An aviation company has selected the Prestwick airport as its favorite site for the assembly of its aircraft, which means that the next generation of red arrow airplanes could be built in Scotland.
Aeralis is discussing a strategic association with Ayrshire's central airport, which is owned by the Scottish government.
The company is the only one in the United Kingdom that is designing and building a tripled light jet plane that could equip the RAF exhibition equipment, or be sold in the international export market.
The red arrows currently fly Hawk T1 aircraft, which have several decades of seniority and must be removed in 2030.
Aeralis says that the components for replacement jets would be built around the United Kingdom before being assembled in Prestwick, where the plane would take its first flight.
The airport was bought by the government for £ 1 in 2013, although officials hope to sell it to the private sector.
Ian Forgie, Executive Director of the Prestwick airport, said: “We are tremendously excited about this agreement with Aeralis and the opportunity it provides to generate jobs, learning, investments and innovation in the Prestwick area.
“We hope to work with Aeralis for this to happen.”
Tristan Crawford, Executive Director of Aeralis, said: “Prestwick represents an ideal site for our final assembly of the United Kingdom.
“The airport has a strong aviation legacy, particularly in the manufacture of entire airplanes, as well as an excellent local aerospace manufacturing and MRO resources (maintenance, repair, review) and a very suitable operational model to support new aerospace programs.
“This will provide Aeralis with a tremendous operational capacity to build, test and industrialize the new plane, which means that Prestwick is the perfect option for Aeralis.”
The company said that “expects the commitment of the United Kingdom government with the aircraft to advance with these plans that will clearly return Scotland to their deserved place as a nation of first level aviation.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “As a home of the largest aerospace group in Scotland, Prestwick is an ideal place to locate new advanced manufacturing facilities for the aviation sector.
“The news of this potential investment and the ongoing discussions between Aeralis and the Glasgow Prestwick airport are welcome to end an agreement for the production of training airplanes.”
