The U.S. Navy has awarded Grunley Construction a $117.8 million firm-fixed-price contract to build aircraft laydown facilities for the MQ-25 program at Naval Station Norfolk. The work is scheduled to wrap in April 2029.
Project Scope
The contract covers laydown and support facilities tied to the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s carrier-based unmanned aerial refueling aircraft. Rockville, Maryland-based Grunley won the firm-fixed-price award, which is the kind of defined-scope, defined-price structure the Navy uses when the requirements are well understood going in. Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval base in the world, and it’s absorbing a steady stream of construction as the fleet’s mix of manned and unmanned aircraft changes.
Why It Matters
The MQ-25 is the Navy’s first operational carrier-based drone, built to extend the range of the carrier air wing by handling aerial refueling. Standing up a new aircraft type means new ground infrastructure, and Norfolk is where a lot of that groundwork happens. A nine-figure facilities contract is a concrete sign that the program is moving from development toward fleet support. For the mid-Atlantic’s defense construction market, Norfolk remains one of the most reliable sources of large federal work.
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Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | U.S. Navy |
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| General Contractor | Grunley Construction Co. |
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| Status | Planned |
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| Delivery Method | Design-Bid-Build |
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| Funding Source | Public (Federal) |
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