69 -- ATC Programs Requirement for Tower Simulators

NAVAIR Orlando Training Systems Division plans to negotiate with ADACEL Systems, Inc. on a sole source basis under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The Government intends to award a Firm Fixed Price contract for the delivery of 11 tower simulators. Nine of the 11 simulators will be delivered to the following Marine Corp Air Stations: MCAS Beaufort, MCAS Camp Pendleton, MCAS Cherry Point, MCAS Miramar, MCAS Futenma, MCAS Iwakuni, MCAS New River, MCAS Quantico, MCAS Yuma. The simulators shall fit in a room that measures 12ft long x 9ft wide x 8ft height. Two simulators are deployable units mobile units requiring rugedized shipping containers. The two deployable systems shall include the geo-specific visual representation for: 29 Palms and Bogue fields and shall include the Air Force databases for Eagle Base and Eaglin. Delivery Schedule: One - temporary unit (shall include all end item hardware) shall be installed at MCAS Miramar 90 days after contract award and shall include the databases for Miramar, Eagle Base and Eaglin. Delivery for the additional units and locations will be negotiated. General description of Operational Capability: Key Performance Parameters Interoperability. The system software must be able to interoperate with existing Air Force, Army and FAA air traffic control systems to support National Airspace System (NAS) requirements and in order to satisfy future Joint Services Approach for ATC training. Scenario transportability. The system shall be capable of sending or receiving, via portable media, a scenario package. The scenario package shall contain all data and files necessary to conduct the training exercise at another location to include any Air Force, Army facility as well as the FAA ATC School in Oklahoma. Visual Display Filed of View. The system must provide a visual depiction capable of a 360 degree representation of the base airfield and environment as viewed from a control tower with a field of vision that displays 180-225 degrees field of view (FOV) continuously, to include intersecting runways, taxiways and approach ends of each runway. Aircraft Performance Characteristics and Profiles. The system must visually and accurately depict aircraft database of current US military aircraft and civilian aircraft that controllers would be exposed to. The system must visually and accurately depict aircraft recognition at accurate distances and position in relation to the depicted environment. The system must also accurately simulate all military and civilian aircraft maneuvers, profiles and speeds, must process and display tower radar information as well as airport and weather information and should monitor and control radio navigational aids and airfield lighting systems. The system shall simulate appropriate aircraft/helo sounds for departure and landing. Voice Recognition/Synthesis. The system must provide voice communication/recognition generation capability. The voice recognition system must not require the controller to train the system on the individual voice pattern. Voice recognition must be capable of translating common ATC phraseology requirements IAW FAA Order 7110.65 and normal accepted communication terminology (commercial and military) to include: tower-aircraft-to-tower well as tower-to-ground-to-tower communications recognition. Multiple grammars shall be delivered such that an instructor can choose between strict or more relaxed recognition requirements. The system must allow commands to multiple aircraft in a single utterance. The system shall meet a single attempt 98% voice recognition accuracy. The system must operate in continuous speech mode, not requiring a pause between words or phrases; however the system shall be able to recognize pauses and other expressions in between words or phrases. The system shall accept multiple commands without requiring a pause, a - break command or mike key between commands. The system shall provide synthetic voice output for all aircraft, ground vehicles and final radar controller all of which shall be able to initiate calls and respond to students commands realistically and appropriately. The final radar controller shall transmit information necessary to correlate aircraft on radar or instrument approaches that are not in direct radio contact with the tower. The voice synthesis system shall automatically provide multiple genders and accents, contain realistic background noise and modulated speech and shall be able to adapt to higher traffic densities through abbreviated and/or faster read backs. The grammar shall be site-adaptable by Navy and Marine Corps personnel who have administration privileges using supplied grammar maintenance tools. Additionally the system must provide the ability for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who have administration access to the system to modify and or add ATC phraseology. The system must be capable of interacting with the instructor operator station using voice recognition control. The system shall include Marine Corp unique phraseology. Emulation of the Enhanced Terminal Voice System (ETVS). The control tower simulation system shall simulate UHF, VHF, FM and land line communication. Each student station and the Instructor's station shall have a simulated Enhanced Terminal Voice System (ETVS), including trainee and trainer headset jacks at each position. The configuration of each ETVS shall be site adaptable. Headsets shall be provided for each position. Ability to reuse US Air Force Aircraft and Vehicle Databases. The system shall provide the capability for reusing existing Air Force Aircraft and vehicle database. Ability to reuse US Air Force Airport Databases. The system shall be able to utilize existing Air Force Databases specifically the system shall be able to utilize the Eaglin and Eagle Base databases. Size. The Control Tower simulation system shall fit entirely within a room having the interior dimensions of 9 ft wide by 12 feet long with an 8-foot ceiling. Runway Incursion/Flying Hazards. The system must simulate scenario driven or real time instructor selected runway incursions by animals, birds, airport personnel, lawn mowers, other ground vehicles and aircraft. Flying hazards shall include bird activity, gliders, crop dusting, power line and pipeline operations, airfield working parties, major construction hazards, damaged airplanes, vehicles, boats, etc. Scenario Recording and Playback. The system shall have record and playback capability. The data recorded shall allow the playback to recreate the recorded period with all platform movement, all voice communications and the response to any controls activated during the recorded period. Recording of visual system pitch and slew controls is not required. The recording capability shall be sufficient to record a one-hour scenario. During a playback, the system shall allow repeated pause or backup and restart. The playback feature shall also allow stop and resume real-time training at any point in the playback. The system shall provide a recording save function for scenarios of less than an hour. A saved recording shall be capable of play back at any time. Other Required Capabilities. a. Ability to accurately depict aircraft/vehicles and aircraft characteristics to include unique airborne military profiles, and local base out-the-window (OTW) environment. Aircraft and vehicle database shall include Navy/Marine Corp specific aircraft. Aircraft and ground vehicle models shall have the correct shape, dimensions and shading. The system shall provide the capability to add additional aircraft to meet future requirements. b. The system shall provide the capability to simultaneously display a minimum of 75 moving objects within the Local Controller's total field of view and distributed evenly across all channels. c. Depict aircraft and vehicles identification at defined distances and positions. d. The system shall provide simulated aircraft with the appropriate aircraft characteristics for the aircraft type. It shall also simulate military aircraft maneuvers, profiles and speeds. Simulated aircraft shall exhibit appropriate acceleration, deceleration, speed, turn rate, roll rate, and attitude for all phases of air and ground operations. e. The simulated aircraft shall follow profiles appropriate for local runways. The simulated aircraft shall follow profiles appropriate for the local air station runways. The system shall provide as a minimum the following flight profiles: VFR patterns for small aircraft and helicopters, Formation flights, Flight break ups, 360 degrees overhead pattern, re-entry pattern, straight-in approaches, civilian aircraft performance, rectangular pattern, instrument approaches, Flameout operations for jet aircraft, programmable non-standard tactical approaches, variable pattern entry profiles, ability to add and delete VFR entry points, go around, re-entry, spacing, extend, execute missed approach, right and left closed traffic, follow, TACAN procedures and other special procedures. f. The system shall be able to simulate the following aircraft emergencies: Low fuel, medical emergency, hydraulic failure, engine failure, bird strike, aircraft crash, and gear up landing. g. The system must emulate military aircraft arresting gear engagements. h. Provide visual representation of local base environment to include geo-specific representation of all runways, taxiways configurations, ramps, windsocks, navigational aids, man-made features (hangars, base buildings, etc.) and obstacles as actually viewed from the tower and include base/airfield environments, local geography, background skyline, major roadways, terrain and natural feature representation. Barrier Cables and windsocks shall be controllable manually or as determined by the scenario. The windsock shall react to the wind speed in the scenario and shall rotate with a change in wind direction. The airport model shall be photorealistic. Ground surfaces, roofs and trees shall be represented in an appropriate texture to match the scenario. Visual representation for each of the 9 MCAs facilities, Bogin Field and 29 Palms shall be provided. i. Provide means of displaying an alternative viewpoint for either the Local or ground controller (to be selectable at each facility). This dedicated channel shall allow a trainee to independently view a part of the visual scene that is not covered by the OTW view. The size of the display (flat panel preferred) shall be no less than 22 in with a minimum resolution of 1280 x1024 pixels. j. Accurately depict/portray local airfield hazards to flight, eg. Bird activity, gliders or paradrops, dogs, airfield working crews, major construction hazards, helicopter operations, vehicle, boat, crop dusting and power line and pipeline operations. k. Depict major construction on airfield lighting, arresting systems and pavement repair/replacement. l. The system must provide visual representation and programmable levels of weather phenomenon characteristics of each control tower geographical locations that include cloud formations, ceiling variances, visibility, changing weather elements, environmental lighting, and wind information. Cloud formations shall include stratoform clouds yielding steady light precipitation, cumuliform clouds yielding showers and thunderstorms, cloud to cloud lightning, cloud to ground lightning and in cloud lightning. m. Visibility range shall be modifiable as a function of fog, haze, smog, smoke, sandstorm, mist, rain snow, drizzle and sleet among others. n. Provides for accurate depiction of changing weather elements: altimeter rising or falling rapidly, rising and falling cloud ceiling, visibility and wind speed, accumulating precipitation associated with snow squalls, thunderstorms and frontal passages. o. Provides digital wind information corresponding with out-the-window visual references. Wind elements provided to include at a minimum variable wind direction and speed, wind gusts and shifts, wind shear in the lowest 2000 feet elevation above field elevation. p. Accurately portray runway conditions and other surface movement areas during inclement weather. Minimum requirements are wet runway, packed snow on runway, ice on runway, slush on runway, loose snow on runway, varying decelerometer readings q. The system shall provide a situational awareness display or - look down feature for the local controller. The instructor shall be equipped wit the tools to activate and control the look down view. The ground controller shall also be equipped with an independent look down view. A pilot view shall also be provided. r. Must accurately emulate tower DBRITE radar display information as related to an airport or air base. The radar representation shall be scalable from 2-30 nautical miles in range, provide alpha-numeric representation of aircraft information, provide accurate radar echo returns for alignment purposes and provide local base radar map information. The radar display must provide weather processing display information in accordance with the National Weather Service 6 calibrated levels of intensity. s. Must accurately portray elements of time passage in regard to day/dusk/night/dawn and the associated environmental lighting and visibility limitations associated with each. t. The system must provide a variety of airport and environmental status display options to be available continuously and include digital wind speed and direction indicators to include airdrome prevailing winds, runway lighting capabilities, flight strip emulation, weather dissemination display, light gun, and automatic terminal information service (ATIS) record and playback capability. u. The simulation shall provide for runway lighting capability to include approach lights with varying intensity, runway lighting with varying intensity, sequencing flashing lights, taxiway lights, visual approach slope indicator lighting or runway end identifier lights to applicable runways with varying intensity, rotating beacon, appropriate obstruction lighting, remote traffic light control system. v. The weather dissemination display shall provide a 30 minute weather update, with wind, altimeter, and visibility in METAR format and an added remarks section. w. The system shall include two simulated light guns at each of the local and ground controller positions. x. The system shall include a simulation of the operation of a crash phone and the simulated response of the crash response vehicles. y. The system must provide a Site Specific Scenario database z. The system shall provide for an Instructor Operator Station (IOS). The IOS shall have controls and displays necessary to initiate and conduct training exercises. During the conduct of a training exercise the instructor's station shall have the necessary controls and displays to: monitor and evaluate the student(s) performance; make real time modifications to the exercise; freeze and restart the exercise; and utilize the functions required by other requirements herein. aa. The instructor position shall have the controls and displays necessary to assume the role of a pseudo pilot, at the instructor's discretion or in the event of a voice recognition system failure. The system shall allow an instructor to assume control of a computer-controlled aircraft and then return the aircraft to computer control. THE IOS shall provide the capability to assume the role of non-simulated radio or landline entities. bb. Scenario Generation/Modification. The system shall provide a tool for scenario generation and modification. The scenario tool shall not require the operator to have knowledge of high-level software languages or programming. The system shall be capable of storing at least 100 scenarios of at least two hours each. The system shall allow easy modification of a scenario to allow the creation of a new, but similar, scenario without manually entering all data. The scenario generation tool shall be usable on a typical desktop personal computer and allow transfer of scenario data to the simulator via portable media. Scenario package shall contain all data and files necessary to conduct training for another location including US Airforce locations. cc. Binocular system. The system shall provide a binocular system accessible to each student for the purpose of verifying situations that are not easily recognizable in the normal view. The binocular system shall emulate the performance of a 7-10X50 zoom binocular. dd. The simulator shall provide a means of displaying an alternate viewpoint for the Local Controller. The alternative view shall enable the Local Controller to perceive the spatial positions of aircraft in the controlled area. ee. The system shall simulate Runway Condition Ratings (RCR) of 5, 10, 15, 20 or dry. The selected RCR shall have an appropriate effect on the performance of simulated aircraft. Simulated aircraft shall state the appropriate braking action when queried by a controller. ff. The simulator shall provide training for three student positions: Local Controller, Ground Controller and Flight Data. Each position shall be capable of independent training or all positions functioning together for crew training. gg. All positions shall have consoles sufficient for the intended position's task. Student position consoles shall represent a typical cab with all equipment necessary to accomplish the training tasks. In addition to displays and controls, the consoles shall be provided with head sets, flight strip racks, writing surfaces, task lighting, chairs, etc. hh. The system shall have flight strip emulation to include arriving and departing aircraft ii. The simulator shall have a 5 channel main visual display utilizing a maximum of Five (5) 42- in LCD flat panels. The FOV shall be between 180-225 horizontal. The displayed scene shall be slewable through 360 degree horizontal by 90 degree vertical. The image generator shall have a resolution of 1360 x 1024. jj. The system must provide autorotation for Helos. kk. The system must provide for E-28 arresting gear - out of battery light. This light shall come on when the gear is out of battery or not ready for arrestment. ll. Must also emulate airport/weather and radar informational data, and tower communication array. Contractor Logistics Support: The contractor shall be responsible for all hardware, software, maintenance and parts for two years after delivery. Options for additional CLS support will be negotiated at a later date. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. In doing so, interested sources must submit detailed technical capabilities, pricing, and any other information, which demonstrates their ability to meet the needs of the Government. Detailed capabilities must be submitted to the above address (Attn: Michael White) by 1 February 2005. All information shall be furnished at no cost or obligation to the Government. Responses shall be limited to no more than FIVE pages. This synopsis is not to be considered a request for quotations or proposals. No solicitation document is available and telephone requests will not be honored. No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice, but will be used to determine if a comparable source is available and more advantageous to the Government. If no affirmative written response is received, the contract will be awarded without further notice.