Two new training facilities to be constructed at NAS Jax

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ground was broken Friday at Naval Air Station Jacksonville for a new training facility for an unmanned aircraft system along with another maintenance training facility.

The new MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance training facility will be the only one of its kind in U.S.

A new maintenance training facility has been included into the designed to serve the P-8A Poseidon aircraft, according to a release from public affairs officer Miriam S. Gallet.

“…this year new P-8A Poseidon aircraft rolled out right across the street, along with the opening of its Integrated Training Center. In July we opened the Fire Scout Training Facility and today, we witnessed the groundbreaking of the U.S. Navy’s Triton MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance unmanned aircraft system training facility. The only one of its kind in the world,” said NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Bob Sanders.

The $15 million construction contract was awarded to a local company, Elkins Constructors Inc., and construction is slated to begin September 10. The facilities are scheduled to be completed by December of 2013, said Gallet.

She said the new unmanned aircraft system training facility will be a single-story, 8,938-sq.-ft. building to teach operators of the new Triton platform, and the aircraft maintenance training facility consists of a two-story, 58,262- sq.-ft. building for operational and maintenance training.

First Coast News