$42 million Global Hawk facility contract awarded

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Chris Powell
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  On May 4, 2007, the Air Force announced that Black Construction Corporation was awarded a $42 million contract to build an aircraft maintenance and operations center for the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicles here. 

The company, which previously built the $32.8 million Hangar 1 and Andersen's $13 million fitness and sports center, is scheduled to begin physical work on the Global Hawk facility in August or September with the completion date set for May 2009. 

"Black Construction has done a lot of work in Guam, Korea and Hawaii," said Gerry Berkeley, 36th Civil Engineer Squadron. "They are a good company and have worked on several projects with the military before." 

The facility will include a hangar, maintenance shop and working space for the Global Hawks, operators and maintainers, according to Dan Sherrill, 36 CES. 

Inside the hangar, there will be more than 47,000 square feet of space with an additional 11,500 square feet of support area. 

"We're elated to have received the contract," said Leonard Kaae, Black Construction senior vice president and general manager. "We have a proven history of building hangars ... and have a long history of working on Guam and Andersen." 

Mr. Kaae said he feels there are several reasons why Black Construction was awarded the contract. 

"First and foremost, we have a proven history of excellent performance; our price, as a result of our experience, was competitive; and our resources to include equipment and staff, led to a firm decision for Black Construction being awarded the contract," he said. 

The Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle provides Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near-real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. In the last year, the Global Hawk provided Air Force and joint warfighting commanders more than 15,000 images in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, flying more than 50 missions and 1,000 combat hours to date.