Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.), Gov. Bobby Jindal (R- La.), and Gov. Bob Riley (R-Ala.) on Monday announced the launch of The Aerospace Alliance, a private-public partnership of business leaders, economic development professionals, and government officials to establish the Gulf Coast and surrounding region as a world-class aerospace, space, and aviation corridor. They said in a joint release their first objective is to ensure that the Air Force’s new KC-X tanker is built in their region. If Northrop Grumman should prevail in the newly relaunched KC-X tanker contest against Boeing, it would assemble its aircraft in Mobile, Ala., a boon for that state and the region. In a separate release, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) and Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) announced that Northwest Florida was also a member of this new alliance. (See also Tuesday’s Alliance release.)
The Air Force wants to “own and run” more of its air bases, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said Nov. 6, in what could be a major potential revamp the military’s joint base program. Speaking at the Airlift/Tanker Association’s 2026 Symposium, Wilsbach said he and the…