99--ASR-8 / ASR-9 / Mode-S SLEP

SummaryThe Federal Aviation Administration National Headquarters (FAAHQ), ASR-9/Mode S Program Office (AJT-111), is conducting a Market Survey/Request, hereafter referred to as the "announcement", to improve the Government's understanding of the current marketplace and to identify qualified sources capable of providing Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) products for the Air Surveillance Radar Model 8 (ASR-8) and Model 9 (ASR-9) primary radar systems and the Mode Select (Mode S) secondary radar system. The objective of this announcement is to solicit statements of interest and capabilities from large businesses, small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and 8(a) certified firms, capable of providing ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode S service life extension products at the subsystem level. At this time the nature of the competition has not been determined. Interested sources must respond with information to confirm evidence of qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements identified in this survey. The FAA intends to review all response submittals to establish an acquisition strategy. Responses to this announcement will be used in part to determine whether or not adequate competition exists to meet requirements of full and open competition; set aside all or part of the procurement for small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses or eligible socially and economically disadvantaged businesses (SEDB) that are certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for participation in the SBA's 8(a) Program. Any interested sources may respond to this announcement. The principle North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is 334511, "Air Traffic Control Radar Systems and Equipment Manufacturing". BackgroundInitially fielded in 1970's, the ASR-8 system is deployed at 38 of the Federal Aviation Administration's airports. Including engineering and logistics support assets, there are a total of 41 ASR-8 systems in the National Aeronautical System (NAS) inventory. Initially fielded in 1987, the ASR-9 system is the principal airport surveillance radar used at 130 of the Federal Aviation Administration's busiest airports. Including engineering and logistics support assets, there are a total of 135 ASR-9 systems in the National Aeronautical System (NAS) inventory. Initially fielded in 1994, the Mode S system is collocated with ASR-9 and ASR-8 systems, as well as serving 23 Long Range Radar (LRR) locations. Including engineering and logistics support assets, there are a total of 148 Mode-S systems in the NAS inventory. The ASR8, ASR-9 and Mode S systems have reached the end of their designed life cycles. Studies have revealed that continued investment is required to sustain the current level of surveillance services provided by these systems. The results of an investment analysis conducted in November 2003 indicated that a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for these systems was the preferred solution. The ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode S systems are experiencing supportability and maintenance issues resulting from Diminishing Manufacturer Sources (DMS)/obsolescence issues, which in turn extend Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) and increase costs of ownership. To mitigate this situation, the FAA developed a multi-phased strategy that addressed critical sustainment issues, identified as those elements that represent immediate, serious risk to this service (Phase 1) and identifies the next highest set of major impact risks and develops affordable long-term solutions to ensure continued surveillance services at ASR-9/Mode-S sites (Phase 2). Conversely, all ASR-8 systems were to be replaced with new ASR systems; however budget issues prevented the replacement of all ASR-8's with new ASR systems. Phase 1 was separated into two segments: Phase 1, Segment A; and Phase 1, Segment B. A final investment decision was approved for Phase 1, Segment A in September 2004, which implemented modifications to the ASR-9 antenna at selected sites to mitigate the risk of structural collapse, while addressing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issues and replacing the obsolete control and monitoring equipment at all sites. A final investment decision was approved for Phase 1, Segment B in June 2005, which implements subsystem modifications to the ASR-9 transmitter at 135 systems through FY2010 to improve the reliability and maintainability of these systems. The objective of this announcement, Phase 2, consists of implementing additional SLEP modifications to the ASR-8, ASR-9/Weather Systems Processor (WSP) and Mode S systems to sustain primary/weather and secondary surveillance in terminal airspace through 2025. The FAA performed a detailed analysis of the legacy ASR-8, ASR-9/WSP and Mode S systems and concluded some subsystems would require a replacement and/or major redesign in order to solve existing DMS, supportability issues, and to minimize the life cycle costs. The sustainment of the ASR-8, ASR-9/WSP and Mode S systems align with the National Airspace System Architecture 6, and the Surveillance and Broadcast Services (SBS) Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) strategy. The Phase 2 segment is being examined for the prospect of supporting the ASR-8, ASR-9, and Mode S radar systems with common products/technologies to assure supportability and serviceability until 2025. Requirements include the following: Extending the Service Life of the ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode S to at least 2025 by solving current and future supportability issues.o Provide Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) assembly solutions for the ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode-S systems LRU's may address Antenna Group, Transmitter, Receiver, and/or Communications elements. Improve the ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode S systems reliability, availability, and maintainability. Reducing the cost of ownership for the ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode S systems. Capability to provide integrated windshear and microburst processing by simply adding second data processor and weather user displays. Maximum use of COTS for subsystems that are redesigned. All Contractor Developed Hardware and Software shall be non-proprietary to the greatest degree possible.o All proprietary Hardware and Software items shall be identified. Providing a common digital receiver/signal data processor platform that is capable of supporting ASR-8, ASR-9 and a Mode S system.o Incorporate the functionality of WSP. Fully integrated monitoring, control and communications system with a single-user maintenance interface. The architecture must retain the high-power narrow pulse klystron transmitter required to support windshear and microburst detection. Provide a digital output for the ASR-8, ASR-9 and Mode-S video outputs capable of supporting IP addressing. The digital output would be required to provide primary, secondary, merged and weather contour information on separately configurable output data streams supporting modified CD-2 and All-Purpose STructured Eurocontrol SuRveillance Information EXchange (ASTERIX) message Formats. After any and all modifications provided as part of the SLEP, the ASR-8, ASR-9/WSP and Mode S systems shall meet or exceed legacy operational performance (in all measurable respects) to the operational performance of the systems prior to these modifications. Operational performance shall include but not be limited to:o The systems' ability to detect and correlate targets; ando The systems' ability to filter out clutter and other unwanted non-target artifacts. Verification of operational performance shall include the extensive use of pre-recorded live and synthesized canned data, with the canned data used to verify end-to-end operational performance and proper porting of legacy algorithms and software. When the same canned data is fed into both the modified and unmodified systems:o The modified systems shall exhibit the same or better end-to-end performance as the unmodified systems.o The processing performance of intermediate solutions and products produced by the modified systems shall equal or exceed those produced by the unmodified systems, to verify the proper porting of the algorithms and software from the unmodified systems to the modified ones. Mandatory Requirements for Expression of InterestIn order to be considered responsive, sources expressing interest in this announcement must provide the following: 1) Capability Statement - provide the following information:a. Type of services provided by your firm.b. Business size, i.e., Large Small, or SDVOSB or 8(a), as applicable.c. Demonstrate experience/capability for the requirements in the attached Statement of Work (SOW).d. Number of years in business.e. Geographical areas where your company can provide services.f. Expected programmatic approach (in-house, teaming, subcontracting, etc.) - Respondents must provide their strategy for accomplishing this work, including the percentage of work that will be done by eligible small, service-disabled veteran-owned and 8(a) certified businesses.2) Completed Business Declaration Form3) Copy of SBA 8(a) Certificate Form, if applicable Submission DetailsSend one electronic submission to contact@example.gov. The electronic submission should be in a Portable Document Format (.PDF). Submissions should not exceed not exceed 10 pages in length. Also, please note that the FAA email server restricts file sizes to 10MB per email, so larger files may have to be submitted in more than one email to be fully received. All Submissions/responses must be received by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 30 September 2009. Submissions will be made electronically to contact@example.gov in .PDF format. For questions, requests for additional information, etc. regarding this market survey, contact Gavin Byrne, Contracting Officer, via E-mail: contact@example.gov. Submission must include company Point(s) of Contact, telephone number(s), FAX number(s), E-mail address(es) (if available), and mailing address. No telephone calls will be accepted. Please submit questions through e-mail.This announcement is not a solicitation for a Screening Information Request (SIR) or a Request for Proposal (RFP). Accordingly, this announcement must not be construed as either a promise to award a contract or an obligation for the Government to provide compensation for information associated with the preparation and submittal of inquiries addressing this announcement. Brochures alone will not be considered sufficient documentation for demonstration of capabilities, conflict-free credentials, and unbiased status. Responses will not be returned. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to respondents of the announcement. No collect calls or telephone inquiries will be accepted. This is a sources sought announcement. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is issued, it will be synopsized on the FAA's contract opportunities web page. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation. All FAA documents are to be downloaded and printed from the FAA Contracting Opportunities Home Page found at http://faaco.faa.gov (or by access through http://fast.faa.gov/docs/forms/form.html). Please note that documents downloaded from sites other than the FAA's Contracting Opportunities Homepage may not be the latest documents. If a solicitation is issued, it will be publicized on the FAA's Contract Opportunities web page. It is the Offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of the solicitation