It's official: Some 1,500 jobs are on the way to the Space Coast after Northrop Grumman won a big contract over two competitors to build long-range stealth bombers.
The company celebrated the award Monday at its Melbourne facility.
"Our strategy has been to build America's most innovative design center for manned military aircraft here in Melbourne, Florida," Tom Vice, president of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, told a crowd of employees Monday.
The decision in 2013 to build six national centers of excellence across the country, including in Melbourne, positioned Northrop Grumman to win the huge U.S. Air Force contract.
The company will design and build its classified bomber fleet, an $80 billion project to meet the needs of the military for the next five decades.
"All of the aircraft designs for all of Northrop Grumman are being done here," Florida Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday.
To do it, the company is adding onto its 2,600 current jobs in Brevard County, bringing in 1,500 more, with an average yearly wage of $100,000.
The expansion means an estimated $300 million impact to the Space Coast region.
Gov. Rick Scott also spoke at Monday's event, using the platform to launch his $1 billion Tax Cut Tour. The governor is asking for another $250 million in taxpayer money this year for Florida companies to move here and add jobs across the state.
"On top of that, a couple years ago, we eliminated the sales tax on machinery equipment, so companies like Northrop Grumman have the incentive to buy that equipment right here," Scott said.
But contract hopefuls Boeing and Lockheed Martin have teamed up to file a formal protest over the award going to Northrop Grumman. Nelson said a decision will be made within 100 days.
The first of the new bombers is expected off the assembly line in the next decade.