Air Force Sets Timeline for $25B Training Contract: Top 20

The U.S. Air Force is recompeting a 15-year, $25 billion multiple-award contract to support the acquisition and sustainment of simulation training systems.

Training Systems Acquisitions (TSA) IV is the focus of this week’s Bloomberg Government’s top 20 opportunities. The Air Force plans to release a draft request for proposal in November 2020, release a final RFP in February 2021, and award contracts to 12 large businesses and 15 small business by December 2022.

TSA IV will continue to provide support in the following areas:

• Performance-based acquisition of training systems, including design, development, production, installation, integration, test, database generation, and sustainment.
• Sustainment of fielded simulation systems, including modifications, upgrades, maintenance, and follow-on production activities.
• System modernization, including maintaining concurrency with operational aircraft and technology insertions.

The Air Force released a draft request for information in September 2019 and hosted an industry day in December 2019. The government’s responses to industry day questions are available by clicking here.

TSA III Spending Details

Since fiscal 2015, the 25 companies on TSA III have received just more than $1 billion in spending obligations. Lockheed Martin Corp., which provides maintenance and aircrew training for the C-130 and other major aircraft, accounts for about two-thirds of the spending obligations on TSA III.

According to Bloomberg Government data, small businesses accounted for $144 million of the spending obligations. Nearly all of the small business dollars are attributable to four companies: CymSTAR LLC ($58 million), Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma LLC ($44 million), Aero Simulation Inc. ($21 million), and Logistic Services International Inc. ($20 million).

The majority of the TSA III work ($711 million) has been performed in Florida where the Air Force’s Modeling and Simulation Center is located.

What’s Ahead

Despite using only a small proportion of the contract ceiling capacity on the TSA III contract, $1 billion of $20.9 billion, the Air Force is increasing the total value on TSA IV to $25 billion. Bloomberg Government estimates that a similar amount of obligated expenditures, roughly $1 billion to $2 billion, will occur on TSA IV.

Based on the estimated number of small business award slots, the Air Force is likely indicating a preference for increased small business activity. Of the 13 small businesses on TSA III, eight companies have yet to receive disbursements from the government exceeding the $1,000 minimum.

Companies interested in a bid on TSA IV can analyze spending at the order level using BGOV. Click here to analyze the 45 orders totaling $1 billion that have been issued on TSA III. Or click here to analyze only the 33 orders totaling $668 million set to expire after Dec. 31, 2022, when TSA IV is set to be awarded.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Snyder at dsnyder@bgov.com