Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division
NAVAIR Lakehurst, N.J., is part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. As the Navy’s engineering support activity for Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment (ALRE) and Naval Aviation Support Equipment (SE), Lakehurst is the critical link between Naval Aviation and Navy Aircraft Carrier (CV) Battle Groups worldwide. NAVAIR Lakehurst is responsible for maintaining fleet support and infusing modern technology across the entire spectrum of equipment needed to launch, land and maintain aircraft from ships at sea.
Products and Services
Lakehurst’s Aircraft Platform Interface (API) provides the facilities and services necessary to permit fixed and rotary wing aircraft to operate safely and effectively from ships at sea and from austere expeditionary airfields. This includes designing, prototyping, testing and contracting to provide items such as catapults, arresting gear, visual landing aids, flight deck marking/lighting systems, aircraft and weapons handling equipment, aircraft servicing and maintenance equipment, unique avionics testing equipment, aircraft engine test equipment and shipboard aircraft fire trucks. Lakehurst is the only activity responsible for this unique and vital aspect of Naval Aviation. In short, Lakehurst supports all the aircraft that operate from ships at sea, as well as the ships they operate from and the U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary airfields worldwide.
People
With a work force of approximately 3,500 personnel, NAVAIR Lakehurst includes about 200 active-duty military personnel, ranking it among the top 60 employers in the state of New Jersey. This highly trained work force is made up of engineers, technicians, logisticians, acquisition experts, skilled technical artisans and administrative personnel on station, and approximately 100 civilian technical representatives located worldwide. Lakehurst generates over $327 million annually for the New Jersey economy in goods, services and wages. Lakehurst is the largest manufacturing employer in southern New Jersey, with an average annual salary about 16 percent above the statewide average.
Facilities
- Total acreage: 7,430
- Two active conventional runways
- One 12,000-foot dedicated research and development test runway with a full scale aircraft carrier catapult and arresting gear
- Three active mile-long test tracks to simulate aircraft landings
- Six large hangers
- 368 structures - 298 buildings including 20 advanced engineering laboratories, training facilities and a 5.7-acre complex of manufacturing and prototyping shops.
Website
http://www.navair.navy.mil/lakehurst