FAA Tower Simulation System Hardware - Enhancement Two

1. Introduction

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a requirement for air traffic controller training simulator operation 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 an 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 of 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 provided in response to this market survey except that which qualifies under an exemption 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 this market survey as the FAA has its own acquisition policies and guidance contained in 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 includes the purchase and installation of hardware, training scenario development, and system operation and maintenance as described in Section 3 of this market survey. A market survey for the anticipated scope of the other procurement, which includes the delivery of simulation software and related services, was issued on April 16, 2025.

3. Scope of Required Services

The scope of services that will be required under the contemplated ATCT Simulation Operation contract include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Install, configure, test, and verify the operational performance of the ATCT simulation system.
• Procure hardware (see Attachment A Representative TSS System Components) for as many as 176 designated ATCTs and support sites and provide integrated logistics support for the system, including maintenance planning, maintenance, and depot and supply support.
• Maintain a test bed to test system modifications and assist in troubleshooting issues.
• Provide help desk and second level maintenance support for hardware and computer operating systems.
• Train and deploy approximately 30-40 field service representatives (FSRs) to designated FAA facilities to develop training scenarios, provide on-site operational and maintenance support, and train users.
• Provide configuration management support for the ATCT simulation hardware and operating system software.

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 that 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. 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:

1. What are the most important things to consider when managing a large library of (electronic) training simulator files and making them easily accessible to widely distributed simulator systems?
2. What is your approach for maintaining hardware and operating systems in coordination with multiple stakeholders and other vendors?
3. What is your approach to implementing a system in a restricted government environment and responding to cybersecurity data calls?
4. What tools or platforms do you recommend for project management, scheduling, and collaboration?
5. What tools or platforms do you recommend for configuration management for a widely distributed system that could provide insight into hardware configurations and assets to the Government?
6. How do you ensure that a project with potentially over 100 site installations meets FAA deadlines, and how do you handle project changes, such as a change to the implementation sequence or the number of site installations?
7. What strategies do you recommend for hiring, training, and maintaining the proficiency of FSRs?
8. What are potential approaches or methods to foster collaboration among the 30-40 FSRs located across the NAS to collaborate on innovative techniques?
9. What processes and methods do you offer to accelerate training scenario development?
10. What are the key features of an effective maintenance program for this system?
11. Do you have experience maintaining thousands of hardware components across many distributed sites, including providing maintenance, repair, replacement, and help desk services?
12. What is your approach to planning and managing travel for your program personnel?

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 May 28, 2025 at 12PM 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 by no later than 12PM Eastern on June 18, 2025 to Manish.Patel@faa.gov. As part of the response, vendors shall also submit a completed Attachment B Business Declaration Form. Attachment B does not count toward the 25-page limit.

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6/5/2025 - Responses to the questions received for this market survey are now posted. See attached document "TSS E2 Hardware Market Survey Questions - Q and A Responses FINAL" which shows the questions and corresponding Government answer.

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6/17/2025 - Responses to additional questions received for this market survey are now posted. See attached document "TSS E2 Hardware Additional Questions - Q and A Responses".