Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $17 million firm-fixed-price task order on Jan. 10 to EMR, Inc. for the design and construction of a temporary maintenance hangar at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, Florida.

The temporary facility will provide support for the newly announced TH-73A Training Helicopter platform for the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) until a permanent structure is put into place.

“The facilities at NAS Whiting Field must be expanded and upgraded to support the Navy’s newest rotary wing platform,” said NAVFAC Southeast Commanding Officer Capt. Mike Monreal. “The NAVFAC Southeast team executes the construction program to support training efforts and focuses on minimizing impact to a demanding student naval aviator training pipeline.”

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The new helicopter will replace the aging TH-57 Sea Ranger and will meet advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements through 2050.

The contract calls for a temporary hangar space and supporting spaces for helicopters. The structures are required to be removable from the site once permanent facilities are available.

NAS Whiting Field is the Navy’s only aviation training complex that trains helicopter pilots for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

“We are excited about the new Advanced Helicopter Training System coming to Whiting,” said NAS Whiting Field Commanding Officer Capt. Paul D. Bowdich. “The temporary maintenance hangar will ensure it can be properly maintained and utilized upon arrival. We look forward to construction work beginning soon.”

Small businesses, like EMR, Inc., play a vital role in the American economy - employing half of our country's workforce, creating nearly two out of every three new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation. NAVFAC Southeast strives to meet its goals and build on its successes by providing contract opportunities to these businesses.

Each year NAVFAC establishes target goals for Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business (HUBZONE), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business categories. Utilizing these small business concerns to the maximum extent practicable is a matter of National interest with both social and economic benefits.

“NAVFAC Southeast invests in small businesses to support our national defense,” said Cory Iselin NAVFAC Southeast assistant deputy director for Small Business. “Small businesses fuel the American dream, which grows the local and federal economies that ultimately strengthen the Warfighter.”

Iselin explained that small businesses provide construction, professional and supported services expertise that support the Navy’s mission and the men and women in uniform. It is through strong policy and sound business processes that NAVFAC is able to develop capabilities based strategies that consider program risks, cost, schedule and technical requirements that help meet the expectations of supported commanders while supporting public policy objectives.

For more information about NAVFAC, please visit our website at www.navfac.navy.mil.

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