The Naval Air Systems Command will create guidelines for the allocation of fiscal year 2018 funds for the upgrade of facilities at Fleet Readiness Centers.Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander of NAVAIR, told the U.S. Naval Institute the command will initially conduct a baseline assessment of some 800 critical components that average 25 years at three FRC locations, USNI said Thursday.
He noted that the locations are the FRC East at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, FRC Southeast at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and FRC Southwest at Naval Air Station North Island.
FRC East uses a 50-year-old water tower for T-64 engine nozzle qualifications, FRC Southeast has an avionics maintenance facility without air conditioning and FRC Southwest uses an environment control ventilation system that fails once a week.
The command will also baseline 71,000 pieces of equipment across the depots, whose average age is 58 years, for the facilities modernization plan, Peters added.
Augmentation of the FY 2018 funds helped NAVAIR repair the equipment for critical test and support at the three depots and will allow the command to enhance the overhaul operations of the FRCs, Peters said at a hearing of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee.
In FY 2017, the FRCs completed 485 of 487 aircraft such as F/A-18A-D Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
