TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – A push to modernize infrastructure for the F-22 Raptor reached a milestone last month with the formal handover of a new 76,445-square-foot hangar at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is overseeing several major military construction efforts at the base. Along with the hangar, a low observable component repair facility and a training support squadron facility are being built to support the F-22A fleet.
The hangar project has been under construction since February 2023 and was formally handed over to the base April 18.
“I’m proud of the collective effort and partnerships involved in completing such a complex project,” said Judy Biddle, execution branch chief at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Special Programs Division, who has been involved with the project from the beginning. AFCEC is an AFIMSC primary subordinate unit.
“This is the first of three military construction projects to be completed at JBLE as part of the post-Hurricane Michael Rebuild program,” she said. “The new hangar will provide maintenance support for the F-22A aircraft that were relocated from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, after Category 5 Hurricane Michael devastated the base in 2018.”
Biddle worked closely with Col. Rob Bartlow, AFCEC Special Programs Division Chief, and the division’s JBLE team to get the hangar across the finish line.
“Completing construction of hangar and turning it over to the base represents a significant construction milestone,” Bartlow said. “It provides much needed maintenance space for the 1st Fighter Wing and their F-22 squadrons.”
The new hangar is built on the former site of one of the base’s oldest hangars originally built in 1932.
“It’s quite impressive, with all necessary spaces such as maintenance bays, administrative spaces, and associated infrastructure,” said Mike Dwyer, AFCEC SPD Deputy Chief. “This new and very modern facility delivers outstanding permanent maintenance spaces for the F-22 Raptor.”
The modern facility consolidates the operations and maintenance functions into two main areas: a 36,000-square-foot maintenance hangar with six bays for F-22s and a two-story, 40,445-square-foot administrative and support wing for 92 full-time staff.
Work on the low observable component repair facility and the training support squadron facility is progressing. Combined, these three new state-of-the-art facilities will provide the advanced infrastructure essential to support the Air Force's mission well into the future.