Inactive

1. Introduction The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a requirement for air traffic controller training simulator software and related services under the Tower Simulation System (TSS) Program.... 1. Introduction The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a requirement for air traffic controller training simulator software and related services under the Tower Simulation System (TSS) Program. The purpose of this market survey is to (1) gather information about potential vendors and their capabilities and (2) obtain vendors’ comments and recommendations regarding draft requirements in accordance with FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS) Policy 3.2.1.2.1. This announcement is NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) NOR IS IT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ). The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. The FAA will not pay for any information received or cost incurred in preparing the responses to this market survey or associated activities. Therefore, any costs associated with the submission of responses are solely at the interested vendor’s expense. The nature of the competition that will be conducted for this procurement has not been finalized at this time. The FAA will review the responses to this market survey and will make acquisition decisions based on vendor responses and the FAA’s needs. This market survey must not be construed as an obligation on the part of the FAA to acquire these services. Since this is not a RFQ or RFP, no results will be issued to the responding firms. No solicitation for these items exists at this time. If a solicitation is issued, it will be announced on the SAM.gov website. It is the vendor’s responsibility to monitor the website for release of the solicitation. The FAA may request that one, some, all, or none of the responders to the market survey provide additional information. No evaluation of vendors will occur based on this additional information, and vendor participation in any informational session is not a promise for future business with the FAA. The FAA reserves the right to have communication with any or none of the respondents. A response to this Market Survey is not a prerequisite for future procurement consideration. All information, except that which qualifies under an exemption, provided in response to this market survey may be subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Information considered proprietary or confidential must be clearly marked as such and the vendor must provide justification to the FAA of such designation if requested. Any information not identified as proprietary or confidential will be used at the FAA’s discretion and may be publicly released without further FOIA disclosure review by the FAA or respondent(s). Any amendment(s) issued to this announcement will be published on SAM.gov. It is the interested parties’ responsibility to visit this website frequently to be informed of any changes to this announcement. Note:The FAR references cited in SAM.gov are not applicable to the FAA as the FAA has its own policies and guidance referenced in the Acquisition Management System (AMS). 2. Background The FAA currently uses a high-fidelity three dimensional (3D) visual simulator system, known as TSS, to train air traffic controllers for operations at air traffic control towers (ATCTs). The FAA has deployed 111 TSSs to train air traffic controllers at FAA-operated ATCTs and the FAA Academy. However, there are many ATCTs throughout the national airspace system (NAS) without a permanent TSS. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, enacted in May 2024, required that the FAA make simulator systems accessible to more air traffic controllers throughout the NAS. Additionally, it required that the FAA develop and implement a database of virtual airport models and make the database accessible to all simulator systems in the NAS. The FAA currently intends to conduct two procurements to fulfill the requirements of the Reauthorization Act. The anticipated scope of one of these procurements is for the delivery of simulation software as described in Section 3 of this market survey. A market survey for the anticipated scope of the second procurement, which includes the purchase and installation of hardware, design and implementation of a remote system management platform, training scenario development, and system operation and maintenance, is anticipated to be issued at a later date. 3. Scope of Required Services The scope of services that will be required under the contemplated ATCT Simulation Software contract include, but is not limited to, the following: Design, configure, and modify software to meet the requirements in the FAA’s Draft TSS Software Specification (Attachment A). Install, configure, test, and verify the satisfactory operational performance of the ATCT simulation software. Develop, implement, and manage software updates to address ATC procedural updates, operational improvements, bug fixes, and security vulnerabilities. Provide configuration management support for the ATCT simulation software. Prepare and provide operational TSS training materials and user manuals based on the ATCT simulation software. Provide operational and help desk support for the ATCT simulation software. Convert and utilize FAA’s existing visual databases (accurate, geo-specific virtual airport models), which were created with Unreal Engine. If visual database conversion is not available, develop a visual database for each designated airport. Interested firms that believe they have the relevant technical ability to meet these services should provide a capability statement that addresses the complete scope of services described above. NOTE – The FAA is not seeking any virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) solutions. Responses should also include at least three examples of similar government or commercial contracts awarded to the vendor within the last 5 years. If three references are not available, please submit the one or two examples that are similar. Each example should include: Customer name (government agency or company name) Contract number Period of performance of the contract Maximum value of the contract Summary of the products and services provided under the contract Name, phone number and email address for the customer’s contracting officer Additionally, the FAA requests that vendors submit responses to the following questions: How can your simulation software be deployed (e.g., rich client, thin client, fully cloud-based)? How do you ensure the security of the simulation software you develop? How do you ensure that your simulation software does not introduce security vulnerabilities or contain malicious code? Can you provide real time updates to your simulation software to mitigate cyber security vulnerabilities as they are known? Does your simulation software reflect the air traffic procedures as specified in FAA Order JO 7110.65BB - Air Traffic Control, and is it reflective of the US NAS (e.g., English language, units of measure, terminology)? Is your simulation software capable of exporting simulated flight plan information to other FAA training systems? Does your simulation software emulate the basic Standard Terminal Automation Replacement Systems (STARS) functionality, including Converging Runway Display Aid (CRDA)? The airport environment and the fleet mix are in a state of constant change. Please describe how your simulation software could expedite the FAA’s development of training scenarios, and advantages that your software provides regarding ease of scenario development. What is your approach for developing a visual database of an airport and the surrounding environment? Can your simulation software display complex layouts (e.g., 9 runways and 30 taxiways) with up to 360-degree view? Can your simulation software simultaneously simulate 100+ active aircraft and 50+ ground vehicles, enable at least 3 remote pilots, and display an “out of the window” view (i.e., the view of the airport environment from a control tower) on as many as 14 screens? Does your simulation software offer voice recognition and synthetic voice response capabilities? Does your simulation software offer auto control features (e.g., ground control can be automated to enable training on the local control position or vice versa)? Does your simulation software produce detailed and tailorable usage reports/data? What approach and tools do you use for configuration and deployment management when a customer requires simulation software for multiple systems, many with unique local requirements? Lastly, the FAA welcomes vendors’ comments regarding the draft TSS Software Specification (Attachment A) included as part of their responses. 4. Responses to This Market Survey The FAA will accept electronic submissions only. The total number of pages to be submitted must not exceed 25 pages (one-sided) in Times New Roman 12-point font with one-inch margins on all four sides. Note that the FAA’s email system is limited to receiving attachments that are not larger than 10 MB. Any questions about this market survey are due Monday April 28, 2025 at 12 PM Eastern. Questions shall be emailed to the Contracting Officer, Manish Patel, at Manish.Patel@faa.gov. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. All responses to this market survey must be provided in accordance with the instructions in this announcement no later than 12 PM Eastern on Monday, May 19, 2025 to Manish.Patel@faa.gov. As part of the response, vendors shall also submit a completed Business Declaration Form (Attachment B). Attachment B does not count toward the 25-page limit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5/1/2025 - Responses to the questions received for this market survey are now posted. See attached document "TSS E2 Market Survey Questions - Q and A Responses" which shows the questions and corresponding Government answer.