Tuskegee mayor: T-100 manufacturing facility will lift region
Sitting in the back seat of an F-16 jet on a flight over Tuskegee, Mayor Tony Haygood looked down at Moton Field and envisioned the historic airfield’s future as the production site of the U.S. Air Force’s next jet training aircraft. “From that height, it is amazing how you can see the whole layout of things at Moton Field and where the runway expansion would be,” Haygood said. “There’s plenty of space for it, and we’ll be doing some other improvements.” Earlier this year, global aerospace company Leonardo selected Moton Field as the manufacturing site for its T-100 advanced trainer jet if the Air Force chooses the aircraft as its next-generation trainer. The project would bring 750 jobs to the airfield where the pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen received their training. Haygood, who is traveling to Italy with an Alabama delegation to tour a Leonardo aircraft factory this week, said an in-depth look at the company’s manufacturing operation will assist Macon County’s preparations for the Tuskegee facility. “This is like advance preparation that gives us an opportunity to see, hear and understand how we need to get ready,” he said. Made In Alabama caught up with Haygood in Tuskegee before the Alabama team departed so he could share his insights on the Leonardo T-100 jet trainer project planned for Moton Field. Here’s what he said. Q: What would the Leonardo T-100 manufacturing facility mean for Tuskegee and the region? A: It would be a tremendous boost to this community. For Tuskegee, it would be the largest project we’ve had in our history. It would be a big boost for the entire economy of south central Alabama and would impact the entire state as well. For us, it would mean high-quality jobs, and it would trigger a revitalization of our entire economy. Q: How have Tuskegee and Macon County been preparing for a project of this magnitude? A: We have been working within the region, with Auburn, Montgomery and other cities, to position ourselves as a viable site for economic development. Having the runway at Moton Field, and the space around it, allows us to pursue this project. We’re capable of expanding the runway to 8,000 feet. We have water service at the site. We have a major interstate – I-85 — right there and CSX railway there. So we have the basic ingredients in terms of transportation and location. Q: Can the area provide the workforce for the Leonardo T-100 facility? A: We can provide a quality workforce, and we will have assistance from the state. Go back to the Tuskegee Airmen. People didn’t think they could fly advanced aircraft, but given the opportunity and the training, they not only flew, they excelled. It’s really the same story today. Give people the opportunity, give them the support, and we can develop the workforce and the expertise that is needed. Click here to read more. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Leonardo plans to produce advanced Air Force trainer in Tuskegee
Gov. Robert Bentley announced today that Leonardo, a global aerospace and defense firm, will create 750 jobs at an advanced assembly center at Tuskegee’s Moton Field if the company’s T-100 jet trainer wins a U.S. Air Force competition for a next-generation training aircraft. Bentley, Tuskegee University officials, Tuskegee Mayor Tony Haygood and community leaders joined executives of Leonardo at a ceremony at the airfield to announce plans for the Alabama manufacturing center. Moton Field, off Interstate 85 Exit 38, is home to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. This rendering shows Leonardo’s planned T-100 production center at Moton Field in Tuskegee. (Leonardo) The Leonardo project in Tuskegee calls for the creation of 750 high-wage, full-time jobs over a 10-year ramp-up period, beginning in 2019. Total investment in the T-100 project’s buildings, infrastructure and equipment would exceed $200 million to $250 million. “Leonardo’s project will have a massive economic impact in Macon County and across the region through the creation of high-paying jobs,” Bentley said. “Moreover, these T-100 training aircraft — built at the site where the legendary Tuskegee Airmen trained during World War II — will prepare a new generation of fighter pilots whose mission is to keep our country safe.” ‘World’s best trainer’ To establish its operation, Leonardo will lease a facility to be built at Moton Field by a public-private partnership formed in Macon County. The Alabama workforce will perform structural sub-assembly, integration and final assembly, and conduct research and testing at the site. Aircraft deliveries will also take place there. “Building the T-100 aircraft in Alabama will create American jobs while providing the Air Force with the world’s best trainer,” said Leonardo DRS CEO William J. Lynn, prime contractor for the T-100 team. “Future American military pilots can learn on the world’s most operationally proven, low-cost, low-risk integrated training system developed by a skilled U.S. workforce.” Leonardo’s twin-engine T-100 is being used to train pilots around the world to fly next-generation fighter aircraft. The trainer, based on the company’s proven M-346 aircraft, has been selected for this role by Italy, Israel, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Poland. T-100 partners Leonardo will be supported by Tampa, Florida-based CAE USA in the design and development of a comprehensive T-100 ground-based training system as part of the program. CAE has developed some of the most sophisticated simulation-based training systems in the world for fighter trainer aircraft, and it has been Leonardo’s partner on ground-based training systems for the M-346. The famed Tuskegee Airmen trained at Moton Field. (Contributed) CAE already provides a comprehensive training program to U.S. Army fixed-wing pilots at a high-tech $70 million center that opened recently at the Dothan Regional Airport. Honeywell Aerospace will provide the jet engines for the T-100 from its Arizona assembly plant. If Leonardo prevails in the Air Force competition, the company will join a robust and expanding aerospace industry in Alabama. The state is home to more than 300 companies and organizations involved in a full range of activities including aircraft and component assembly, raw materials production, engineering, maintenance and repair, and flight training. “Alabama has a long history of providing critical flight training for military aviators, and historic Moton Field is a perfect home for a facility where world-class training aircraft for U.S. fighter pilots are assembled,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “This is an ideal way to build on the important legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.” ‘Generational game-changer’ Tuskegee and Macon County officials said the project could act as a powerful catalyst for growth. The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. (Erin Harney/Alabama NewsCenter) “Tuskegee Institute was one of the very few American institutions to own, develop and control facilities for military flight instruction. Moton Field, named after Tuskegee University’s second president, was the Army Air Corps’ only primary flight training facility for African-American pilot cadets during World War II,” said school President Brian Johnson. The combat successes of these pilots, known as the “Red Tails,” led the way to the desegregation of the U.S. military in the late 1940s and provided a major spark for the Civil Rights Movement. “We look forward to supporting this effort that can lead to renewed vitality of Macon County and the city of Tuskegee,” Haygood said. “The collective efforts of our community to commit to world-class economic development through the MCEDA has shown what we can do together,” said Mark Ennis, chairman of the Macon County Economic Development Authority. “Leonardo and the T-100 project have been in the making for over two years. We stand side by side with them, ready to help them win and then build aircraft here in Macon County,” Ennis added. “This would be a generational game-changer for the future of our citizens.” This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website. Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
