First Air Brigade Fuel Farm Replacement

Above Group provided mechanical and fuel systems engineering support to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District for the replacement of the First Air Brigade Jet A-1 fuel farm in San Salvador, El Salvador. The project was delivered as part of an OCONUS Design-Build Request for Proposal (RFP) package supporting an active military airfield west of Ilopango International Airport.

The existing fuel storage and distribution infrastructure was non-compliant with current aviation fuel and safety standards and required full replacement to support continued operations for the host nation air force. Above Group developed a complete design criteria package establishing the technical basis for contractor design and construction under a design-build delivery model.

The engineering approach emphasized safety, reliability, and maintainability of critical aviation fuel infrastructure in an active operational military environment while ensuring compliance with U.S. and international fuel system standards.

Key Engineering Features

• 30,000-gallon double-wall aboveground Jet A-1 fuel storage tank
• Fuel transfer, issue, and offload pumping systems (up to 300 GPM)
• Fuel filtration and separation systems for receipt and issue operations
• Double-wall fuel piping with leak detection and monitoring systems

Project Challenges

• Designing a fuel system upgrade within an active foreign military airfield
• Addressing spatial constraints within an existing fenced fuel farm
• Aligning project scope with a fixed DD Form 1391 funding limitation

Results

• Delivered a fully coordinated Design-Build RFP package for overseas fuel infrastructure replacement
• Established clear technical criteria for safe, compliant aviation fuel operations
• Improved constructability through relocation and optimization of fuel storage layout
• Enabled flexible bid structuring through a scalable fuel storage expansion option
• Supported continued mission readiness for host nation air force operations