WRIGHTPATTERSON AFB, Ohio
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Air Vehicles Directorate celebrated the opening of the $3 million Facility for Innovative Research in Structures Technology (FIRST) in November of 2008. Located in Building 65 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, FIRST will support engineering and research on the structure and thermal envelopes of air vehicles. Laboratory amenities include compressed air, water, argon gas, nitrogen gas, and liquid nitrogen. Construction began on the project in 2007.