Fri, Apr 09, 2010
Woman-Owned Business Awarded Contract Worth $280 Million
The FAA announced today that CSSI, Inc., of Washington, D.C.,
a woman-owned small business, has won a contract to perform
engineering work that will help transform and modernize the
nation's airspace system into the Next Generation Air
Transportation System (NextGen). The $280 million contract is the
first of up to six that will be awarded under an umbrella portfolio
called System Engineering 2020 (SE-2020). SE-2020 has a ceiling of
$7 billion, making it the largest set of awards in the agency's
history.
"Small businesses are America's economic engine," said Deputy
Transportation Secretary John Porcari. "Innovative ideas to help
advance our nation's airspace won't come only from large companies.
Small businesses are uniquely positioned to help make NextGen a
success."
Small businesses will serve as the prime contractor for two of
the six possible awards under SE-2020. All of the contracts are
designed to have small business participation. CSSI will take the
lead over 10 subcontractors in performing engineering work in
support of NextGen projects. "This is a great step forward in our
push towards NextGen," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "The
FAA will have the flexibility to do the critical design and
research work needed for a timely deployment of NextGen
technologies."
Work performed under the SE-2020 umbrella will complement
NextGen programs that are already in full deployment, such as
Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), the
satellite-based system that controllers are now using to monitor
and separate aircraft in the skies over certain parts of the
country and will be deployed nationwide in 2013. Companies awarded
contracts under SE-2020 will research emerging procedures and
technologies and perform systems engineering to determine the best
way to deploy the NextGen initiatives on a wide-scale.
Some new airspace procedures are already being tested in
demonstration flights. Examples of future enhancements that will be
further evaluated under SE-2020 include Trajectory Based
Operations, which allow aircraft to operate the most efficient
routes, and Optimized Profile Descents, which allow aircraft to fly
smooth, continuous descents to airports.
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