With the assistance of engineers from Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), teams of high school students throughout eastern North Carolina watched their ideas take flight during the 2023 Ultimate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle competition held April 22 in Newport, NC.

With an eye on the future growth of Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) and its potential to positively impact the area’s economy, more than 30 economic development leaders from across North Carolina toured the depot May 11.

A team of senior industrial engineering students from North Carolina State University (NCSU) recently put their skills to the test in a project designed to improve efficiency and workflow while preparing for future workload in some areas at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE).

An engineer at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) recently became the depot’s first Fellow in the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Fellows Program, earning distinction as one of the top 0.75% of the command’s scientists and technical professionals.

Mark Sapp, a welding and materials engineer within FRCE’s Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Engineering Department, was inducted as a NAVAIR Fellow during a March 23 ceremony in California, Maryland.

Fleet Readiness Center East’s commitment to workplace safety has earned the depot successful recertification as a Star Site in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).

One Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) team recently earned recognition for its contribution to improved flight line readiness for the MH/CH-53E heavy lift helicopter. The Naval Air Systems Command Heavy Lift Helicopters Program Office (PMA-261) honored the FRCE Fuel Control Shop as PMA-261 “Gold Stars” during a March event.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) will expand its support of military aviators when the depot takes on maintenance, repair and overhaul duties for Navy and Marine Corps C/KC-130J Super Hercules and C/KC-130T Hercules aircraft. Navy officials announced March 17 that FRCE will serve as the designated repair point for the platform. The depot could begin the new workload as soon as the end of fiscal year 2026.

The first time Maj. Brittany Fayos walked through the H-53 line at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), she was surprised by what she saw.

“It was a bit eye-opening because I'd never seen them taken apart like that before,” said Fayos. “These were truly stripped down H-53s, down to bare airframes.”

Since that first visit to the hangar, Fayos has not only seen these aircraft stripped down, she’s seen them completely overhauled and reassembled, piloted them during test flights, and then delivered the finished helicopters to their units.

A new asset in the Transportation Branch at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is helping reduce turnaround times by simplifying aircraft movement between depot sites.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) gave students throughout Eastern North Carolina a hands-on look at careers in engineering as part of the depot’s 2023 National Engineers Week outreach efforts.

Engineers from the depot visited four elementary schools, 18 middle schools and four high schools and engaged with more than 2,700 area students.

More than 30 FRCE engineers participated in the outreach efforts, visiting area schools to discuss science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as well as the role engineers play at the depot.