Historical report, published from archived WKRG coverage.
In May 2008, Northrop Grumman and EADS were planning a June 28 groundbreaking at Mobile’s Brookley Field following their selection for the Air Force tanker project, according to an archived WKRG report.
WKRG reported that the two companies expected to assemble air-refueling aircraft at Brookley on nearly 200 acres. Boeing had formally protested the award, putting the project on hold while the Government Accountability Office reviewed the competition. The planned groundbreaking depended on the review’s expected June 19 opinion.
At the time, Northrop said its hangar could be completed in 18 months, while EADS expected its facility to be operating by summer 2010. This is a historical record of plans and timelines at the time, not the project’s later outcome.