Kinston airport houses FRCE facility
On 25 June 2024, leaders and stakeholders from Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) and the North Carolina Global TransPark gathered at Kinston/Stalling Field (NC) to celebrate breaking ground for a new aviation maintenance complex. This facility is set to house the depot’s incoming military aircraft workload.
Groundwork on the 75-acre site began in April this year to prepare for new construction. When complete, the multi-structure, purpose-built facility will provide more than 700,000 square feet of space. This will support FRCE’s work on the US Navy and USMC KC/C-130J Super Hercules, KC/C-130T Hercules tanker and transport aircraft, and the USAF Sikorsky HH-60W Jolly Green II.
Stephen Barrow, head of FRCE’s Centralised Coordination Department, stated the additional workload is expected to provide FRCE with up to 616,000 additional labour hours per year, translating into a considerable economic impact in the region. “Current projections have the Hercules' service lives stretching until 2064,” Barrow said. “That means we’re looking at about four decades of workload, allowing FRCE to provide long-term economic impact in the area and continue serving the warfighter for generations to come.”
While the facility represents the largest partnership to date between FRCE and the Global TransPark, the depot already has a presence on the campus. FRCE leases buildings from the Global TransPark to house its UH-1N helicopter production line, where it services aircraft for the USAF. The project is part of a USD 350 million state investment in the Global TransPark, one of the largest single items in the state’s current budget. The TransPark is a multi-modal industrial and business park that hosts an array of aviation industry and manufacturing entities, in addition to the depot’s UH-1N line and the future aviation maintenance facility.
Navy officials announced FRCE’s selection as the designated repair point for the Hercules in March 2023, and the Air Force selected the depot as the HH-60W’s designated repair point in December 2022. Work on the Hercules is scheduled to begin at the end of fiscal year 2026, with the HH-60W workload starting at the beginning of fiscal year 2027.
Scramble Magazine first reported on FRCE's future Hercules workload on 10 April 2023.
Credit photo: via Public Affairs Officer FRCE