WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking industry input on an enhanced air traffic control tower simulator system intended to accelerate controller training and expand access to high-fidelity simulation across the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS).
The agency issued a Request for Concept Papers as part of a Challenge Based Acquisition for the Tower Simulation System Enhancement 2 (TSS E2) program. The effort is intended to improve existing tower simulation technology and deploy additional systems to training sites nationwide.
The FAA uses Tower Simulation Systems to train and evaluate air traffic controllers in a realistic virtual environment that replicates airport tower operations without affecting live air traffic. The agency currently operates 111 simulators supporting training for controllers at 264 FAA-operated air traffic control towers.
Related: FAA seeks industry proposals for Accelerated Transformation of Legacy Systems (ATLAS)
Under the TSS E2 effort, the FAA plans to deploy enhanced simulators at 102 training sites by May 2028. The systems are intended to reduce the need for controllers to travel to remote facilities for simulator training, which the agency says contributes to staffing shortages and delays in certification.
High fidelity
The solicitation calls for solutions that provide high-fidelity simulation of tower operations across all NAS tower facilities while enabling rapid updates to video databases and training scenarios. Proposed systems also must support realistic virtual pilot communications capable of emulating natural speech with varying accents, remote instructor participation, and automated feedback and training record management.
Offerors are asked to describe their technical architecture, implementation plan, and operational approach for delivering the system. The FAA is encouraging proposals that incorporate modern software development practices such as DevSecOps, open-source technologies, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to reduce manual workload and improve training efficiency.
The agency is also seeking solutions capable of remote software updates, real-time monitoring of simulator health and performance, and access to usage data for evaluating training activity across locations.
The tower simulation program has been designated part of the FAA’s Brand-New Air Traffic Control System modernization portfolio, an effort announced in May 2025 to transform the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure. The FAA awarded a prime integrator contract for the modernization effort to Peraton.
The concept paper request represents the first phase of the challenge-based acquisition process, which may include demonstrations, prototypes, and additional evaluations before the FAA selects one or more vendors to provide the hardware, software, and services required for the TSS E2 system.
Responses to this inquiry are due by 24 March 2026 at 2 p.m. Eastern. The FAA named Manish Patel as the primary point of contact for this project. They can be reached via email at [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/28f44779a4304d4d89166ba2ada55999/view.
