JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Elected officials and community leaders on Friday debuted and toured the new 385,000-square-foot complex housing Boeing’s state-of-the-art Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for military aircraft.
The new facility is expected to bring more than 300 new jobs to the Jacksonville area, Boeing said.
Boeing staff, the military and community leaders are excited about this expansion.
“You have these great maintainers that have such skills and so it’s a great economic boom for our city,” Congressman John Rutherford said.
The MRO facility includes 275,000 square feet over eight hangar bays, complemented by an additional 110,000 square feet of office and support areas. At full capacity, the facility could accommodate up to 40 F/A-18 fighter jets or eight P-8 multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft.
Boeing’s new 150,000-square-foot Component Operations Repair building is also located across the street from the MRO facility. This site specializes in repairing flight control surfaces and parts for F/A-18 and KC-46 aircraft.
“Boeing has called here home you have heard many times this morning for 25 years and during that time we have proudly supported our them and their mission and you’ve been driving local economy health,” Mayor Donna Deegan said.
Since opening its existing MRO facilities at Cecil Airport in August 1999, Boeing has maintained, modified and upgraded 1,030 aircraft for the U.S. military and its allies. Other work at the site includes converting F/A-18 Super Hornets into flight demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels.
“The expansion here today great for the city of Jacksonville great for the state of Florida and great for everybody,” Congressman Aaron Bean said.
Jacksonville is already known as a military community, but this new facility will be a location where employees come in and work through the military by helping maintain their planes.
Boeing also announced a $50,000 grant to Communities in School Jacksonville Student Enrichment Program and $50,000 toward Veterans Florida’s Veteran Employment and Training Services. A reporter asked Boeing about any concerns with the 737 from their commercial sector and they said safety is their number one priority no matter what aspect of the company.