Navy mulls another hangar bay at Tinker Published June 25, 2013 By Mike W. Ray Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The U.S. Navy is conducting "market research" to identify potential contractors capable of constructing a new maintenance hangar bay for naval aircraft stationed at Tinker. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Midwest, issued a "sources sought" document last month to assess interest from companies that might be interested in building another E-6B hangar at the Navy's TACAMO area on the south side of base. NAVFAC is seeking either "individual firms or joint venture firms" capable of constructing the proposed facility, which would cost an estimated $10 million to $15 million. The proposed procurement is being considered as a set-aside for a Section 8(a) small business, HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned or Women-Owned small business. A questionnaire that will be the basis for the government's decision whether to green light the project as a small-business set aside acquisition was to be submitted to NAVFAC Midwest's Public Works Department in Great Lakes, Ill., by June 17. The bid-build project would entail construction of a modified high-bay hangar that would house shop space, flight line operations, maintenance functions, and space in support of 60 maintenance personnel of Strategic Communications Wing ONE's E-6B aircraft squadron. Built-in equipment would include a nine-ton overhead bridge crane and a fold-up aircraft hangar door, and supporting facilities would include parking area for aerospace ground equipment. The E-6B is 150 feet long, 42½ feet high, and has a 150-foot wingspan. The Navy has one four-bay hangar at Tinker, Bldg. 820 off Mercury Road. Since the proposed project would entail construction of a fifth bay, the "overall aesthetic" of the facility would match Bldg. 820, the sources-sought document provides . Construction of a fifth bay has been proposed to "support our depot maintenance efforts for the E-6 aircraft," said Lt. Cdr. Bruce Bronk, SCW-1 deputy for logistics. The Navy wants to build a new hangar bay for TACAMO "in order to meet an increase in required capacity for 'D'-level maintenance," said Bill Couch, public affairs officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Midwest, Great Lakes, Ill. "Up to now, the Navy has been able to use an Air Force/Boeing-owned hangar for some of that more in-depth maintenance. However, I understand the Air Force now needs to use that capacity because of an increase in demand for that level of maintenance on its own aircraft at Tinker." The sources sought notice is "for information and planning purposes only, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government ... to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract." The notice is not a Request for Proposals, NAVFAC emphasized. "This announcement is for our acquisition staff to conduct market research prior to potentially issuing a solicitation," said Bill Couch, NAVFAC Midwest Public Affairs Officer. If an RFP is issued, the estimated contract award date would be January 2014, the Navy reported. TACAMO has 16 E-6B Mercury aircraft that enable the president of the United States and the Secretary of Defense to directly contact submarines, bombers and missile silos protecting our national security through nuclear deterrence, said Capt. Charles Baker, former commodore of Strategic Communications Wing 1 and Task Force 124. The Navy's fleet of Mercurys provides command and control for all U.S. nuclear forces in the event that ground-based command centers are destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable, he said.