If Leonardo DRS wins the T-X competition with its T-100 trainer, the company will manufacture the aircraft in Alabama, it announced Thursday. The Italian firm plans to build an assembly center at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, if awarded the T-X contract. Upward of $200 million will be spent on construction including buildings, infrastructure and equipment, according to an news release from the Alabama governor's office.

The announcement was a blow to Meridian, Mississippi, where Leonardo had planned to assemble the T-100 when it had been partnered with its former prime contractor, Raytheon.