Just north of Milton off Highway 87 is the busiest Naval Air Station in the world — Whiting Field.
The NAS Whiting Field complex occupies 12,000 acres, including 12 outlying fields and three fully operational airfields.
Every Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard helicopter pilot receives their initial rotary winged training at NASWF. And more than 60% of all primary flight training is performed here. Whiting Field is indeed a critical component of our nation’s military readiness.
Santa Rosa County has welcomed Whiting Field since it was commissioned in 1943. The county has grown just as Whiting Field has grown. Santa Rosa County’s population increased 24% from 2010 to 2020 and shows no sign of slowing down. Even with that growth and accompanying economic diversification, approximately 30% of Santa Rosa County’s total Gross Regional Product comes from DoD spending. Santa Rosa County is emphatically a proud “military town.”
With nearly one million flight operations a year, the airspace surrounding Whiting Field is busier than Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s airspace.
WHITING FACTS
3,913
Acres in the main complex
3
Separate and fully operational airfields
12
Outlying landing fields: 8,432 acres
4,500
Square nautical miles of airspace
300
Acres of solar panels
1,000,000
Average flight operations per year
150,000
Average flight hours per year
1,200
Average annual flight students
3,327
Average staff – military and civilian
$2.28B
Physical plant replacement value
$1.64B
Santa Rosa County economic impact
The Navy's new training helicopter is the TH-73A Thrasher manufactured by AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo) which is also building a support facility at Whiting Aviation Park.
WHITING NEWS
Whiting Field Earns Commander in Chief’s Award for Best Navy Base
Naval Air Station Whiting Field was recently recognized as the recipient of the 2024 Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence for the Navy.
Read More…
CNIC Names Whiting Field as Best Small Base in the Navy
NAS Whiting Field received the recognition for providing outstanding support of the Navy’s largest air wing and management of three towered airfields and 12 outlying fields. NAS Whiting Field was recently recognized by the Orville Wright Aviation Achievement Award.
Read More…
Whiting Field Works with Milton and Santa Rosa COunty to Reduce Costs and Enhance Mission Operations
The agreements between the Navy and a state or local government enhance operational effectiveness and create greater economies of scale that reduce costs and provide economic benefits to the community, state partners, and the Navy.
Read More…Know your aircraft
T-6B Texan II
Tandem-seat turboprop aircraft powered by one Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68 turboprop engine (142 at Whiting North Field)
- Length: 33.3 feet (10.12 meters)
- Height: 10.8 feet (3.29 meters)
- Wingspan: 33.4 feet (10.18 meters)
- Weight: Empty, 5,850 pounds (2,653.52 kg.); maximum takeoff weight, 6,900 pounds (3,129.79 kg)
- Airspeed: 270 knots at 1,000 feet level flight
TH-73A Thrasher
Powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6B-37A turbo shaft engine. Whiting South Field will be home to 130 Thrashers.
- Length (rotors turning): 42 feet, 5 inches (12.92 meters)
- Height: 10 feet, 9 inches (3.29 meters)
- Rotor Diameter: 35 feet, 6 inches (10.83 meters)
- Weight (baseline empty weight): 3,325 pounds (1,508 kg)
- Airspeed: 152 knots
Whiting Aviation Park is a 239-acre commercial/industrial park adjacent to Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Northwest Florida. Through a limited-access use agreement between Santa Rosa County and the United States Navy, civilian tenants of the Aviation Park will be able to use the Navy’s airfield facilities. The agreement allows up to 75 operations by civil aircraft per day with access to two active bi-directional runways. The Navy provides runway access and monitors airspace.
Facilities for the park’s first tenant are underway. Leonardo (through AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp.) will locate a comprehensive support center at the park to support its contract to replace the Navy’s fleet of aging training helicopters at NAS Whiting Field. Read More…
Santa Rosa County is committed to NAS Whiting Field and its personnel.
County schools are military-friendly, offering dedicated Military Liaison Officers for support. The county secured over $4 million from 2012 to 2022 and received an additional $625,000 in 2023 to enhance ongoing military support. The influx of separated military personnel contributes to population growth, drawn by the county’s appealing lifestyle and job opportunities in the expanding aviation and aerospace industry cluster.