Hush Aerospace to have skilled workers from Lee County CTE Center

The unmanned vehicle manufacturer is building a plant next to the CTE Center at The Hive

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – An aerospace company that makes unmanned aircraft is expected to not only have a big economic boost on the region but also to have a pool of skilled future employees.

Noah Bass is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Instructor at the Lee County Career Technical Education Center. He is using some of the summer break to prep for the new school year and some of the software used in his class is made by Virginia-based Hush Aerospace. The company announced earlier this week they plan to build a plant, next to the CTEC at The Hive Industrial Park.

“This company builds, eight-foot wingspan drones that are what we call, electric vertical takeoff and landing, takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane,” Bass said.

The state-of-the-art facility will represent a nearly $14 million investment and will create 80 jobs. Hush Aerospace drones are used by NASA and the military, along with commercial work including package delivery, agriculture, photography, and other businesses.

The partnership with the school district will also create many opportunities for students.

“We will have a pipeline of students that are going to leave my class and go right over and start to work with Hush,” Bass said.

It takes a lot of work and partnerships over time to attract a business or industry like Hush Aerospace. But having the CTEC onsite at The Hive, was a strong selling point.

“It is not by chance this is all coming together. Hush Aerospace had an opportunity to look at several different sites across the U.S. and here, but we were able to capture this industry because of the investments made, by the economic development team, taxpayers and educators, and the interest of students to participate in this new and emerging technology,” said State Sen. Chad McMahan.

The Mississippi Development Authority, Accelerate MS, along with Tupelo, Lee County, The Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Appalachian Regional Commission are supporting the project.

No start date has been given for construction. Hush Aerospace also has an international location in the United Kingdom.

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