Sources Sought
CH-53 Depot Level Aircraft Modifications
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summaryThe Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is asking which businesses can install depot-level upgrades (major repair-facility modifications) on CH-53E/K heavy-lift helicopters and build and deliver the retrofit A-Kits (installation kits) for them. This is a sources sought notice, meaning market research, not a request for proposals. The planned contract covers fiscal years 2027 through 2032, mainly at MCAS Miramar and MCAS New River, and the response due date is November 5, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Department of the Navy who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is asking which businesses can install depot-level upgrades (major repair-facility modifications) on CH-53E/K heavy-lift helicopters and build and deliver the retrofit A-Kits (installation kits) for them. This is a sources sought notice, meaning market research, not a request for proposals. The planned contract covers fiscal years 2027 through 2032, mainly at MCAS Miramar and MCAS New River, and the response due date is November 5, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern.
Who can bid
- Small business size standard under NAICS 336411 is 1,500 employees; respondents of all sizes may answer but must state their size
How to submit: Email to Jamie.L.Schoemaker.civ@us.navy.mil, in Microsoft Word or PDF. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (5)
From the version posted Oct 20, 2026.
- Worth checking: SAM.gov set-aside differs from the notice text. SAM.gov lists a total small business set-aside, but the text invites businesses of all sizes; ask the contracting officer which applies.
- Worth checking: Capability must be ready 30 days after award. A bidder must be able to take in aircraft for modification within thirty days of award, which needs facilities and trained artisans ready ahead of time.
- Worth checking: Occasional work at overseas Government sites. Some modifications may be done outside the continental United States; the notice does not say what that means for local presence, licenses or taxes.
Show all 5Show fewer
- Worth checking: Access to aircraft technical data needed. Respondents must describe their access to engineering and repair data for the CH-53E/K, which a firm without existing agreements may lack.
- Minor: Follow-on to an existing contractor. A current contractor is named, so new bidders compete against an established team.
Read from the notice text only.
Full summary
What they want
- Inspect, disassemble, modify, assemble, check and document CH-53E/K aircraft modifications using depot-level artisans, following the applicable technical directives
- Produce and deliver aircraft retrofit A-Kits to support fielding of the modifications
- Perform scheduled and unscheduled organization-level maintenance
- Follow CNAFINST 4790.2 series, DCMA 8210 and H-53 Maintenance Instruction Manual procedures
- Stand up the modification capability within thirty (30) days after contract award
- Work mainly at MCAS Miramar and MCAS New River, and occasionally at Government-owned OCONUS (outside the continental United States) locations
- Contract type
- Anticipated stand-alone indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ: a contract for orders placed as needed) using cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursement and firm-fixed pricing
- Period of performance
- Intended to satisfy requirements for FY27 through FY32
- Place of performance
- Primary sites MCAS Miramar and MCAS New River; occasionally Government-owned OCONUS locations
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Contract vehicle
- Stand-alone IDIQ anticipated
- Offers due
- November 5, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to Jamie.L.Schoemaker.civ@us.navy.mil, in Microsoft Word or PDF
- Page limits
- Capabilities statement package: no more than 10 pages, single-spaced, 12 point font minimum
What to include when you submit
- Include company name, address, business size, and point of contact name, phone number, fax number and email address
- Include a company profile with number of employees, annual revenue history for the last five years, office locations, UEI number, and a statement of current small or large business status
- List prior or current experience of similar size and scope within the last five years, with contract numbers, contract values, a Government point of contact with current phone number, and how each contract relates to this work
- Describe your experience in the last 5 years providing rotary wing aircraft depot-level modifications, and in maintaining aircraft under the COMNAVAIRFORINST 4790.2 series
- Describe and quantify your ability to meet the timeline from task order or contract award to aircraft induction, and list any external dependencies or government-furnished equipment needed
- Describe your experience performing maintenance and modification work at the same time on C/MH-53E series or similar aircraft
- Describe your production experience, engineering capabilities and internal processes for producing and delivering retrofit A-Kits for CH-53E/K or similar aircraft, and list industry certifications of your processes
- Describe your capability or existing agreements for access to technical data, including engineering and repair data for CH-53E/K aircraft and components
- Mark corporate or proprietary data; do not submit classified material; send questions by email only, as no phone calls are accepted
After award, you must have
- Be able to stand up aircraft modification capabilities to support aircraft inductions within thirty (30) days after contract award From the notice:
Be able to stand-up aircraft modification capabilities to support aircraft inductions…
Current contractor
This is a follow-on requirement. The incumbent contractor is Adams Communication & Engineering Technology Inc.
Not in the notice text
- The value, number of aircraft and size of the planned contract are not stated.
- The specific OCONUS locations and any host-country requirements are not stated.
- Whether the planned contract will be set aside for small business is not stated; SAM.gov and the text differ.
- How responses will be used to pick the acquisition approach is not stated beyond market research.
Eligibility and how to respond
- If it goes ahead as planned: set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 336411
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD
- Product/service code
- K015 · Modification of Equipment – Aircraft and Airframe Structural Components
- Business type
- Aircraft, ship & vehicle parts (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 336411)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Similar open opportunities
- Level III Small Unmanned Aircraft SystemsU.S. Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) is running market research, not a purchase, to learn which vendors can supply Level III small unmanned aircraft (drones) for…
- Recoverable Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Frontline Operational Awareness and Surveillance MissionsThe Department of Homeland Security is doing market research on small drones that can be recovered and reused for frontline surveillance, search and rescue, and similar missions.
- Hoisting Unit, Aircraft
- B-52J CERP Production Modification Kits & ICSThe Air Force (AFLCMC at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma) plans a roughly 10-year contract to build and deliver modification kits for the B-52J Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP),…
- NGCThis is a sources sought notice (a request for information, not a bid) from the F-22 Division Modernization Branch of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson…