Aerospace Industry Growing In Georgia.

Yesterday, I noticed that Governor Kemp tweeted an article titled “From eVTOLs to MRO: How Georgia is becoming a US East Coast aerospace hub.”

US states like Washington and California are widely recognized as aerospace powerhouses. Yet across the country on the East Coast, Georgia has quietly emerged as a formidable competitor, rapidly consolidating its position as one of the premier aerospace hubs in the United States. 

It’s hard to understate the importance of the aerospace industry, which contributes $57 billion and more than 200,000 jobs, to Georgia’s economy. 

When thinking about aviation in Georgia, a couple of well-known names inevitably come to mind, such as Delta Air Lines, by some measures one of the world’s three largest airlines, and Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport (ATL), the world’s busiest airport. 

But, when it comes to aerospace, Georgia is also home to a strong industrial base, including household names such as executive jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace and defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin, as well as another 800 companies. 

Perhaps even more interesting is that as well as these well-established giants, a number of young companies active in the new emerging segments of aerospace have also set up shop in the state. We are talking about companies like Archer, which has built its first mass industrial plant in Convington, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) producer LanzaJet, which has set up a 10-million-gallon-a-year plant in Soperton, and hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus, which is based in Atlanta.  

I posted about Archer Aviation before, and a bill that passed allowing for the creation of the vertiports necessary to facilitate airtaxi travel companies like Archer envision.

I’m glad to see Georgia working hard to remain at the forefront of this booming industry.