The Italian aerospace company Leonardo says preparations for a manufacturing operation in Tuskegee, Alabama, are on track to provide the T-100 next-generation jet trainer for the US Air Force.

Guido Sibona, head of industrial engineering at the Leonardo Aircraft Division, has outlined a series of project milestones leading up to initial production in Tuskegee in 2022 — if the USAF selects the T-100 to replace its fleet of ageing T-38 trainers (the decision is expected in March).

According to this time-line, construction at the Moton Field site would begin in July 2018, with final completion of the ‘production campus’ in 2021.

Hiring for the Alabama manufacturing facility would commence near the start of 2020, with low-rate production of T-100 aircraft beginning there two years later. Full-scale production would be expected to begin in 2023.

Leonardo’s 300,000m² manufacturing complex in Venegono Superiore, Italy, specialises in the production of military training aircraft, including the M-346, which will serve as the basis for the T-100.