements.  Failure to provide documentation may result in the Government being unable to adequately assess your capabilities.  If you lack sufficient experience in a particular area, please provide details explaining how you would overcome the lack of experience/capabilities in order to perform that portion of the requirement (i.e., teaming, subcontracting, etc.) a. Identify any areas of work that your organization believes should be broken out exclusively for Small Business.
3. Both large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in this Market Research. The Government anticipates holding an Industry Day in June 2026, in support of this effort. More information will be published later. Joint ventures or teaming arrangements are encouraged.
4. Questions related to this Sources Sought Survey (SSS)/market research, as well as responses to the Contractor Capability Survey, should be addressed to Support Equipment and Vehicles Contracting Team listed below:

Arenina Sullivan-Jones                                   Alison Amerson

arenina.sullivan-jones@us.af.mil                   alison.Amerson@us.af.mil  

PURPOSE/DESCRIPTION

The Government is conducting market research to identify potential sources that possess the production, data/repair data, expertise, capabilities, and experience to meet qualification requirements for the production of 4mm and 6mm Video Borescopes. The USAF requirement is defined by Commercial Item Description (CID) A-A-59883A. The CID is currently in draft format. From the CID classification, we are looking for type VI borescope. The Government anticipate awarding a 5-year Indefinite Deliver Requirements Contract. The anticipated Period of Performance is a Five-Year Contract that consist of 1-12month (1 year) Basic Year and 4–12-month (4-year) option years. The projected quantities are unknown. We are looking to see if the USAF requirement can be met.

Some of the key technical requirements include:

• 4mm and 6mm Insertion tubes at least 3m long which are field replaceable
• Internal measurement software for distance, point to line, depth, and area.
• 3D Modeling
• Ability to limit or remove external network connectivity
• At least a 4-inch display
• Working Channel on the 6mm insertion tube
• Ability to run from AC or DC battery for 100 minutes
• Entire kit weight shall not exceed 80 pounds
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for any software (embedded Operating System (OS) or borescope applications) configuration and/or enabling/disabling hardware features (primarily network connectivity or data transfer).

See attached CID for additional requirements. All requirements within CID are important.

4mm and 6mm Video Borescopes

Part I.  Business Information

Please provide the following business information for your company/institution and for any teaming or joint venture partners:

Company/Institute Name 

Address 

Point of Contact 

Cage Code 

Phone Number 

Email Address 

Web Page URL 

A statement about whether your company is domestically or foreign owned (if foreign, please indicate the country of ownership).   

Indicate your company’s NAICS Code 

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) certification level

Based on NAICS Code 333310, it indicates Yes or No whether your company is:

Yes or No 

Small Business 

Woman Owned Small Business 

Small Disadvantaged business 

8(a) Certified 

HUBZone Certified 

Veteran Owned Small Business 

Service-Disabled Veteran Small Business 

System for Award Management (SAM) 

Please indicate your interest in participating in a virtual Industry Day ​☐​Yes or ​☐​No

Part II. Capability Survey Questions

1. Describe briefly the capabilities of your facility and nature of the goods and/or services you provide.  Include a description of your staff composition and management structure.
2. Describe your company's past experience on previous projects similar in complexity to this requirement.  Include contract numbers, a brief description of the work performed, period of performance, agency/organization support, and individual point of contact (Contracting Officer or Program Manager).
3. Describe your company's capabilities and experience in generating technical data, provisioning drawings and USAF Technical Orders.
4. Describe your company's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) certification level and experience, if any. 
5. What would be the estimated unit price for a borescope kit technically acceptable by the USAF?
6. What is the lead time from contract award to the start of the first production test?
7. How long do you anticipate the first production testing phase will last?
8. Once the test report is approved, what is the timeline for delivering the first production unit?

Technology

1. Based upon the attached CID, what kit would you propose for a future RFP (Include a part list with Base Model and any accessories or upgrades)
2. What requirements in the CID drive cost or the need to go up a class of scopes?
   1. What eliminations would allow the USAF to save money?
3. Are your modular insertion tubes interchangeable between different scopes in same line?
4. Are your scopes upgradeable?
   1. Describe process and what is upgraded (software/hardware).
   2. What are the prices for upgrades?
5. Are there requirements that would prevent your product from being technically acceptable? Also, specify what requirements your product already meets, and what requirements your product does not currently meet, but eventually will meet.
6. Will your organization be able to perform all tasks included in the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW)? If no, please elaborate.
7. Within paragraphs 4.3.2, interface control document from the SOW, do you consider this requirement adequate, achievable, and reasonable or what changes would you recommend?
8. Please provide info on your product concerning the below CID requirements that have objectives and if you exceed any or would be achievable with upgrades to a base unit. Tube length, Network Connectivity, Monitor, Weight 
9. Can a single tip be used for examination and measurement?
10. How do your scopes differ from the market in significant ways?
    1. How would these differences save the USAF funds?
11. If you have provided borescopes for USAF engine inspection previously, what are the improvements to your current line of scopes? The USAF is most concerned with reliability (insertion tube) and accuracy in the measurements.
12. How long are you estimating that this scope will be manufactured?
13. Cyber Questions
    1. How do you manage configuration control? Will all scopes be shipped with the same version of Operating System (OS)?
    2. If your borescope does not have the capability to write data to a CD/DVD-ROM, can it be modified to do this for a reasonable fee?
    3. Does your borescope have antivirus features? If so, how and when is it updated?
    4. How are patches and security updates distributed and added to the borescope software? (This includes application software external to the borescope itself.)
    5. Can any external connectivity (Ethernet, wireless, and/or Bluetooth) be disabled so that an ordinary user cannot enable it?
    6. Does your borescope OS/application software employ Role Based Access Control (RBAC) to protect software and/or hardware configuration as well as data generated by the borescope?
    7. How do you ensure that your borescope hardware and software is free of malware during production and prior to delivery to the government customer?
14. Calibration requirements
    1. Please explain the calibration requirements for the borescope. Include details on calibration frequency, procedures, required equipment, environmental constraints, and whether calibration can be performed in the field or requires depot-level support.

Production

1. What is the delivery schedule after order? (Kits and Parts)
2. How many kits can be delivered in a month?
3. What replacement parts should the USAF buy with initial production?
4. What quality assurance processes and test qualification practices do your company employ?  Provide a description of your quality program (ISO 9001, AS9100, etc.).
5. Do you offer this product and/or service to the U.S. Government, FMS partners, and commercial sources. Is the same workforce used for the U.S. Government, FMS partners, and general public?
6. Is the USAF requirement offered to both under similar terms and conditions?  Briefly describe any differences.
7. Have you performed any of the certifications and analysis required in the CID?
8. Does the USAF have priority over another customer? If the USAF needs assistance, is it going to be at the top of the waiting list?
9. Do you have a Counterfeit Protection Plan (CPP) in place to ensure only quality parts and components from trusted and approved sources are used in manufacture of the borescope and related accessories?

Sustainment

1. What commercial warranty would you provide? Time Period? Is it possible to extend the warranty period?
2. The USAF has historically had a significant problem keeping operational units in the field. This has been caused by user damage.
   1. What solutions are available to reduce downtime while keeping costs reasonable?
   2. This may include user swappable modular components, service agreements, provision of spares, etc.
3. Are insertion tube modules repairable?
   1. What is the estimated price for repair?
4. What items for repair or replacement would you suggest being included in a contract?
5. What is the percentage of units that have gone through a repair?
6. How many locations around the world are available to send a damaged borescope for repair?
7. Are there any preventative maintenance requirements/recommendations? Field or Depot performed?
8. How do you perform training for commercial customers? Are you able to provide onsite training to the Government? What training materials could you provide?
9. Are there commercially available training resources which can be accessed for free?
10. Do you have policies, plans, and/or procedures to address Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM)?
11. Technology changes rapidly and can have severe impacts for sustaining government systems fielded under multi-year contracts. How do you plan for and overcome issues of sub-system/component obsolescence to ensure borescopes can be repaired/sustained in later years?

Provide a statement as to whether your company is domestically or foreign owned (if foreign, please indicate the country of ownership).

Responses to the Capability Survey Part I and Part II must be received no later than close of business 08 May 2026.  Please ensure data is in a readable electronic format that can be received through a firewall.  Attachments shall not to exceed 10 MB per email.  Multiple emails are acceptable.  Responses must be sent via email to the following:

Arenina Sullivan-Jones, Contracting Officer, arenina.sullivan-jones@us.af.mil

Stephen Williams, Program Manager, stephen.williams.64.ctr@us.af.mil

Questions related to this market research should be addressed to all listed.