Members of the 402nd Maintenance Wing at Robins AFB, Ga., dedicated a new $24.1 million aircraft maintenance hangar in a ceremony at the base last week. Workers completed the 86,000-square-foot facility nearly a month ahead of schedule, reported the Sun News of Macon, Ga. The hangar is large enough to accommodate C-17 and C-130 transports. Its design has the safety of aircraft maintainers in mind by incorporating features like a restraint harness system to prevent falls from atop an aircraft during service. Work on the hangar concluded on April 29. The opening ceremony took place on May 13, but the wing must still populate the hangar with equipment.
In a nighttime ceremony contrived to continue concealment of many of its features, the new B-21 bomber rolled out of Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif. plant Dec. 2. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the aircraft's advanced technology represents "deterrence, the American way."