FBI wants to have two airliners at RIC airport

February 10, 2012
By Peter Bacque / Richmond Times-Dispatch

The FBI wants to buy two specially equipped airliners for its incident-response team based at Richmond International Airport in a contract potentially worth as much as $70 million.

The FBI is aiming at having a "cost-effective, no-fail" round-the-clock intercontinental travel ability with the aircraft.

In its request for proposals, the FBI calls for a contractor to provide "mission-configured aircraft" with supporting air crews, aircraft maintenance and air-operations management at RIC.

"The aircraft … will be used in support of FBI operations worldwide," said Special Agent Ann Todd.

"The procurement process is ongoing," the FBI spokeswoman said. "We have no additional information to provide at this time."

The FBI's quick-reaction team has been leasing part of the former Virginia Air National Guard base at Richmond International for aviation operations of its Critical Incident Response Group and using chartered aircraft.

"The FBI currently has a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 737 located at Richmond International Airport," Todd said.

According to Jon E. Mathiasen, RIC's president and CEO, the FBI appears to be interested in acquiring two jets with the size, range and performance of Boeing 757s or Boeing 737s.

The two aircraft and air operations support program will provide a "24/7/365 response capability" with one airplane always on alert, staffed and ready to go within two hours from being tapped for a mission, with the second plane as backup, the FBI said in the request for proposals.

The FBI anticipates awarding the contract in June.

The federal law-enforcement agency will require the first plane's delivery — ready for mission testing and accompanied by turn-key air operations support — by Jan. 31, 2014, and the second aircraft by Feb. 28, 2014.

The FBI's requirements specify the planes must be able to:

• Fly nonstop 3,910 miles with an hour's fuel reserve.

• Carry 52 passengers and their baggage.

Haul at least 14,000 pounds of additional cargo.

• Land and take off at Richmond International Airport.

• Have a minimum service life of 25 years, based on flying about 500 hours a year.

All the aircrew and support personnel must be U.S. citizens and hold secret-level security clearances, the federal agency said.

The FBI wants the planes painted white with a small red, white and blue stripe running the length of the aircraft, with a large U.S. flag on each side of the vertical stabilizer.

Both aircraft must be tested and accepted no later than March 31, 2014.

The agency intends the operations support contract to have an initial one-year base term, with options to extend annually for four additional years.

The FBI did not respond to requests for comment on the aircraft procurement.

Richmond International will be the base for the aircraft and their air-operations support and routine maintenance.

The U.S. airliner that appears the most likely candidate would be a Boeing 737 type, said aviation consultant Michael Boyd of Colorado-based Boyd Group International: a Boeing 737-700 or a Boeing BBJ business jet, which is a modified 737.

An Airbus A320 series aircraft would also fill the FBI's range and payload requirement, he said, but "as good as they are, the government is not going to buy an airplane made in Toulouse" in France.

Part of the Quantico-based incident-response group coordinates logistical matters for the FBI's rapid-deployment team, including transportation and airlift requirements.

As part of the crisis group's mission, FBI negotiators deploy overseas to assist in the management of kidnapping situations involving U.S. citizens.

The FBI handles negotiations for the U.S. government in international incidents. Since 1990, the FBI crisis negotiators have deployed to more than 100 such incidents worldwide.

Copyright Richmond Times-Dispatch. Used by permission.

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