BRUNSWICK — A retired Navy pilot is relocating part of his business from Virginia to the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

It took less than a month to seal the deal with Tempus Jets, said Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. The company’s CEO, Scott Terry, was familiar with the base because he used to fly P-3 Orions in Brunswick.

Tempus will relocate a jet overhaul operation from Newport News International Airport to Maine, where there’s more space to expand, Levesque said.

“It fits perfectly,” he said. “As their business grows, they see this as a perfect place to grow their enterprise.”

The announcement was made at Brunswick Landing’s Hangar 6, where Tempus will share the massive space with Kestrel Aviation, an airplane charter business. Tempus plans to hire 25 workers by year’s end, and to double that next year. Levesque said there’s the potential for up to 200 jobs.

Tempus, which has operations in several states, is based at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina.

Levesque says the company fits with redevelopment agency’s plans to target aviation-related businesses to utilize the base’s hangars and twin 8,000-foot-long runways. The agency recently announced plans to create a general aviation terminal.

Already, 214 private sector jobs have been created and 260 acres and 24 buildings conveyed to the private sector as of this summer.

Companies with operations at the former base include Molnlycke Health Care, Maine Tool and Machine, Kestrel Aviation and Oxford Networks.

“It’s coming together. The plans are being realized and it’s being realized faster than we projected, so we’re very excited about that,” Levsesque said.

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