Lockheed Martin is looking to spend £50million to set up a base for its space business in the North East.
The US company, the world’s biggest defence group, is in talks in Newcastle about a project which could create up to 2,300 jobs.
It could build a factory as well as a research centre. It already has 2,000 staff in the UK and invests £1.8billion in Britain a year.
Lift off: Executives from the US company are holding talks in Newcastle about the potential project, which could create up to 2,300 jobs
Lockheed is a major space contractor that has been involved in all 22 Nasa missions to Mars.
More than 45,000 people work in the UK’s space industry.
Nik Smith, of Lockheed Martin UK and Europe, said: ‘We are committed to make the UK one of the most prosperous and capable space sectors in the world.’
‘With its strong manufacturing heritage, highly skilled workforce and reputation for quality, we’ve identified North East England as a strong contender for our future operations, potentially creating new high-technology engineering and manufacturing jobs for the region.’