99--FAA Aviation Weather Group, Aircraft Weather Observations and Reports Program,

FAA Aviation Weather Group Aircraft Weather Observations and Reports Program Market Survey The US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Aviation Weather Group (AWG) is part of the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and Operations Planning Business Unit. The mission of the AWG is to realize the future of aviation by providing integrated weather strategies and solutions to achieve national and international goals. AWG does this by developing and coordinating the strategic direction for weather initiatives in the FAA's Aviation Weather Enterprise, including NextGen requirements, to mitigate the impact of weather in the National Airspace System (NAS).Purpose of the Market SurveyThe FAA has a requirement for the collection, format and dissemination of automated aircraft upper air weather observation data. This data are used in aviation models to produce more timely and accurate aviation weather analysis and forecast. This requirement includes a task for the collection, and dissemination of the automated aircraft performance data.Interested parties should complete all parts of this document as instructed below. We also invite you to submit additional information to supplement the document that may offer greater insight about your organization and its capabilities.Please be advised that this is a market survey. This is not a solicitation, Screening Information Request (SIR), or Request for Proposal (RFP) of any kind and cannot be construed as a commitment by the FAA for either future business or a future contractual relationship with the FAA. Please note that this market survey does not commit the FAA to a contract nor commit the FAA to issue an RFP or SIR.All interested parties are advised that the FAA will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred or associated with any submission received from any interested party in response to this market survey. Therefore, any costs associated with the submission will be solely at the interested party's expense.The purpose of this market survey is to gather information that will assist the FAA in determining the availability of vendors that can collect, format, and disseminate automated aircraft upper air weather observation data.The FAA reserves the right to award a contract based on the results of this survey. If this survey results in a competitive acquisition, the competition will be limited to those vendors who responded to this survey and were evaluated and determined to be qualified for all factors. Background and ScopeThe International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) obligates states to have a program for the observing, recording, and reporting of weather observations from aircraft operating on international air routes. ICAO Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation, documents this obligation and defines the types of observations to be made, and the reporting and recording requirements.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)-sanctioned program for automated weather observing systems on aircraft is called Aircraft Meteorological Data and Relay (AMDAR). The current United States-based airline participants in Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting System, MDCRS, (also called the more generic term, AMDAR) are American, Southwest, FedEx, United, UPS and Delta/Northwest. At this time there are over 1500 aircraft reporting in the US program, with more than 100,000 observations down linked each day. The standards for the interfaces between the data link service providers and the airborne and ground-based users are defined in ARINC Specification 620-6, DataLink Ground System and Interface Specification. (Version 620-7 is currently in the draft development stage).The FAA has a requirement to collect these meteorological observations obtained from varied sensors on commercial aircraft and transmit these data in near-real time through the National Weather Service Telecommunications Gateway (NWSTG) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for use in aviation weather analyses and forecasts. NOAA facilities utilizing these data include the National Weather Service (NWS) in Silver Spring, Maryland and the Global Systems Division (GSD) of the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder, Colorado. The FAA also has a requirement to deliver aircraft-based weather observations and pilot report data to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. The data is used for product verification, evaluation, and as raw data for algorithm input. In addition, the FAA has a requirement for the capability to uplink NCAR message traffic to aircraft in flight. Finally, the FAA has a requirement to collect aircraft status change messages called OOOI (Out of gate, Off the ground, On the ground, In the gate) for US-based carriers. The collection and distribution of this data by the FAA forms the basis for the Daily Measurement of Air Traffic Services (DMATS) program. The Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM) depends on OOOI data to determine the percent of on-time gate departures and arrivals, as well as taxi time and delays, airborne and block delays. These metrics are analyzed inside and outside the FAA. They are published daily for executive management to make tactical and strategic decisions (congestion management, for instance). OOOI data are also integrated into the computation of key efficiency metrics that serve as a basis for pay incentives, capital investments and NextGen scenario simulations. The FAA AWG is seeking to determine the availability of vendors with the capabilities, resources and qualifications to provide the operational services required to meet the following requirements. Vendors interested in submitting a capability statement for this requirement must address all of the following:1. Demonstrate knowledge of Air-Ground and Ground-Ground communications paths and ground-ground protocols among airlines participating in the US AMDAR program (currently American Airlines, Delta/Northwest Airlines, Federal Express, United Airlines, United Parcel Service, and Southwest Airlines).2. Ability to provide near-real time data link service to participating airlines.3. Ability to implement interface standards defined in ARINC Specification 620-6, DataLink Ground System and Interface Specification, and ability to incorporate any modifications that will be documented in version 620-7 when published.4. Ability to communicate VHF D/L Service at over 200 domestic airport locations (list furnished upon request). 5. Ability to provide network and service monitoring capability 24 hours per day, 7 days per week with the ability to respond any time a data link outage occurs. 6. Ability to maintain field support network in the event remote maintenance is needed.7. Ability to acquire AMDAR information from participating airlines by way of High Frequency, Very High Frequency or Satellite communications system.8. Ability to process aircraft-based weather observations as defined in ICAO Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation.9. Ability to process the messages in such a way as to "strip off" the airborne meteorological data, and pass the messages in WMO FM-94 Binary Universal Form for the Representation of meteorological data (BUFR) format to the FAA and NOAA.10. Ability to provide a connection-oriented socket based data link capability with NCAR for data dissemination. 11. Ability to provide a near real time uplink capability for NCAR product dissemination to participating airlines.12. Ability to report aircraft status change messages called OOOI (Out of the gate, Off the ground, On the ground, In the gate) for aircraft at all airports serviced by participating US carriers.13. Ability to provide immediate service so as to prevent a break in operational support.14. Provide detailed information and past performance information on work performed that is similar to the work described in the "Background and Scope".15. Interested parties are required to submit the attached Business Declaration form. Points of ContactResponses to this market survey and questions specifically about the market survey should NOT be directed to any other part of the FAA, but to the AWG, at the contact provided below:POCMs. Pat RamseyFAA/ Facilities and Technology Services Office of Acquisition and Business Acquisition and Contacting AJA-481 +1 (555) 000-0000 contact@example.gov Responses to this market survey shall be: emailed to the contact listed in the section above received no later that 2:00PM EST on (30 days from release) no longer than 10 pages in length, not including this survey itself