The US Army Corps of Engineers has awarded Conti Federal Services a contract to build six environmental protection shelters for B-21 Raider bombers.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has awarded Conti Federal Services a $49.8-million contract to build six environmental protection shelters for B-21 Raider bombers at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
Developed by Northrop Grumman, the B-21 is a sixth-generation stealth bomber designed to carry conventional and nuclear weapons for long-range strikes.
The infrastructure will protect the aircraft from weather and other environmental conditions while they are parked on the flightline.
Work includes six pre-engineered metal shelters covering about 20,000 square feet (1,858 square meters), three maintenance kiosks, airfield and ground support equipment paving, and the partial demolition and repair of existing facilities.
Construction is expected to finish by November 2028.
B-21 Program Moves
The B-21 program has continued to advance beyond its infrastructure buildup.
Just earlier this month, Washington awarded Conti Federal a $39.9-million contract to build a lodging facility at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, including an auxiliary facility for an Aerospace Ground Equipment unit supporting alert operations.
The project follows Conti Federal's $36.3-million May contract to build an Aircrew Distributed Debriefing Flight Simulator Facility at Ellsworth.
In July, the US Air Force confirmed that the B-21 will operate with two pilots and announced a transition program allowing selected weapons system officers and combat systems officers to undergo pilot training for future B-21 assignments.
Earlier, in April, the service released the first full overhead photograph of the B-21 during an aerial refueling demonstration with a KC-135 Stratotanker.
Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force also announced in February that they were expanding B-21 production capacity, with final assembly continuing in Palmdale, California.
