Aerospace Industry in Alabama – Amazing Alabama

Alabama's diversified aerospace industry spans from Mobile on the Gulf Coast to Huntsville in the north. A whos who of marquee industry names among the 300 aerospace and defense companies in Alabama include: Airbus, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation, Airbus Military, GKN, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Goodrich, Teledyne Brown, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon.

Huntsville has been an aerospace hub for decades, with 44,000 currently employed in the aerospace/defense industry, housing the highest number of engineers per capita in the United States. Farther south in Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and its Gunter Annex employ more than 12,500 military and civilian personnel with an estimated economic impact of more than $1.5 billion. At Fort Rucker in southeast Alabama between Ozark and Daleville, the worlds largest helicopter training installation can be found.

Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile has developed into an aerospace cluster including ST Aerospace, Airbus Engineering Center and AVIC International (formerly Continental Motors).

On June 2, 2012, the statewide aerospace industry was solidified when Airbus chose Brookley as the site to build its first aircraft assembly plant in the United States, which has firmly put Alabama on the international map for aerospace and aviation.

Airbus

A ceremony in April 2013 marked the beginning of construction for the $600 million Airbus facility in Mobile, with aircraft assembly scheduled to begin in 2015 and the first delivery targeted for 2016. The European plane manufacturer, a unit of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), will build the popular A320 single-aisle, twin-engine family of aircraft. Airbus had booked nearly 2,700 orders for new engine option aircraft as of July 2014, comprising an important percentage of the more than 10,300 overall orders logged by Airbus for the entire A320 family. The plant is expected to create up to 1,000 permanent jobs and nearly 3,200 construction jobs.

ST Aerospace

Brookley also houses ST Aerospace, which is able to accommodate nine wide-body and 10 narrow-body airliners at the same time beneath 600,000 square feet of hangar space.

ST Aerospace modifies, refurbishes and repairs an array of planes, from the old-but-reliable workhorse DC-9 to the Airbus family of airliners A310, A320; A330 to the wide-bodied A340, Boeings 747, 767, 777 and the DC10, MD10 and MD11.

Lockheed Martin

In the southeast Alabama town of Troy, Lockheed Martin manufactures, assembles and tests many of its missile programs on a 3,800-acre facility. The plant has 340,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 315 employees supporting multiple production and engineering development for the Javelin; Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM); and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor missile. The facility previously assembled the Longbow, PAC-2, AGM-142, Predator and Short Range Assault Weapon (SRAW) missiles.

United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Located in Decatur, near Huntsville, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and the Boeing Company that builds the Atlas and Delta rocket launch vehicles. ULA brings together two of the launch industrys most experienced and successful teams to provide reliable, cost-efficient space launch services for the Department of Defense, NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and commercial customers. In addition, ULA continues to work with NASA to prepare the Atlas V vehicle for future human spaceflight.

Fort Rucker

The worlds largest helicopter training installation is in southeast Alabama between Ozark and Daleville at Fort Rucker, employing over 8,000 military and civilian personnel. The United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence is a 63,000-acre facility that has trained military, civilian and international personnel in aviation-related and leadership skills since 1955.

Fort Rucker is comprised of the Garrison Command and the following U.S. Army functions: Aviation Center and School, Safety Center, Warrant Officer Career College, Aviation Technical Test Center, Air Traffic Services Command, Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Aeromedical Center and other resident organizations focused on Army Aviation.

A unique partnership between Fort Rucker and Computer Sciences Corporation is the Flight School XXI program featuring 48 flight simulators depicting battlefield and go to war conditions for helicopter flight training.

Redstone Aresenal

Redstone traces its beginnings as a chemical ammunition production facility during World War II and has since been the focal point of the Army's rocket and missile programs. Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team of German rocket experts developed the Redstone Rocket, the first U.S. operational ballistic missile, at Redstone Arsenal, setting the stage for creation of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Saturn V engines were also built there and tested for the Apollo moon landing program.

Redstone's 38,000 acres adjacent to Huntsville are home to over 35,000 employees working for 60 federal organizations and contractor operations, including: U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC), U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), Marshall Space Flight Center (MSCF), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), two Program Executive Offices (PEOs), and Defense Intelligence Agency.

Marshall Space Flight Center

Headquartered on 1,800 acres at Redstone Arsenal, Marshall employs over 6,000 civil service and contract workers with an annual budget of $2.2 billion engaged in the following: Payload Operations Center for the International Space Station, Propulsion Research Laboratory, Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center, Chandra X-ray Observatory and Engineering Directorate (research and development for all Marshall engineering functions). Marshall Space Flight Center generated a statewide economic impact of $2.8 billion in 2010. Defense Department contracts the same year topped the $8 billion mark across the state.

Marshalls focus is on: propulsion/transportation systems; research and development of new propulsion technologies; living/working in space (International Space Station systems for air and water and around-the-clock ISS science command post from Marshall's Payload Operations Center); understanding the world and beyond (large space telescopes, weather observations and forecasting).

Maxwell Air Force Base

Site of the nations first civilian flying school founded by Orville and Wilbur Wright, Maxwell Air Force Base and its Gunter Annex employ more than 12,500 military and civilian personnel on more than 4,150 acres with an estimated annual economic impact of more than $2.6 billion. Maxwell is home to Air University, the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force, and the Air Force Reserve Commands 908th Airlift Wing featuring the C-130. Gunter houses enlisted noncommissioned officer academies, the Air Force Program Executive Office for Business and Enterprise Systems and provides support for Air Force computer systems.

Alabamas major universities offer numerous engineering degrees including: aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical/space, mechanical, and materials. In 2011, 1,081 students graduated in aerospace, materials, mechanical, industrial, and electrical engineering at Alabamas four-year institutions.

Institutions with aerospace cirriculums include:

Alabama Aviation Training Center

The Alabama Aviation Center (AAC), a unit of Enterprise State Community College, is Alabamas only comprehensive aviation maintenance training program for airframe and power plant (A&P) and avionics. Programs include Airframe Technology, Powerplant Technology, and General Aviation.

The main campus is near Ft. Rucker in Ozark, with satellite campuses at Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Albertville, Andalusia, and Decatur.

Updated: July 28, 2014