Overseas Trip Brings Hope For KC-45

Some encouraging news on jobs for the Mobile area.
County commissioners from Mobile and Pensacola arrived home Thursday afternoon from an overseas trip that could have a huge economic impact on our area.
They were talking tankers in London at an international air show.
When asked if he thought EADS, Airbus, and Northrop Grumman are just as solidly behind the KC-45 as ever before, Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine said, "Absolutely. There's no doubt that our resolve is strong."
Escambia County, Florida Commissioner Gene Valentino added, "If there was any possibility in EADS, Airbus, or Northrop Grumman being discouraged, I think it went away when they saw how pumped Commissioner Nodine and I were, along with a dozen contingents from this area."
But more important than local officials having confidence, how do potential suppliers from overseas feel?
Nodine said, "What we also see is a great deal of confidence in the suppliers that believe the KC-45 is indeed the tanker that the Air Force will ultimately choose. We probably had 50 to 60 companies that are very interested and are looking very hard at Mobile and the Gulf Coast Region."
Nodine also said he received encouraging news from Singapore Technologies, which is the parent company of Mobile Aerospace Engineering.
He said, "They (Singapore Technologies) are looking to expand, not just because of what's happening with the KC-45, but (because of) the existing aerospace industry that we have here already."
Singapore Technologies announced last year that it will convert 87 passenger planes to freight carriers, creating 200 new jobs.
The Pentagon is expected to decide toward the end of the year which company will build the Air Force's refueling tankers.