Stennis International Airport and Airpark

January 1, 2015

Hancock County is a growing county, with a growing demand for new jobs. Much of the new job growth is occurring in the aerospace sector, given the county's two large aerospace assets, Stennis Space Center and Stennis International Airport. Centrally located in Hancock County north of Interstate 10, Hancock County's Stennis International Airport and Airpark features more than 1,800 acres of industrial park space and is home to a growing cluster of defense and commercial-sector aerospace technology firms, such as Selex Galileo, Inc. and Optech. The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission (HCPHC) owns and operates Stennis International Airport. "Stennis International Airport is unique in its optimization for industrial aerospace operations," said Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission Executive Director Ashley Edwards. "The combination of Stennis International Airport and Stennis Space Center makes Hancock County the state's leader for aerospace sector development and growth." Tenant firms have primarily located at the airport to gain proximity to the airport's 8,500- foot runway, one of the longest runways in the State of Mississippi. Many of the firms are directly involved in maintenance, repair and overhaul operations (MRO) for large commercial and military aircraft, which require a longer runway for flight operations. Selex Galileo, Inc., for example, maintains, repairs and overhauls an array of military aircraft, installing a range of proprietary technologies, including radar systems, proximity alert systems, guidance systems and various other censor arrays. As Department of Defense contractors, the firms require enhanced security and common support services, which provides a clustering benefit given the co-location of similar firms and a growing, trained workforce. Selex Galileo, Inc.'s workload continues to grow at Stennis International Airport. The company recently won a new contract, requiring Selex to move their smaller airframe customer aircraft into the airport's newly constructed hangar. The 22,000-square-foot hangar meets the Department of Defense requirements to house and work on government aircraft. With foam fire suppression, security access control system, and commercial air for pneumatic tooling, the hangar's fresh painted floors and bright lights make for productive work space for aircraft upgrades. "We are hopeful this backlog of work for airport tenants like Selex becomes the norm," said Stennis International Airport Director Bill Cotter. "Our tenants are experiencing tremendous growth." Stennis International Airport consistently supports heavy lift military transports and commercial cargo aircraft, including the AN-124 and B-747. At 23 feet above sea level, the 8,500 feet of runway gives exceptional stage lengths even at heavy weights, making it ideal for servicing large military and commercial aircraft. Stennis International Airport has become an aerospace hub with national and international significance with industrial and commercial facilities, military training assets, an internationally-known fixed based operator in Million Air and corporate/private hangar facilities supported by an FAA contract Air Traffic Control Tower, Instrument Landing System (ILS with MALS-R), and full-time Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters. Stennis International Airport also features a 1,100-acre greenfield site immediately adjacent to and west of the existing Stennis International Airport runway, which is primed for aerospace industrial development. Moreover, given the growth of the aerospace industry nationally and regionally, continued investment in aerospace assets and the availability of qualified local labor, sufficient market demand exists to support continued development of the site. Stennis International Airport was named in honor of longtime Mississippi Senator John Cornelius Stennis, and the airport has become an integral part of the U.S. national air transportation system, serving as a HUB for military flights and training missions. Stennis International Airport is currently part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) and as such is eligible to receive federal funds for airport improvements. The NPIAS comprises approximately 3,300 airports in the United States that are considered significant to the capacity of the national airspace system. NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center sits in close proximity to Stennis International Airport, employs more than 5,000 people and is home to a large community of researchers, scientists and engineers, contributing to Hancock County's primary aerospace cluster.