BAGHDAD – The Iraqi Army Aviation Command celebrated the construction of a 15-meter tall and 76-meter long Mi-17 helicopter hangar and maintenance facility Jan. 17 with a dedication ceremony at Camp Taji.

The Mi-17 hangar, the largest free-span building in the Middle East, will provide all the space that the Iraqi Army Aviation Command needs for its entire fleet of aircraft, allowing for increased effectiveness and capability, said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Rock, Director of Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air.

The Iraqi Army Aviation Command operates six different types of helicopters: Mi-17, Mi-171E, Bell 407, UH-1 HP Huey II Upgrade, Eurocopter EC 635, and French-designed Gazelles.

“They call it the Mi-17 hangar, but it’s actually going to be used to maintain and house all of the [Iraqi Army Aviation Command] aircraft that are bedded down at Taji,” said Capt. Eric Vanley, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, Mi-17 instructor pilot. “When you have good, well-maintained aircraft, you’re going to have reliable equipment that will help support the security of Iraq.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region District, managed the $9.8 million project that began in 2009, and has also managed the construction of an air traffic control tower, a bulk fuel station and a squadron operations building that will contain an Mi-17 simulator at Camp Taji.

“The completion of the Mi-17 hangar and squadron operations building will provide the Iraqi Army Aviation Command with facilities to conduct maintenance on their rotary-wing aircraft, protected from the harsh environs of Iraq and will provide them with needed office space and a simulator room in which to train their pilots,” said Maj. John Stover, officer-in-charge of the USACE GRD’s Taji project office.

According to USACE officials, the hangar will house six Mi-17 maintenance bays, with back shops and office space to accommodate first-line and second-line maintenance and management functions of a central aircraft maintenance organization.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Rock (right), director of Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air, shakes hands with Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Nadham Al Ajwady, deputy commander of the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, Jan. 17 at the command’s Mi-17 helicopter hangar dedication ceremony at Camp Taji. The Iraqi Army Aviation Command celebrated the construction of its hangar, the largest free-span building in the Middle East, a 15-meter tall and 76-meter long Mi-17 helicopter hangar and maintenance facility.