BRISTOW, Okla. — Bristow could be the next hub for the state's aerospace industry, if you ask its city and business leaders.
If that's the case, it's gonna start with Kratos Defense & Security's expansion of its manufacturing facility.
"This is gonna jumpstart the economy," Bristow vice mayor Judd Johns said.
WATCH: Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Osage and Pawnee County in OK until 11:30pm.
The cause of the jumpstart is the doubling in size of the former consolidated turbine specialists facility, run since 2019 by the military contractor corporation.
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The announcement was unveiled at the Paris Air Show with state leaders that its 50,000 square-foot manufacturing center will expand to 100,000 square feet by 2027, with jobs added in phases.
"They're talking the first phase is going to be 45-60 new jobs, and upwards of 100 jobs planned," Bristow Area Chamber of Commerce vice president Joey Varner said. "It's just an amazing opportunity for the Bristow area."
The company will build "GE Aerospace-Kratos" turbofan engines for military drones, and will include three small engine test cells, according to a release.
"This is what I've been waiting for, for two years," Mayor Kris Wyatt told 2 News.
Mayor Wyatt and Vice Mayor Johns said the expansion will also balloon the area's business development and real estate sectors for years to come.
"Just by positioning here, we have captured the attention," Wyatt said. "And other contracts will come our way. So we're now we're looking at, you know, 100 jobs perhaps early on. I would love to see that expand to hundreds more."
"You got houses coming in. We got some developments going on," Johns said. "So I just think it's a good deal for the whole city, and the county, and Oklahoma in general."
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