Prestwick Airport and AERALIS confirm that Prestwick is their chosen site for the Red Arrows replacement Jet
- Ayrshire Daily News
- Jul 4, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 5, 2025
Prestwick airport and AERALIS confirm the Ayrshire Daily News story that Prestwick is their chosen site for the Red Arrows replacement jet to be built.
Aviation Editor Doug Maclean
We broke the news on June 13th that our sources had told us that Prestwick had moved into 1st position to become the site where the AERALIS company plan to build their new fast jet training aircraft.
They are bidding to win the contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply a new generation of training aircraft for the RAF and Royal Navy. The first part of that contract will see a replacement for the Hawk T1 jet that the Red Arrows currently display across the world.
At a joint Press Conference today Prestwick Airport and AERALIS confirmed that they were now aligned in their support to win the bid with the MOD.
Multiple UK companies will be involved manufacturing various parts for the AERALIS jet. Just like in Airbus and Boeing production those parts are proposed to be brought together in a final assembly line. That line would be at Prestwick.
We were told today that if they get a commitment from the UK Government then a new building will be set up on the North apron of Prestwick Airport and that would be the home of a new assembly plant where the AERALIS jets would be assembled, flown and flight tested before delivery.
One of the innovative ideas of the AERALIS proposition is that the aircraft could be paid for by a 3rd party and heavy maintenance and upgrades would be done with aircraft returning to Prestwick for this work over many years.
The AERALIS jet is designed to have many different models for many different roles across the world. The company know there is a market for up to 6,000 jets in the category that their aircraft targets.
Even a relatively small percentage of that figure would bring an estimated 200 new jobs. As the aircraft models develop and long term maintenance becomes a factor then the jobs figure could rise to 400.
The lifetime of this project could be very significant for Prestwick. The AEARALIS jet could be a common sight in the Ayrshire skies for 40 years. As one of our team said today 40 years could take you from apprenticeship to retirement. This is the significance of today’s announcement.
Now is the time for all politicians, civic leaders and voters to get behind this project. Prestwick has proved its worth to world aviation for 80 years.
Now is the time for us to back Prestwick when they say they are READY to go ahead. Let’s persuade the UK Government to order the Red Arrows replacement and see it fly from Prestwick.
The message is clear. Prestwick is RED-Y
Many thanks to Interim Chair of Prestwick Airport Dr William Mackie, Dr Neil Basset Aeralis Chief Operating Officer and Alan Gemmell Central Ayrshire MP who all gave of their time generously today.
Our video interviews only captures a small amount of the details of today but this is a project that will run for years and Ayrshire Daily News will be there supporting the bid to bring more jobs and prosperity to Ayrshire and Scotland.
Our story for June 13th
