Lowndes County is seeing the fruits of a recent missile contract between the U.S. Navy and Stark Aerospace, with the company announcing Monday an expansion with 96 new jobs.

The Lowndes County-based military aerospace firm Stark Aerospace announced in a press release that its contract with the Navy to manufacture missile canisters would also add a new building to its facility near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport.

The company landed a $61 million Navy contract in October to manufacture missile canisters for the U.S. Navy.

The contract included options that would bring the value of the company to at least $312 million.

Canisters store and protect missiles while they are in transit. They are then loaded into launchers, like the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System.

Mark 41 Vertical Launch Systems provide rapid-fire missile launch capabilities for U.S. Navy ships, like cruisers and destroyers. The systems can launch multiple standard missile variants, and can be used for anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, ballistic missile defense and more according to a fact file available on the U.S. Navy website.

According to the Stark Aerospace website, the company welds, inspects, sandblasts, coats, and paints missile canisters during its manufacturing process. It also integrates wire harnesses and electrical components into the canisters.

“We are honored and excited to have been selected for this important project,” said David Alabed, Stark Aerospace’s president and CEO, in the release. “This contract not only reflects our team’s hard work and dedication but also underscores our capability to deliver high-quality products that meet the rigorous standards of our U.S. military and the warfighters. We look forward to working closely with the U.S. Navy and contributing to the success of this vital initiative.”

Stark Aerospace was started in 2006 at Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Lab. It began operations at its Lowndes County facility in 2007.

Deborah Junkin, Stark Aerospace’s senior director of human resources, told The Dispatch Monday the new jobs would consist of engineers, quality engineers, safety engineers, facility or maintenance technicians, wiring technicians and a paint technician. She declined to say what the pay range would be, though she did say the company would work with East Mississippi Community College to scout candidates through their wiring harness and manufacturing classes.

She confirmed Stark Aerospace would construct one new building to house the expansion. The release stated construction on the expansion will be complete within a year and that Stark Aerospace would begin hiring immediately once it’s done.

This most recent expansion comes with the help of the Mississippi state government in the form of $2 million in infrastructure assistance from the Mississippi Development Authority and $3.11 million in tax rebates from the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive program.

“Stark Aerospace’s latest contract with the U.S. Navy is yet another major investment in our defense sector and another impressive economic development success for Lowndes County,” Gov. Tate Reeves said in the release. “The creation of 96 new jobs speaks volumes about the quality of the workforce found in Mississippi, which manufactures some of the most technologically sophisticated defense systems in the world. I congratulate the Stark Aerospace team on this remarkable win and look forward to the company’s ongoing success in Columbus.”

The company also got congratulations from the Golden Triangle Development LINK, a regional business association that helps coordinate industrial growth across the Golden Triangle.

“This contract is a huge win for Stark Aerospace and the Golden Triangle,” LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins. “It brings quality jobs, strengthens our economy and highlights the world-class manufacturing happening right here in Mississippi. We’re proud to support Stark as they contribute to our national defense and regional growth.”