Huntsville Is A Magnet For Aviation Businesses

Rocket City­–otherwise known as Huntsville, Alabama–is rightly proud of its high profile in the U.S. space industry. But it has much wider ambitions in the aerospace sector and is well on the way to fulfilling them, according to city officials exhibiting here at the Farnborough International airshow.

For instance, the U.S. Army’s aviation and missile command located in Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal has proved to be a magnet for attracting companies specializing in activities such as rotorcraft support and refurbishment, including Westwind Technologies and SES. In the case of SES, it is putting new avionics into Russian Mi-17 helicopters and training pilots before sending them to Afghanistan for use by NATO partners. It is also retrofitting Bell Helicopters for the Iraqi military.