Multi-Ship Sustainment Partnership (MSSP) Single Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (SA-IDIQ) Contracts for Fleet Maintenance Availabilities and Incremental Selected Restricted Availabilities on DDG-51 Class Ships Homeported in Norfolk, VA
DEPT OF DEFENSE.DEPT OF THE NAVY.NAVSEA.NAVSEA HQ.NAVSEA HQ · Response deadline: Mon, 21 Dec 2026
What the government is buying
The Navy is hiring a small business to provide ship sustainment services for DDG-51 class destroyers homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. The contract vehicle is a single-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement, meaning the Navy will establish one qualified contractor that it can issue task orders against over time. Work covers Fleet Maintenance Availabilities and Incremental Selected Restricted Availabilities—periods when naval vessels are taken out of operational rotation for planned maintenance, repairs, and system upgrades.
DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are the U.S. Navy's primary surface combatants, making their maintenance critical to fleet readiness. Norfolk is one of the Navy's largest concentration of homeported surface ships. Fleet Maintenance Availabilities typically involve a range of repair, alteration, and preservation work while Selected Restricted Availabilities focus on specific system upgrades or corrective maintenance in shorter timeframes.
Key facts
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Agency | Department of the Navy, NAVSEA |
| Notice type | Solicitation |
| Solicitation number | N0002426R4439 |
| NAICS | 336611 — Ship Building and Repairing |
| Set-aside | Small Business Set Aside — Partial |
| Response deadline | December 21, 2026, 2:00 PM ET |
| Place of performance | Norfolk, VA (DDG-51 homeport operations) |
Who can bid
This opportunity is set aside partially for small business concerns under NAICS 336611 (Ship Building and Repairing). A partial set-aside means specific portions of the requirement are reserved for small business competition, while other portions may be open to large businesses or already designated for other socioeconomic categories. Firms bidding must be small under the NAICS 336611 size standard, which typically uses 1,250 employees for this classification—see the solicitation for the exact standard applicable to this procurement.
Prospective bidders need experience with naval ship repair, particularly surface combatant maintenance. NAVSEA ship repair contracts typically require contractor facility security clearances, certified welding and fabrication capabilities, and adherence to Navy maintenance protocols. The small business set-aside creates opportunity for qualified small ship repair contractors, including those with existing relationships with Norfolk Naval Shipyard or regional Navy maintenance operations.
How to put together a competitive bid
Given the single-award IDIQ structure, the Navy will evaluate one comprehensive proposal for the base contract and likely sample task orders to demonstrate pricing and technical approach.
Focus areas for your proposal:
Technical approach to DDG-51 maintenance: Detail your understanding of Arleigh Burke-class systems, availability types, and working within Navy maintenance windows. Reference similar completed availabilities if possible.
Facilities and workforce proximity: Your Norfolk-area capacity reduces risk. Document crane capacity, dry dock or pier-side access, skilled trades staffing, and surge capacity for overlapping availabilities.
Past performance: NAVSEA heavily weights recent Navy ship repair experience. Include CPARS ratings, completion metrics, and quality scores from comparable contracts.
Small business compliance: Because this is partially set aside, clearly articulate your small business status and any subcontracting limitations the partial set-aside imposes.
IDIQ pricing strategy: Structure your labor rates, material handling, and overhead to be competitive for individual task orders while covering IDIQ minimums. See the solicitation for the guaranteed minimum quantity.
Next steps
Read the full solicitation on SAM.gov using solicitation number N0002426R4439. The solicitation document will contain the statement of work, exact evaluation factors, required certifications, and any amendments. Note the firm response deadline of December 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time—NAVSEA typically does not accept late proposals. Allow adequate time for system registration, document review, and any required facility visits or pre-proposal conferences that may be announced in the full solicitation.
View the official notice on SAM.gov →