There was no hiding the unabashed excitement of city and county officials after Raytheon Company announced Monday it plans to build the T-100 Integrated Air Training System, a proposed jet fighter for the Air Force, in Meridian.

If the company’s proposal for the program is approved by the U.S. Air Force, Raytheon would establish a final assembly and check-out facility at a site in Meridian near the airport, the company announced Monday.

“This is a fantastic opportunity, a fantastic company, a fantastic project,” East Mississippi Business Development Council President and CEO William T. “Bill” Hannah said. “A lot of people were involved with this project. The Board of Supervisors, the City Council, the Riley and Hardin foundations, Mississippi State and community colleges and private folks.”

The deal, if approved, would be good news for the economy of Meridian and Lauderdale County. 

“I think it’s a game-changer,” Hannah said. “It’s a significant company and growing. It has lots of good-paying jobs. It’s big for Meridian and all the region.”

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland said the possible designation puts Meridian on the map as far as business is concerned.

“It means we have an overall business culture in this city and that everyone is pulling together to strengthen this city,” Bland said. “The people in D.C. played a major part in this. To be in the last three cities is a great day for Meridian. This demonstrates and shows we do have the workforce and people with the skills for them to choose our city. We do have the workforce to attract big-time industries to our city. This myth that we don’t have a quality workforce is nothing but a myth.”

Bland said Raytheon did its due diligence.

“Industries do their homework before they choose a site,” Bland said. “This shows our overall business atmosphere and climate for this city has changed and its a new day for Meridian because we are all pulling together to make things happen.” 

Bland declined to discuss the incentive package to attract Raytheon, but said it was an attractive package.

“There were a lot of incentives put on the table. I’ll let the Mississippi Development Authority, the state and Governor’s Office take the lead on that,” Bland said.

Bland said 450 jobs are at stake. He said the average pay per job is approximately $80,000.

“We need to keep pulling together as a city to ensure Raytheon gets the contract. We don’t win unless Raytheon wins,” Bland said. 

Meridian Airport Authority Executive Director Tom Williams echoed Bland’s sentiments.

“It’s a good day in East Mississippi,” Williams said. “They could have build this trainer anywhere in the United States, and they have chosen Meridian. We are just ecstatic. This shows that east Mississippi has the workforce, sites and infrastructure to compete globally.”

Officials have said the process has been eight months in the making. Williams said it is longer than that.

“It’s really a 15-year process because the Meridian Airport Authority has been preparing for this individual site for 15 years,” Williams said. We had the vision a long time ago that we needed more industrial property on this airport.

Williams said Engineering Plus owner Terrell Temple worked with the airport to help ensure large projects could be available.

“Terrell Temple helped show us that if we relocated a main taxiway that we would triple our space or space we had to develop,” Williams said. “We began putting a lot of resources into that taxiway relocation, which resulted in an 130 acre site. Mississippi Power then certified the site.”

Williams said the training facility is directly across from the south industrial park. He estimated the Air Force trainer project will need approximately 30 of the 130 acres. He said it will be a facility of approximately 200,000 square feet.

Williams said the Airport Authority and EMBDC worked closely on the project for months.

The Airport Authority and EMBDC went into this project with two goals. We wanted to show the Mississippi Development Authority that it’s a new day in Mississippi,” Williams said. We are ready to compete aggressively for industrial projects. And we wanted to show Raytheon that East Mississippi is right for them. We have convinced Raytheon and I think we have convinced MDA.”

Raytheon cited several reasons for choosing Meridian. The aircraft will be assembled, tested and delivered in Meridian. according to Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Senior Manager for Communications and Public Affairs B.J. Boling said Monday.  

“Our process determined that the best location for building the T-100 is Meridian,” Rick Yuse, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, said in a statement. “It provides the right blend of infrastructure, proximity to our customers, government support and a talent base that’s ready for the high tech jobs critical to our success.”

The approval of the project and the plan for Meridian could take 8-10 months, Hannah said.

“This is a two-step process for us,” Hannah said. “We had to be selected by Raytheon. Raytheon is competing for a multi-billion dollar project with the Department of Defense against three other companies. We’re going to help them secure their contract.”

Raytheon has manufactured products in Mississippi for more than three decades, the company said. The company builds active electronically scanned array radars at its facility in the city of Forest, according to the news release.

“Mississippi’s existing partnership with Raytheon is one reason we are a global leader in advanced manufacturing for the defense industry,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “With a firm understanding of the significance of the advanced pilot training mission, we are excited about the possibility of expanding that partnership and creating hundreds of new, high-paying jobs supporting our brave men and women who serve this country.”

The T-100 Integrated Air Training System is a next-generation training solution customized to meet and exceed the U.S. Air Force’s mission requirements, according to the news release. Based on the Aermacchi M-346, it combines cutting–edge, ground-based simulators with computerized classroom training to prepare the next generation of pilots, according to the news release.

Raytheon said it had partnered with Leonardo-Finmeccanica, CAE USA and Honeywell Aerospace to offer the T-100 to the Air Force.

This document does not contain technology or Technical Data controlled under either the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, according to the news release.

Raytheon Company, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., specializes in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions, according to its website.

Founded in 1922, the company provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, capabilities in C5I (command, control, communications, computing, cyber and intelligence), sensing, effects and mission support services, according to its website.