Multimillion-dollar RAAF plane hangar opens in Adelaide
The Federal Defence Minister was on hand to officially open a first-of-its-kind $200 million hangar built in the city’s north to keep plane maintenance on shore.
A new 240-metre-long air force hub, called the Deep Maintenance and Modification Facility, has officially opened at Edinburgh on Friday morning, about two years after construction started.
The facility – which stores P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes and includes a four-bay hangar suitable for Boeing 737s – is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and more than half of the building was made from structural steel from the embattled Whyalla Steelworks.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Federal Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy joined Premier Peter Malinauskas and SA Defence Minister Chris Picton at the opening of the facility on Friday morning.
Previously, the planes would have been sent offshore for maintenance and upgrades, Picton said.
Marles said the facility was “a critical investment in Australia’s ability to maintain and sustain key capabilities for our Defence Force here at home.”
The facility includes aircraft docking systems and workshops to support mechanics and mission system maintenance, and will host students from the new Heights Technical College, where Boeing has signed on as an employment partner.
The technical college hosts the first course of its kind in South Australia and more than 20 students are now studying aero skills to become aircraft technicians or engineers, the government said.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said it was “a major milestone for Australia’s defence sustainment capability” and would create long-term careers in SA.
“Students at The Heights Technical College will graduate not only with their high school certificate and an in-demand trade qualification – they will be able to walk straight into a highly-skilled career in aero skills at this new facility,” Malinauskas said.
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“This facility, built with steel from Whyalla, will sustain hundreds of long-term, secure defence jobs for South Australians,” Federal Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.
The construction created around 450 jobs and was on time and on budget, the government said.
The Edinburgh site would also be used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to maintain and repair its fleet of P-8A aircraft from 2028.
It comes after the government signed a $291 million support contract with Boeing Defence Australia in March 2025 to upgrade the P-8A Poseidon fleet, including improving the combat system, enhancing anti-submarine warfare capability, and upgrading satellite communications to improve integration across the Australian Defence Force.
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