The U.S. Army‘s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center has moved its flight activity into a new R&D aircraft hangar at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.The service branch said Monday that facility will house the CERDEC flight activity’s fleet of fixed and rotor wing aircraft platforms that include Sikorsky-built UH-60M Black Hawk, Beechcraft-manufactured RC-12 Huron and UV-18 Twin Otter aircraft.
The hangar features an aircraft component and avionics maintenance shop along with administrative facilities, a rotor wing landing pad and fixed wing taxiway designed to boost mission capacity at JBMDL.
CFA Director Charles Maraldo said the features of the hangar will help CERDEC engineers, fabricators, integrators and pilots support aspects of airborne experimentation in a single environment.
“The work done in this hangar supports aviation research and development that is critical to continue advancing our C4ISR,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey).
CFA offers aviation platform sensor development and integration services to academic institutions, government agencies and industry partners on Defense Department missions.
The Army noted that the 20-mile-wide JBMDLÂ can be accessed by industry and government laboratories on the East Coast and provides radio frequency spectrum, restricted airspace and topography to support aerial experimentation in communications, electronic warfare, radar and signals intelligence.
