HPM celebrates completion of Leonardo Helicopters Florida Support Center in Milton, Florida

HPM and Leonardo announced the completion of a state-of-the-art customer support center in Milton, Florida. The helicopter support center at Whiting Aviation Park, a site immediately adjacent to the Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF), broke ground in July 2023. HPM provided program management and preconstruction services for overseeing budget, compliance and scheduling controls during the planning and construction stages.

The Leonardo Helicopters Florida Support Center spans 73,000ft². It includes four large hangar bays, major component repair and overhaul, transmission work, a Dynamic Test Bench, a full-sized paint booth and all associated tooling and equipment. In addition, a large parts warehouse is co-located to enable a more efficient supply chain response for the U.S. Navy’s TH-73 fleet at NASWF, as well as for commercial customers operating throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

“We're proud to have successfully delivered this state-of-the-art aviation support center to Northwest Florida to support Leonardo’s extensive fleet of aircraft,” says HPM President Ryan Austin. “Milton and the surrounding area continue to serve as a beacon of growth for the aviation and aerospace industries, and the demand for facilities of this caliber is only growing. Our team leveraged extensive knowledge and expertise in the sector to provide quality program management services and ensure the project adhered to the budget and construction timeline.”

To better serve the needs of this fleet and more than 1,000 Leonardo aircraft that are operating throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Central America, the company worked closely with partners at Santa Rosa County and Space Florida to select a site at Whiting Aviation Park for its new comprehensive customer support facility. Located on 267 acres of industrially zoned land owned by Santa Rosa County, the Whiting Aviation Park features a “first of its kind” limited access use agreement between Santa Rosa County and the U.S. Navy, allowing tenants of the park to have access to NASWF’s 6,000-foot runway and air traffic control.

"This facility reflects the power of partnership," says Clyde Woltman, CEO of Leonardo Helicopters U.S. "With its proximity to NAS Whiting Field, we're proud to offer world-class sustainment for the TH-73A program while expanding support for civil operators in the region. None of this would be possible without the shared vision of Santa Rosa County, Space Florida, Triumph Gulf Coast, the U.S. Navy, and our many community partners. Together, we've built more than a facility—we've built a foundation for mission success."

Leonardo first announced its intention to build a helicopter support center at Whiting Aviation Park in 2019, before the U.S. Navy selected a variant of the Leonardo AW119, now named the TH-73 “Thrasher,” to serve as the primary training aircraft for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard, as well as other allied nations. The first aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Navy in June 2021. In July, with the support of Santa Rosa County and Triumph Gulf Coast, Leonardo opened a temporary hangar at Peter Prince Airport to gain its FAA Part 145 certification and begin repair work while a larger, permanent facility was being designed and developed at Whiting. Since that time, Leonardo has created 36 jobs in Santa Rosa County. 

With a presence throughout the U.S. and a total management portfolio value exceeding $1 billion annually, HPM has established itself as one of the industry’s leading program management and owner’s representative companies. The firm has years of expertise in large capital projects for the aerospace and aviation industries, including projects for airlines, aircraft manufacturers, airports, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies, as well as space and defense firms, as well as local and state governments interested in attracting capital investments. HPM’s portfolio of experience in aerospace and aviation projects includes managing the design and construction of the first Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility and the management of a variety of manufacturing and MRO facilities for national and international clients. HPM’s most recent initiatives include projects for Airbus, the Mobile Airport Authority, Sierra Space, ST Aerospace, Boom Supersonic and AAR’s new MRO facility at Miami International Airport.