INDUSTRY
Aerospace
Powering Alabama’s economy for over a century.
The Future is in Flight
The Wright brothers set up the nation’s first civilian flight school in Montgomery in 1910, and Alabamians have been reinventing the aerospace industry ever since. Rocket scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center put man on the moon with the Saturn V during the 1960s. But the future of Alabama’s aerospace sector looks just as bright today, with all the major industry players, from Airbus to Boeing, operating advanced manufacturing and research facilities in our state.
61,000+
Employed in Aerospace and Defense
30 Countries
Who Have Made a Home in Alabama
100+ Years
Aerospace and Aviation History
Top 5 in the US
Most Concentrated Aviation Industry with 4,660 Aerospace Engineers
With Airbus launching production of A320 Family passenger jets at a new $600 million manufacturing facility in Mobile, the capabilities of Alabama’s aerospace/aviation sector now span the industry spectrum. Activities including research and design, advanced materials production, rocket and missile assembly, flight training, and component manufacturing all take place in Alabama. In 2018, Alabama exported nearly $2.4 billion in aerospace equipment and parts. In 2019, the aerospace manufacturing sector alone employed 13,200.
