Government-owned Airservices Australia is responsible for about 11% of the world’s airspace across the Australian continent and into the Asia-Pacific region. As the use of drone technology increases, Airservices Australia is looking to enhance its existing drone surveillance capability. Airservices aims to ensure Australia has a clear picture of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) operating around our airports.

To prepare our skies for the safe integration of UAS, Airservices has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gathering information about market capabilities and insights into potential suppliers for Managed Airspace Surveillance Solution (MASS).

The RFI seeks information from respondents, either singular or partnered, who can provide a MASS that includes the supply of equipment, installation, maintenance, set up, and management of operational monitoring services.

Respondents to the RFI will provide knowledge to enable Airservices to better understand the range of options available. This process will also identify organisations as potential suppliers who have the referenceable expertise, capacity, and experience to satisfy Airservices requirements.

Airservices is particularly interested in managed services solutions that have been demonstrably effective elsewhere or are being implemented soon. Key requirements of a managed service supplier include:

· maintain high safety and reliability standards

· provide a highly available, resilient, reliable, and secure surveillance solution

· satisfy operational and corporate requirements

· enable service innovation, better collaboration, and data sharing

· enable ongoing support and service management

· ensure regulatory compliance

· support emerging requirements of new initiatives.

Airservices is targeting the end of 2025 for operationalisation of its airspace surveillance solution. It is in the process of developing a concept of operations (CONOPS) document that will provide further detail on the requirements and operating environment for the MASS. It will release this CONOPS to potentially interested suppliers as part of a future procurement process.

Note that an RFI process is voluntary and does not guarantee any future procurement nor invitation to future procurement, however as a tenderer the RFI process is an opportunity to influence the next stage of procurement and build your profile within the agency

The closing time and date for responses is 5pm ACT local time on 31 October 2023.

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