“FAA Taking Its Time On ADS-B Equipage” is about the contrast between what the FAA says (install the 25-year-old ADS-B technology in your airplane well before the January 1, 2020 deadline) and what the FAA is doing (taking a leisurely and minimalist approach toward equipping its own aircraft).
One thought on “Federal government: Do what we say, not what we do”
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I don’t know anything about this particular (avionics?) system, but Government acquisition takes forever unless it is a real emergency or very small dollars are involved.
First the money has to be programmed (so that’s a three year delay assuming the proper amounts are budgeted and the funds actually approved and not reprogrammed later for a higher priority). Then the non-recurring engineering and supportability analysis has to be completed – that may have to be contracted out depending on the FAA’s internal capabilities and priorities. Once that is done the aircraft installation kits and all support must be procured. Then the actual installation is contracted. Usually there are at least two and possibly three total contracts for a system like this – covering design/support and installation to reduce the total procurement cost and risk to government/vendors.
All this has to be done per the Federal Acquistion Regulations and that usually requires competitive bids. The simple stuff like the kit build and installation will definitely have to be completed and if there are any other goals the agency is trying to meet like small disadvantaged business awards, etc. there is always the potential that the vendor selected for any of these contracts might not be able to successfully fulfill the contract resulting in more delay.
I would guess it would take 6 years at from budget to fielding (at best) So maybe 2022?