FAA Looking For WAAS Avionics Development Partners

The FAA is looking for private sector partners to help develop avionics for satellite navigation systems that incorporate WAAS (wide area augmentation system) for LPV (localizer precision with vertical guidance) approaches.

In a RFI (request for information) released earlier this month, the FAA says it has in mind partnerships with GPS receiver manufacturers, flight management system vendors, aircraft manufacturers and airlines.

While the FAA is not specifying the exact qualifications of potential partners, it will require expertise in GPS sensors and FMS (flight management systems) currently installed in aircraft operated under Part 121/135 or 91 as a minimum requirement.

To facilitate the process, the agency is considering using a rarely invoked procurement alternative to its standard acquisition regulations, called an "other transaction authority" or OTA that was created by Congress to permit agencies to negotiate agreements for research or prototype-building projects with nontraditional vendors.  Under the authority, contractors' intellectual property rights are fully protected.

One of the main advantages of an OTA is that small companies that are often overshadowed by large concerns when bidding on such projects can get the opportunity to work directly with the agency, rather than as a subcontractor to a bigger firm.

According to the RFI, the FAA will disburse partial payments when the company reaches given milestones.

More information is available here.  03-20-2006.

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