Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20591

58 -- AIR/GROUND DIRECT PILOT/CONTROLLER BUOY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (BCS) FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO (GOM) POC Jim Blades, Contracting Officer, (202) 287-7167 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) intends to conduct a limited competition for the requirement for a buoy communication system (BCS) among vendors who have presented alternative approaches and demonstrated capabilities through extensive market survey since the original Commerce Business Daily announcement of 11 August 1993. The three vendors that are among those participating in the limited competition and who will be provided a copy of the request for proposal (RFP) are, in alphabetical order: E-Systems ECI Division, St. Petersburg, FL; Harris Corporation Air Traffic Control Systems Division, Melbourne, FL; and, Rockwell-Collins Defense Electronics, Cedar Rapids, IA. The BCS will satisfy the FAA requirement for a very high frequency (VHF) direct pilot/controller communication capability for aircraft overflying the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) at a flight level 18,000 feet and higher commencing October 1997. The FAA has defined the requirement for the GOM BCS to provide for ''offshore'' control areas (CTAs) for the Houston and Miami Oceanic airspace sectors in the GOM which are out of range of onshore remote center air-to-ground (RCAG) facilities. The BCS is part of a program that will allow for domestic emulated separation standards to be applied (as opposed to the current oceanic separation standards) in the GOM CTAs. Key performance requirements of the BCS include, but are not limited to: clear, intelligible air-to-ground voice communications using 25 KHz VHF-AM voice channels in the 117.975 to 137.000 MHz band; 99.999 percent availability; and remote maintenance monitoring, and control capability. The above performance requirements must be met on a floating platform (buoy), subject to pitch, role and yaw in a marine environment. Currently, planning for a rapid solicitation and source selection process entails: release of draft RFP for comment in late March/early April 1995, with a formal RFP to follow in late April/early May 1995; a 30 to 45 day response time for proposal submission (technical and price) and a contract award occurring not later than mid-September 1995. The Draft RFP will provide more details on the requirement and need for the selected contractor to complete the design, integration, installation, testing and associated data for the GOM BCS so that the FAA independent testing can be conducted and completed before the September 1997 operational need date. This pre-solicitation notice is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all inquiries received within forty-five (45) days after the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract, beyond a limited competition, based upon response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to extend the field of the limited competition beyond those contractors identified. (0072)

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