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South Airfield Military Construction (MILCON) Projects, NAWS China Lake
Delivering six major facilities simultaneously, each with distinct uses and performance criteria, required disciplined integration.
South Airfield Military Construction (MILCON) Projects, NAWS China Lake
Ridgecrest, California
Government/Public Building
Submitted by: ECC
Region: ENR West
Owner: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
Lead Design Firm: (Hangars) Giuliani Associates Architects
Lead Design Firm: (Aux. Buildings) Steinberg Hart
General Contractor: ECC
Civil Engineer: Urban Engineers
Structural Engineer: Crosby Group; DCI Engineers
MEP Engineer: MA Engineers
Architect: Giuliani Associates Architects; Steinberg Hart
Primary Subcontractor: Hensel Phelps
In the remote expanse of California’s Western Mojave Desert, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake plays a central role in the U.S. Navy’s weapons research, development and testing. A series of earthquakes in 2019 damaged key facilities, disrupting critical national defense operations. Restoring the base demanded a comprehensive rebuilding effort designed to modernize infrastructure, strengthen resilience and reestablish full operational readiness.
The $855.6-million South Airfield Military Construction recovery program accomplished that goal through a large-scale, multifacility design-build contract, led by ECC as prime contractor for the Navy’s Resident Officer in Charge of Construction.
Image courtesy South Airfield China Lake DB QC Team
“This achievement reflects the commitment and collaboration of an integrated team of dedicated professionals from the U.S. government and ECC, working together to deliver complex mission-critical facilities,” says ECC President and CEO Manjiv Vohra.
Executed from March 2021 through March 2025, the program consolidated six projects into a single, coordinated initiative delivered on schedule and within a fixed-price budget, despite pandemic-related disruptions, supply chain volatility and the logistical constraints of building on an active military airfield in a remote desert location.
Image courtesy South Airfield China Lake DB QC Team
The program delivered Hangar 6, a 189,000-sq-ft multibay, multistory facility that integrates high-bay maintenance areas with laboratory and administrative space; the 70,000-sq-ft Integration Laboratory dedicated to research, development, testing and evaluation computing operations; the 14,550-sq-ft Air Operations Building and Air Traffic Control; the 59,630-sq-ft Advanced Warfare Hangar; and the 17,270-sq-ft Aircraft Fire and Rescue Station housing seven apparatus bays along with living and training quarters.
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