Training Systems Acquisition IV (TSA IV)

The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Aeronautical Systems Center awarded the Training Systems Acquisition IV Master IDIQ on June 1, 2023, with a shared ceiling of $32.5 billion and ordering authority extending through May 31, 2033, providing approximately six years and eleven months for new task-order awards.

The vehicle succeeded TSA III and procures sustainment of existing Air Force training systems, including contractor logistics support (CLS), training systems support center (TSSC) operations, and software upgrades, alongside courseware development, instruction, and new training system development. Work spans aircraft training systems for platforms including the C-17, C-5, B-52, T-6 JPATS, E-3 AWACS, and MC-12, as well as pilot and maintainer training capabilities across initial skills, skill-level advancement, and proficiency instruction.

Ordering activity accelerated in 2023 (37 awards) but has since slowed materially: only 2 orders in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 1 to date in 2026. Across 47 task orders, the combined potential value totals $2.13 billion, with only $189.8 million obligated (9% of potential value), indicating substantial unobligated headroom under the vehicle ceiling. The most recent award occurred on January 15, 2026.

Competition is concentrated among a small number of large-value primes. Aero Simulation, Inc. and Pinnacle Solutions, LLC dominate by potential value, accounting for roughly 94 percent of combined potential value across just five firms. The Boeing Company, Cymstar LLC, and HII Mission Technologies Corp round out the top five. The remaining 33 awardees collectively hold minimal market share. The vehicle is unrestricted; 98 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with only one small-business task order awarded to date.

Customer concentration mirrors prime concentration: the Department of the Air Force Materiel Command Aeronautical Systems Center placed 44 of 47 orders ($1.99 billion combined potential value), with the Air National Guard, Special Operations Command, and Wright Patterson Air Force Base Lifecycle Management Center accounting for the remaining three orders. Task-order ceilings range widely, from under $50 million (typical sustainment and support orders) to over $1.1 billion (the C-17 Training System order). Firm-fixed-price dominates the pricing structure, with occasional fixed-price-incentive and level-of-effort variants on sustainment and aircrew-support work.

The predominance of the work issued under TSA IV will be sustainment to include CLS, TSSC, and concurrency modifications (generally software upgrades) of existing training systems. TSA IV scope also includes courseware development and instruction, and the development of new training systems.