ESC offers smart approach to air traffic management Published April 19, 2006 By 1st Lt. Stephen Fox Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- In an approach that revolutionizes and streamlines the acquisition process, the Electronic Systems Center's Global Air Traffic Management Division has made it possible for warfighters to procure new air traffic management components at the click of a button. Under an umbrella contract called Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management 1 Product Catalog Acquisition, aircraft acquisition and sustainment groups are now able to log on to the GATM Division's Web site, choose components that best meet specific platform requirements, and procure them through an entirely automated process. "Our approach was to create an online catalog for CNS/ATM components that is easily accessible to program offices," said Capt. Ben Brandt, project manager for the CNS/ATM 1 contract. "The contract allows aircraft acquisition offices to shop for [Commercial Off The Shelf] components and click a button to place an order." In January, the GATM division, part of ESC's Network Centric Integration/Operations Wing, awarded indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts to 12 vendors for 27 different CNS/ATM product lines under the acquisition effort. The products include CNS/ATM core components like Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems and Terrain Approach Warning Systems, as well as flight data recorders, weather radars, multi-function displays and upgrades to Identification Friend or Foe capabilities. "It seems odd to correlate the functionality of our online catalog with a service like Amazon.com, but that is exactly what it does," Said Lt. Col. Michael Harrington, chief of the GATM Division. "Users can log on, conduct research and read about products, choose the capability that best meets their needs, and place an order in a completely automated environment. This is a new way of doing acquisition." The catalog approach significantly cuts the typical acquisition timeline-from months to weeks-and eliminates the need for 40-plus platform acquisition offices to expend manpower conducting as many source selections for the equipment. "There's no need to reinvent the wheel," Captain Brandt said. "Centralizing the contracting responsibility for CNS/ATM components here at ESC minimizes duplicated efforts and ensures commonality across the board." The product catalog is designed to provide as wide an array of products as possible to meet the needs of multiple platforms. The contract does not simply offer one component by one vendor. Instead, many of the products are offered by numerous vendors. The division's technical experts offer guidance during the selection and ordering process, but also complete in-depth performance assessments after the components are installed to determine if they will meet platform architecture and civil airspace access requirements. CNS/ATM 1 is an Air Force contracting effort, but other services have already taken advantage of the online catalog. The Navy is actually one of the division's largest customers. The Coast Guard and other government agencies have also shown interest. In eight weeks, the group has received 17 orders worth more than $6 million on the electronic ordering system. Potential sales on the catalog are estimated to reach nearly $2 billion during its three-year base ordering period. The division can also exercise five one-year options on the contract. "The savings the Air Force will experience through using this contract approach-in time, manpower and cost-are well worth the efforts our GATM team have expended the past couple years," said Col. Steven Rogers, commander of the NC Wing. "This new way of doing business is an investment that will return critical benefits many times over to our warfighter." The key now is to spread the word about the availability of the product catalog. The annual CNS/ATM Conference, which will be attended by all major users of CNS/ATM products, will allow the wing to do just that.