A Polish F-35A Lightning II pilot executes ground operations at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, Jan. 29, 2025. (Abigail Duell/USAF)
By Troy Turner
Birmingham-based BL Harbert International, one of the nation’s mainstay workhorses for complex federal and military construction projects around the world, is being tasked with constructing a facility in Arkansas that includes classified environs for a project tied to F-35 fighter jet training likely intended to include foreign militaries.
The War Department announced the company was awarded a $37.6 million contract for the job, which was listed as an F-35 Special Access Program Facility. The original contract solicitation requires that the new facility provide a secured workspace to protect classified work associated with the aircraft.
Construction will take place at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2029.
Finnish Air Force patch. (Photo/USAF)
Ebbing was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to host the Foreign Military Sales pilot training program for the F-35. Partner nations including Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany and Finland will send pilots to train at the base.
One example: Up to 400 personnel are expected to be stationed at Ebbing when Singapore’s aircraft, F-35s arriving in late 2026 and F-16s expected in summer 2027, are fully in place, military officials reported.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground May 6 on a $74 million academic training center at Ebbing, “advancing the base’s transformation into a one-of-a-kind international F-35 pilot training facility. The ceremony was hosted by the Air Force’s 188th Wing, the 33rd Fighter Wing and USACE.”
The 44,000-square-foot center will house classrooms and four advanced F-35 flight simulators capable of replicating complex training environments.
Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, chief of the German air force, is briefed on the FMS program at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on April 10, 2024. (Christopher Sherlock/USAF)
Meanwhile, the call for bids with the most recent contract won by Harbert and announced this week included needs for “a squad ops mission planning facility providing controlled workspace for ICD 705 (intelligence directive) compliant secure flight planning and training, unclassified aircrew training and administrative space, aircrew flight equipment storage and maintenance, and step desk to support combat crew functions.”
A Finnish air force pilot in an F-35 Lightning II following his first training flight at Ebbing. (USAF)
It was titled “F-35 Special Access Program Facility.” Harbert won the job from among six bids received.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting agency.
BL HARBERT’S GROWING PORTFOLIO
BL Harbert International is one of the federal government’s and U.S. military’s top contractors, with a global portfolio ranging from complex embassies and consulate offices to high-tech combat training facilities and secure barracks.
Among its most recent contracts:
The U.S. Army in May awarded Harbert a similar $129 million contract for construction of an Advance Individual Training barracks complex at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
That complex is expected to support up to 600 soldiers and include physical training areas and safety measures such as tornado/storm protection.
U.S. Navy in June awarded Harbert a $156 million contract for the construction of two recruit barracks at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.
(File photo/USMC)
The new barracks will include housing for male and female recruits undergoing initial training to become United States Marines.
The Army in January announced a nearly $172 million contract with Harbert for the conversion of existing administrative space in Huntsville to a data center, laboratories and updated administrative space.
The company has garnered more than $16 billion in government contracts during its history with the military and federal agencies, but its portfolio ranges far beyond that with a wide range of commercial, health care and residential projects around the globe.
Although headquartered in Birmingham, BL Harbert also has offices in several other U.S. cities and in international locations such as London, Dubai and Istanbul.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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