RAPID CITY, SD – Five companies have been awarded $95 million in contracts from the US Air Force. The multiple construction projects are underway at Ellsworth Air Force Base in preparation for the B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
The latest award was announced this week to DPEC & RCS Joint Venture, LLC – a limited liability corporation based in Eagle Butte. According to public records the company was organized in 2020 as a partnership between Dakota Plains Electrical Contracting in Eagle Butte and RCS Construction in Rapid City.
There are four other companies, along with DPEC & RCS Joint Ventures who have been awarded a portion of the $95 million Ellsworth project. Those companies include All American Construction Service, Rapid City; LaCreek Development Corporation of Martin; Quinn-Scull Joint Venture of Rapid City; and OK2 Construction of Cleburne, Texas..
The 28th Contracting Squadron at Ellsworth AFB is the contracting agency for construction activity. Work is expected to be completed by May 31, 2031.
The Air Force has officially designated Ellsworth the bomber’s main operating base. Ellsworth was selected to house the bomber’s training program and first squadron. The B-21 has nuclear-strike capabilities and different needs for facilities on base. The bomber is not expected to be flying over the Black Hills until 2027, and many of the details of the aircraft, currently being developed by Virginia-based Northrop Grumman, remain unknown or classified.
