Intent to Single Source - Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) For Climatic Wind Tunnel Testing

In accordance with Section 3.2.2.4 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acquisition Management System (AMS), the purpose of this announcement is to inform industry of the basis for the FAA’s decision to contract on a single source basis to RTA Rail Tec Arsenal Fahrzeugversuchsanlage GMBH.

The FAA has a research requirement for the investigation of the operational safety risks for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles encountering icing environments. RTA’s climatic wind tunnel is the only facility with a large enough test section to spin a 2-to-3-meter diameter propeller system inside, with tunnel speeds close to cruise operating speeds of eVTOLs, and has the ability to simulate icing environments both in Appendix C and Appendix O envelopes targeted for this research.

This announcement is for informational purposes only. Competitive solicitation is not available for this procurement. The FAA is not liable for any costs associated with the preparation of a response to this announcement.

Any questions or comments about this announcement may be directed to the Contracting Officer, Harry Lutz at Harry.Lutz@faa.gov, no later than 11:59 PM EST on December 10, 2025.