Alion to Manage Former Air Force Lab

Alion Science and Technology announced last week it has been awarded a five-year contract with the city of Mesa, Ariz., to manage and promote the former Air Force Research Lab facility as a city-owned Technology Center of Excellence.

Alion will manage the facility and use it to expand and preserve aerospace, defense and homeland security research and development.

According to Alion, the 80,000-square-foot facility includes an adjacent airstrip plus laboratory and office space to accommodate more than 200 scientists, engineers and technicians. The company hopes the facility will bring additional economic benefits to the region.

“This award gives Alion a substantial presence in a geographically strategic area where we can advance the needs of the Mesa government, work closely with Arizona State University and be recognized as the provider of choice for integration, modeling and simulation, test and evaluation services and lab operations,” said Rear Adm. Richard E. Brooks, Alion senior vice president and manager of the Distributed Simulation Group.

“It’s a vibrant region with expanding needs for capabilities and facilities that can foster innovation,” he added. “Alion is proud that we can be the cornerstone of this next wave of ingenuity for national and homeland defense.”