Leonardo’s comprehensive new U.S. training center, co-located at the company’s production facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will officially open its doors this month. A project first launched in October 2018 — before the Italian major knew it would win its first U.S. military contract as a prime — it’s an $80 million investment in the company’s continued North and Latin America expansion.

Modeled on Leonardo’s facility in Sesto Calende, Italy, the design of the new training academy is driven by proximity. Previously a warehouse, the building is co-located with the rest of Leonardo’s manufacturing and support services in Philadelphia, where civil and military variants of the AW119 and AW139 — as well as the AW609 civil tiltrotor — are manufactured.