Ground station for Air Force intelligence gathering to be constructed at Beale AFB in California

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a presolicitation notice alerting potential contractors to an upcoming requirement for a “Design-Bid-Build” project to construct a two-story, 85,000-square-foot “Distributed Common Ground Station” operations facility at Beale Air Force Base in California.

The building will serve as a ground station for intelligence-gathering missions mounted by the U.S. Air Force.

“Facility is sized to accommodate crew size based on number, duration, and frequency of worldwide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sorties derived from programmed Air Force ISR sensors and detailed in the Air Force [Distributed Common Ground Station] Master Plan,” explains the presolicitation document, which was issued on Feb. 19.

The Army Corps of Engineers expects to issue the formal RFP on or about March 24; host a site visit and pre-proposal conference at Beale AFB on April 2; and require all proposal submissions by April 23. Those dates might change.

The estimated cost of the entire construction project is expected to range between $25 million and $75 million, says the presolicitation notice. The design and construction work are expected to take about 870 days.

The new operations facility will comply with DoD antiterrorism and force protection requirements, and must be secured in accordance with Intelligence Community Directive ICD/ICS 705, says the notice.

“The facility includes an Entry Control Point as the single point of access to secure areas,” explains the notice. “Operations Support includes Mission Planning, crew briefing rooms, NIPRNet and SIPRNet-level communications, work space for uncleared personnel and a Wing Contingency Command Center.”

Further information about the project or the site visit is available from Connie Newell at 916-557-5229.