Announced by the state and federal governments today, the $200 million hangar is being constructed on a 16-hectare parcel of state government-owned land in Penfield adjacent to the RAAF’s Edinburgh base in Adelaide’s north.

The 2.1-hectare facility features a shed that’s 240 metres long*, 60 metres wide and 25 metres high and will have four aircraft bays reserved for deep maintenance and upgrade work on the RAAF’s 18-strong fleet of reconnaissance Boeing 737s.

This includes the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which is already based at Edinburgh, and the E-7A Wedgetail early warning radar aircraft, currently based in Williamtown near Newcastle in New South Wales.

The state government is fronting the $200 million cost to build the shed but will be paid back by the federal government via a lease for the land.

The hangar, located south of Womma Road, is scheduled to be completed by mid-2026.

Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy said the “tremendously sized shed” would create 450 jobs during construction and 50 ongoing jobs for professionals in avionics and engineering.

“This is the first time we’ll be able to do that deep-level maintenance in Australia, so this is a real boon for our self-reliance and sovereignty,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“This is a really critical breakthrough because previously this work was being done in the United States.

“We’d have to fly the P-8s and the Wedgetails for this deep-level maintenance and upgrades.

“We can now do it in Australia which means we’ve got more independence [and] it cuts down the time they’re offline.”

The RAAF currently has 12 P-8A Poseidon aircraft and six E-7A Wedgetails.

The RAAF’s P-8A Poseidon. Photo: RAAF

The work done at the new hangar will include hourly maintenance activity looking at the aircraft’s structure and upgrades to install new mission systems.

Boeing Defence Australia managing director Amy List said having the facility next to RAAF base in Edinburgh where the P-8As operate was “really important because it means that if there are any maintenance issues we can talk directly to the operators”.

“It really improves the speed that we can do the work and makes sure that we’re doing it safely as well,” she said.

The announcement comes amid a broader focus on South Australia’s defence industry, which has been tasked with building six Hunter Class Frigates and at least five nuclear-powered submarines at the Osborne Naval Shipyards – amid significant questions about the state’s capacity to sustain this work.

State Treasurer Stephen Mullighan, who was earlier this year handed responsibility for defence and space industries in a cabinet reshuffle, said the Penfield hangar was evidence of the state government “attracting a further expansion of the state’s defence industries”.

“That’s really positive for our economy,” he said.

“Defence industries are so important for our government’s efforts to reposition our economy to a more complex economy with higher skills, higher paid jobs.

“Having this facility here not only helps us do that but it sends a clear message once again to the Commonwealth government that they will always have a willing partner with South Australia to support their efforts in locating as much as this work in Australia as possible.”

*A previous version of this story incorrectly said the hangar was only 24-metres long.