NOAA Aircraft Operations Center expanding to support growing fleet

The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) will be expanded under the terms of a new 20-year lease NOAA signed today with the City of Lakeland, Florida. Located at Lakeland Linder International Airport, AOC serves as the main base for NOAA’s current fleet of nine specialized environmental data-gathering aircraft, including the agency’s three “hurricane hunter” planes. NOAA moved into the Lakeland facility in 2017. Under the lease terms, the City of Lakeland will expand the existing AOC facility this year from 99,000 to 156,043 square feet, including additional office and hangar space, to accommodate new aircraft NOAA is acquiring to support hurricane, coastal mapping, emergency response and other missions. Learn more at: https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-aircraft-operations-center-expan...