Getting Ready for USAF Training System Acquisition (TSA) IV Solicitation

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is looking for a contractor to assist with the development of a “system of systems” to provide a “Total Training System for a full complement of aircrew and maintenance trainers that together, with academic instruction, support the training required to execute weapon system mission(s). Simply said, they want to make sure the warfighters can use weapon system to fly, fight, and win. They desire to do this by having systems that provide relevant and realistic initial and operational training environments for their modern weapon systems.

USAF Background:

The USAF is getting ready to release the TSA IV solicitation on or about April 15^th.  The Government has also suggested the response is expected to be in two parts with the Past Performance due on May 6^th and the final response due May 17^th. Given the expected span of the contract, now is the time to get ready for its release. This is the 4^th iteration of the effort going back to the initial contracting effort in early 1998 and presents a golden opportunity for those with the wherewithal to respond. Q&A responses were released on March 10^th so take the time to download and review to refine your strategy.

USAF TSA IV Program Key Information:

This contract should result in an Agency-specific IDIQ with a ceiling of $32.8B and with opportunities available for businesses of all sizes and socio-economic classifications. This is a significant increase above the $21B ceiling of the previous iteration. The resulting task orders issued under the IDIQ vehicle cover the spectrum of contract types providing the USAF with a great degree of flexibility in ordering.

The program provides support for the gamut of airframes, to include helicopters and will support USAF active duty, reserve, and National Guard and Department of Defense (DoD) joint warfighter, as well as Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

USAF TSA IV RFP Requirements:

The response is expected to be organized as shown below:

Note: There is NO pricing volume as pricing will be done at the individual task order level

Award decisions will be made independently within each pool, currently identified as unrestricted and small business (10-15 awards for each). It’s unknow if they will further subdivide the small business pool by socio-economic factors.

Volume II, Technical Acceptability, will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis. Discussions may be held for those that might not have initially passed but the draft RFP provided no criteria for this.

Status: Proposals were collected on May 20, 2021.

How Do I Win USAF TSA IV:

Pay close attention to the RFP requirements and in particular make sure to include the Section M requirements when developing your outline. Section M fairly describes what the USAF is expecting bidders to do in their technical write-up. Being crisp and hitting all the wickets will make you competitive.

Having a passing Technical Acceptability volume and solid past performance will seal the deal.

What Do I Need to Do NOW: You need to do the following in anticipation of the final solicitation release:

• Consider the best programs that represent your capabilities for Past Performance and one that have the highest CPARs. Don’t be afraid of a program that has had problems, particularly if you can tell a good story about how you have remedied the issues.
• Start working on the subsidiary plans call out for Technical Acceptability. Use Section M to ensure you have all the bases covered that are provided there.

Errata:

GovWin Opportunity ID:            183850

Beta.SAM.Gov Notice ID:          FA8621-21-R-0030

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