Leonardo officially broke ground on a new state-of-the-art customer support centre at Whiting Aviation Park in Milton, Florida, on 28 July 2023, the company announced three days later.
Immediately adjacent to Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, the Leonardo Helicopters Florida Support Center will be 113,000 ft2, have four large hangar bays, and conduct major component repair and overhaul work. The facilities will include a dynamic test bench, a full-sized paint booth and all associated tooling and equipment.
In addition, a large parts warehouse will also be co-located at the site to enable a more efficient supply chain response for the US Navy’s (USN’s) TH-73 fleet at NAS Whiting Field as well as for commercial customers operating throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
The centre is slated to be completed by the end of 2024.
“We are thrilled to break ground at Whiting Aviation Park on Leonardo Helicopters’ new Florida Support Center,” Clyde Woltman, CEO of Leonardo Helicopters US, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “With this modern and highly efficient facility, Leonardo Helicopters will be able to bring its industry-leading product support services even closer to our customers. We would not be here today if not for the constant partnership and support of the State of Florida, Space Florida, Santa Rosa County, Triumph Gulf Coast, and the United States Navy.”
Leonardo first announced its intention to build a helicopter support centre at Whiting Aviation Park in 2019 if its aircraft was selected for the USN’s Advanced Helicopter Training System: the navy’s programme to replace its ageing fleet of TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters that operate from NASWF. In January 2020 the USN selected a variant of the Leonardo AW119, now named the TH-73 Thrasher, to serve as the primary rotary-wing training aircraft for the USN, US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard as well as other allied nations.
The first aircraft was delivered to the USN in June 2021 and the following month, with the support of Santa Rosa County and Triumph Gulf Coast, Leonardo opened a temporary hangar at Peter Prince Airport to gain its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 145 certification and to begin repair work while a larger, permanent facility was being designed and developed at Whiting.
Since that time Leonardo has hired 19 full-time employees in Santa Rosa County.
“Space Florida’s unwavering commitment to expanding the spaceport system in Florida has set a course for a new era of exploration and innovation,” said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida. “Adding Leonardo Helicopters to our aerospace sector propels us toward a future where Florida is the leading force for a global aerospace economy.”
Located on 267 acres of industrially zoned land owned by Santa Rosa County, the Whiting Aviation Park features a ‘first of its kind’ limited access use agreement between Santa Rosa County and the USN that allows tenants of the park to have access to NASWF’s 6,000 ft runway and air traffic control facilities. Working with its partner Space Florida, Leonardo will be investing over USD 65 M (EUR 59 M) into the construction, fit-out and tooling for this new facility.
Peter Felstead