Glasgow Prestwick airport has been confirmed as the planned UK final assembly location for Aeralis’s jet trainer, with a “strategic agreement now being discussed between the two parties”.

“We are tremendously excited about this agreement with Aeralis and the opportunity it brings to generate jobs, apprenticeships, investment and innovation in the Prestwick area,” says Prestwick airport chief executive Ian Forgie. “We look forward to working with Aeralis to make this happen,” he adds of the 4 July announcement.

“Prestwick represents an ideal site for our UK final assembly line,” says Aeralis chief executive Tristan Crawford. “The airport has a strong aviation legacy particularly in whole aircraft manufacture, as well as excellent local aerospace manufacturing and MRO resources, and an operating model well suited to supporting new aerospace programmes.”

Crawford says the Prestwick site will “provide Aeralis with tremendous operating capability for building, testing and industrialising the new aircraft”.

“Aeralis will now work with the airport and local stakeholders to refine the details for the site, as well as establish the critical relationships with local technology, infrastructure and supply chain partners to deliver a sustainable and scalable enterprise,” the company says.

Alan Gemmell, MP for Central Ayrshire, says the decision by Aeralis “to commit to assembly and servicing here is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring jet manufacturing back to Prestwick”.

Speaking to FlightGlobal in late April, Crawford said Prestwick had emerged as a leading candidate due to factors including an “installed aerospace skills base”, 24/7 runway access and the location’s ability to support a “government agenda to promote growth in the regions”.

The company is seeking a launch commitment from prospective customers, with the aim of delivering an operational advanced jet trainer from early next decade.

Its production system for the aircraft would also involve manufacturing of its core common fuselage (CCF) by Hamble Aerostructures in Southampton, Hampshire, and initial assembly and internal systems installation at StandardAero’s nearby Gosport site.

Aeralis plans to produce a family of modular aircraft around the standardised CCF structure, with other versions to potentially include a single-engined basic trainer, and an armed light-attack model.

The start-up company has identified France, Qatar and the UK as among its key sales targets.