Mobile's Fortune Should Spill Over - Coast will benefit from tanker deal

Jackson County economic-development officials expect the county to reap benefits from the selection of Northrop Grumman and its European partner to produce military refueling tankers in nearby Mobile.

"We here in Jackson County are absolutely ecstatic with the Air Force's decision to select the KC-130 refueling tanker and to locate the manufacturing and assembly process at Brookley Field," said George Freeland, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation, after learning about the selection Friday.

Northrop Grumman and Paris-based European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. beat out Boeing Co. to build 179 refueling tankers in Mobile, creating an estimated 2,000 jobs. More >