Tinker Air Force Base just became home as another maintenance center, this one for some of the huge Global Hawk drones that fly around the world.
Partnering with Rolls-Royce, Tinker formally dedicated its operation to carry out the maintenance and overhaul work of the F137 engines that power the drones up to 60,000 feet.
The new maintenance center will mean the creation of 30 new jobs with a payroll of nearly $2.5 million a year to Tinker’s Air Logistics Complex.
Some see the new maintenance center potentially offering even more work at Tinker because the same F137 engine powers the U.S. Navy’s triton drone. There’s no confirmation that the Navy will contract with the new Tinker Maintenance center.
Wade Wolfe, vice director of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics complex says the plan calls for maintenance to about 12 Air Force drone engines a year.
“As we grow, the number of engines being maintained here, could create jobs for as many as 100 or 150 more,” said Wolfe.
Rolls Royce is moving at least four of its employees to Tinker to help with management of the maintenance operation.
The Global Hawk, each carrying a cost of nearly $223 million was introduced by the Air Force in 2001 and is a high-flying aerial surveillance and intelligence-gathering platform. It has the capability of surveying as much as 40,000 square miles a day and has a similar role as the now-retired U-2 spy plane.
The Navy first tested its Global Hawk drones in 2006 and didn’t employ a fleet of the drones until 2010 when it re-designated the drone as MQ-4C or Triton. The Triton is similar in design but has stronger wings to allow it to drop from 50,000 feet down to 10,000 feet to get further identification of a target. The Triton wings also have additional features of anti-icing capabilities and impact and lightning strike protection.