Active

Contract Opportunity

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is hereby issuing this Special Notice to:

1) Provide a notice of intent to negotiate and award a single source modification for a period of performance extension from 30 September 2027 to 31 December 2040 under contract DTFAWA-07-C-00014 for the Voice Switching and Control System (VSCS). The estimated value of the modification, inclusive of all options, is $600,000,000. The FAA intends to award the modification to the current prime contractor L3Harris Technologies, Inc. of 1025 West NASA Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32919; and

2) Provide interested United States based entities, other than the current prime contractor, the opportunity to provide the FAA evidence of an entity’s capability to successfully perform as the prime contractor notwithstanding the FAA's single source rationale provided herein; and

3) Notify interested entities of potential subcontracting opportunities under the VSCS contract.

The single-source modification would include, in pertinent part, the following FAA requirements:

• Technical refresh to Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) and sub-systems.


• Installation of these upgrades to the systems located at the 21 FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), the FAA Training Academy (FAAAC), and at the William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC).


• Maintenance of VSCS Lab Systems supporting various aspects of training, engineering support and Depot maintenance support.


• Supply/support and repair of all Depot items for fielded and lab systems.

The VSCS Depot maintenance support required for the period of performance extension would include the inspection, test, repair and verification of failed items returned to the Depot. There would be substantial in-house repair capability required, using an extensive array of customized test sets to test, troubleshoot, and verify subassemblies or components used in the switch, controller working position, control subsystem and other VSCS/VTABS subsystems. Satisfactory repair capability requires an understanding of VSCS LRU schematics and repair methodologies in order to efficiently repair failed LRUs without performing unnecessary labor; involves maintenance of the depot test sets, including the Maintenance Test Set Replacement - Functional at Speed Tester (MTSR-F), VSCS Electronics Module (VEM)/Position Electronics Module (PEM) test set, VSCS Display Module Replacement (VDM-R) test set, Common Shelf Power Supply (CSPS) test sets and burn-in station, and other test tools. It would also include continuation of a close liaison with the 25+ VSCS Depot support contractors that perform repair services on select items returned from the VSCS sites. This effort as the Prime Contractor would additionally include procuring the necessary bit and piece part support for Depot LRUs that would be provided to the repair service contractors. This action must be taken to prevent/stop counterfeit bit and piece material items from being introduced into the repair process. Lastly, the prime contractor must maintain a viable subcontractor base comprised of entities with proven deliverable end products.

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. currently has the trained and experienced personnel in-house, who through prior VSCS/VTABS (VSCS Training and Backup System) field deployments of technical refreshes, have gained the knowledge and interworking relationship with the FAA Site Operations and Personnel. This knowledge has historically and consistently been demonstrated on a daily basis via the contractor’s support to the William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) on complex issues with upgrades and maintenance challenges, experienced by both the ARTCCs and FAAAC.

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. possesses proprietary data for the VSCS 20/20 Switch that is not available to the FAA for use in competing functions regarding the manufacturing of required material items, LRUs, nor bit and piece material items used in the LRU repair process for the VSCS/VTABS Depot. This data consists of over 600 individual specifications, drawings, manuals, instruction sheets and software code/documentation.

In addition to the proprietary data, L3Harris Technologies, Inc. maintains a warehouse with an abundance of contractor-owned obsolete VSCS/VTABS residual materials that is being maintained as a supply source of bit and piece support items for the repair of LRUs in the VSCS Depot when no other source is available.

Furthermore, pursuant to the current VSCS contract, L3Harris Technologies, Inc. has in place a Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) program to support VSCS. The program was implemented by a skilled team of diverse personnel representing a cross section of 14 disciplines. This team is structured to mitigate or prevent VSCS obsolescence issues through proactive and reactive elements, using ISO 9001:2015 compliant L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Command Media as its guide. DMSMS program success has been achieved and must continue to be achieved through technical refresh and technical insertion based upon: 1) keeping VSCS current until a viable replacement is identified and deployed, 2) continuous application of the technology to reduce maintenance costs, and 3) application of technology to increase supportability and reliability at each of the FAA 21 ARTCCs, the WJHTC, and the FAAAC. The L3Harris Technologies, Inc. DMSMS team is chartered to protect the VSCS Depot function against an inability to maintain the VSCS in a state of readiness to support ARTCCs, integral to the FAA Air Traffic mission through the life of the VSCS system.

Pursuant to the FAA's AMS Policy Guide, Section 3.2.2.4, “The FAA may contract with a single-source when in FAA's best interest and the rational basis for the decision is documented. This rational basis may be based on actions necessary and important to support FAA's mission, such as emergencies, standardization, and only source available to satisfy a requirement within the time required." Accordingly, and based on the details found within this Special Notice, the FAA is providing this notice of intent to negotiate and award a single source modification for a period of performance extension from 30 September 2027 to 31 December 2040 under contract DTFAWA-07-C-00014 for the Voice Switching and Control System (VSCS). The FAA intends to award the modification to the current prime contractor L3Harris Technologies, Inc. of 1025 West NASA Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32919.

Additionally, FAA hereby requests that before the closing date of this Special Notice all interested United States based entities that self-assess capability to successfully perform the requirements listed herein as the prime contractor submit a capability package reflecting so to Contracting Officer Shaun Miles at shaun.miles@faa.gov. The package must not exceed 10 pages, single-sided, and must not contain font smaller than size 11. A capability package should include both technical and management capabilities to perform as the prime contractor and should also include the approach(es) to overcoming the challenges listed herein, such as the proprietary information/processes owned by L3Harris Technologies, Inc. The FAA will review all capability packages it receives and will give due consideration to each as it relates to FAA’s intent to single source. Submission of a capability package may or may not result in contact from the FAA with the respective entity. A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

All entities interested in subcontracting opportunities under the VSCS contract are hereby encouraged to contact Sue Peterson of L3Harris Technologies, Inc. at email susan.peterson@l3harris.com.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR OFFERS. A Screening Information Request may be made provided under a separate announcement in the future. The FAA is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. The FAA will not pay for any information received or costs incurred in preparing vendor responses to this Special Notice. Therefore, any cost associated with a market survey submission is solely at the interested vendor’s expense.

Note: The FAR references cited in SAM.gov are not applicable to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the FAA has its own policies and guidance referenced in the Acquisition Management System (AMS) located at https://fast.faa.gov/.

Please contact Shaun Miles, FAA Contracting Officer, for any questions, questions, and/or submission related to this Special Notice.

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