HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Dignitaries, Air Force leaders and Draper Labs officials gathered at Hill Air Force Base for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new building.
The building marks an expansion of Draper’s presence at the base and brings the company’s research and engineering capabilities closer to its aerospace and defense customers, including the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and the Sentinel program.
Draper has provided engineering services and technology development to the U.S. Air Force since 1957, including work on the Minuteman and Sentinel programs. Col. Joseph Hank, Sentinel Flight Systems Branch, said the building signifies a major commitment from the company to continue to support the Air Force and its defense programs for many years to come.
“This will not just be an ordinary office building,” Hank said. “There are unique construction requirements and it will be huge investment. This signifies permanence, that Draper intends to be here for a long time supporting our missions.”
Draper president and CEO Jerry Wohletz said the new building will enable Draper to better support this work with expanded research and development capabilities and mission-enabling solutions.
“We recognize the importance of the work being done by the Air Force and Missile Defense Agency,” Wohletz said. “It creates opportunities to interact with the defense, technology, and innovation communities in the region. We feel strongly that this will contribute to Draper’s ability to innovate and grow to meet the needs of our customers.”
The new facility will support Draper’s core engineering and design capabilities, including model-based systems engineering and simulation, development and testing of advanced guidance and navigation components (internal measurement units, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and atomic clocks), and the design of high assurance microelectronic systems.
“Growing our presence in Utah underscores Draper’s commitment to the operational readiness and modernization requirements of our nation’s strategic deterrence programs,” said Julia Laurenzano MacDonough, Draper vice president. “Utah’s talented and diverse workforce will be a valuable contributor as Draper grows its presence here.”
Helping break ground at the ceremony were Utah Governor Spencer Cox, U.S. Congressman Blake Moore, Ogden Air Logistics Complex Commander Maj. Gen. Kenyon Bell and 75th Air Base Wing Commander Col. Dan Cornelius.