JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – The Air Force Civil Engineer Center successfully facilitated award of a $277 million project to construct a modern laboratory required for development of advanced technologies on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory campus, located on Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.
The effort will provide a new, 161,000 square-foot compound semiconductor laboratory and microsystem integration facility for the Advanced Microelectronics Mission to continue research to address national security demands.
“Resilient and sustainable infrastructure is critical to Air and Space Force operations and missions globally,” said Col. Dave Norton, deputy director of AFCEC’s Facilities Engineering Directorate. “AFCEC continues to partner with installations enterprise-wide to provide integrated infrastructure solutions required for effective execution of their missions and priorities.”
MIT Lincoln Laboratory has been a Department of Defense federally funded research and development center since the 1950s. The laboratory’s team of researchers develop new technologies critical to national security, from initial concept through simulation and analysis, to design and prototyping, and finally field demonstration.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory has a long history of supporting the nation’s armed forces with technological advancements and it requires modern and safe facilities to continue to innovate technology for the nation such as radars, lasers and microelectronics that are key to modern defense systems, Norton said.
The new three-level building will consolidate the distributed compound semiconductor and advanced packaging laboratories into a single, purpose-built facility designed to safely handle and support complex electronic research and development functions.
The award is the result of a collaborative partnership between AFCEC, Hanscom’s 66th Civil Engineering Division, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New England District and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
“Our effort demonstrates the Air Force’s commitment to provide advanced infrastructure to enhance mission capabilities at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. We look forward to successfully executing this project through different construction phases with our partners,” said Mai Stevens, AFCEC’s program manager.
AFCEC, a unit of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, provided design and planning for the compound semiconductor laboratory and microsystem integration facility, and will oversee construction, ensuring the project is delivered on time and within budget.
Hanscom is home to the 66th Air Base Group which provides support to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center with warfighting systems and air, space and cyber capabilities.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2025.