WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A new federal grant totaling $33.5 million to help Kansas State University’s Salina campus fund a new aerospace and technology campus was announced on Tuesday.

The grant provides $28 million to build a facility that will serve as an education hub for several of K-State Salina’s programs. A separate $5.5 million grant will provide aviation training equipment to amplify the pilot training partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

A part of that $5.5 million grant will allow NOAA to collaborate with K-State Salina to grow the pilot training program.

“This investment marks the next phase in K-State Salina’s continuous growth,” said Alysia Starkey, CEO and Dean of K-State Salina, in a news release. “As we develop this new, state-of-the-art space for our uncrewed aircraft systems, composites and aviation maintenance programs, we are also establishing the future of aerospace education. The alignment of these critical disciplines enables K-State Salina to educate learners, collaborate with industry and further advanced air mobility solutions for the region and nation.”

The new facility is the second phase to revitalize the southernmost end of the K-State Salina campus as the General Atomics Aerospace Innovation Ramp, following General Atomics’ $10 million gift to kick off the revitalization plan in October 2022.

“K-State Salina continues to forge new paths for aeronautic education,” K-State president Robert Linton said in the news release.  “This federal investment opens the doors for enhanced educational programs and access, career readiness, technology-advancing research and industry partnerships to meet the demands of today and the future. This is what being a next-generation land-grant university is all about.”