Frank Tisdel, Program Manager

Frank Tisdel serves as Program Manager for the FA8576 Aflcmc Eskc under the Department of the Air Force, where he leads the acquisition and integration of resilient positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems critical to air, space, and cyber operations. He oversees the full lifecycle procurement of next-generation PNT technologies, including embedded GPS/inertial navigation systems (EGI), software-defined user equipment, and anti-jamming signal processing solutions. His role is central to ensuring operational continuity in contested and degraded environments, aligning acquisition strategy with the Air Force’s modernization imperatives for PNT sovereignty and resilience. Tisdel collaborates with a broad ecosystem of defense aerospace and systems integration contractors specializing in advanced navigation hardware and secure firmware development. While no single contractor dominates his portfolio, he consistently engages firms with proven expertise in military-grade sensor fusion, secure embedded systems, and MIL-STD-compliant software architectures. His contracting patterns reflect a preference for established defense primes and mid-tier innovators capable of rapid prototyping and field validation under strict security protocols. Tisdel’s procurement activities are exclusively classified as “No Set-Aside,” reflecting the technical complexity, national security sensitivity, and specialized supply chain requirements of PNT systems. While socioeconomic set-asides are not leveraged, his team maintains rigorous vendor qualification standards that prioritize technical capability, supply chain integrity, and compliance with ITAR and DFARS regulations over socioeconomic categorization. His primary focus lies within NAICS 334511, encompassing the development and manufacturing of aeronautical and navigation systems. He procures high-assurance PNT hardware, secure timing modules, multi-constellation GNSS receivers, and ruggedized user terminals designed for deployment on aircraft, satellites, and ground command nodes. His domain expertise centers on signal integrity, jamming resistance, and seamless integration with existing military platforms, ensuring mission-critical PNT capabilities remain operational under electronic warfare threats.