Yesterday, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour joined fellow Republicans Gov. Bob Riley from Alabama and Gov. Bobby Jindal from Louisiana, in forming the Aerospace Alliance. Executives from two defense contractors, Northrop Gruman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) joined the governors hoping to create a new multi-state aerospace corridor and secure a bid to build the $35 million KC-45 aerial tanker.

If the alliance wins a competitive bid for the tanker, it would be assembled in Mobile, Ala., bringing 48,000 direct and indirect jobs to the country, and thousands of jobs to the region, reports Reuters. EADS, which builds the Airbus, won the bid to build the KC-45 last year, however, the Congressional Budget Office overturned the Air Force decision after Boeing protested the award. A new competition began last month.