A Navy Aircraft Repair Complex Opens in Kinston
Officials cut the ribbon on a Fleet Readiness Center East hangar at the North Carolina Global TransPark that will overhaul C-130s and HH-60W helicopters and bring more than 400 jobs to eastern North Carolina.
Eastern North Carolina's long-awaited aviation bet took visible shape on Thursday, when officials cut the ribbon on a Fleet Readiness Center East maintenance, repair and overhaul complex at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston.
The facility, part of the Cherry Point-based Fleet Readiness Center East, will service Navy and Marine Corps C/KC-130J Super Hercules and C/KC-130T Hercules aircraft along with the Air Force's HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search-and-rescue helicopters. The state Department of Transportation says the hangar is roughly the size of 12 football fields under one roof and that more than 500 people attended the ceremony.
The Economic Case
State officials expect the complex to create more than 400 high-skilled jobs. NCDOT puts the annual benefit to the eastern North Carolina economy at about $164 million, while Navy-related coverage of the event used a figure closer to $140 million.
The Navy leases the facility from the Global TransPark, which NCDOT owns and manages. Lawmakers approved a $350 million loan in 2023 to pay for accommodations for the project, and construction on the first phase began in March 2024. Most of that first phase is finished, with final work expected by summer 2027.
Three Decades in the Making
Governor Josh Stein said North Carolina aims to be the most military-friendly state in the nation. Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson noted that the Global TransPark was first envisioned more than 30 years ago as a multimodal industrial park. Tom Hendrickson, chairman of the TransPark's authority board, called the opening, together with a Lenoir Community College aviation academy that opened at the site in May and the arrival of Airbus, a historic watershed moment for the park.
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Walsh said the facility puts "peace through strength" into action. The Navy has said the operation will roll out in stages, with aircraft arriving over time.
Sources: NCDOT; Naval Air Systems Command.
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