Leonardo broke ground last week on a $65 million, 113,000-sq-ft helicopter maintenance facility at Whiting Aviation Park in Milton, Florida. The complex will provide major component repair and overhaul and transmission testing and repair along with tooling and a full-sized paint booth. The property will also incorporate a warehouse for spare parts as well as four large hangar bays and a dynamic test bench.

Leonardo is developing the facility in cooperation with Santa Rosa County, Space Florida, Triumph Gulf Coast, and the state of Florida. It is intended to primarily support the U.S. Navy’s growing fleet of TH-73A “Thrasher” training helicopters (a militarized version of the AW119 turbine single) that are based at the adjacent Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF). The maintenance facility, which is expected to open at the end of 2024, will also support commercial customers operating throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

The Whiting Aviation Park occupies 267 acres of industrially zoned land owned by Santa Rosa County, and tenants will enjoy a limited-access use agreement between Santa Rosa County and the U.S. Navy, allowing them to have access to NASWF’s 6,000-foot runway and air traffic control services.