Boeing ramping up Alabama aerospace employment, investment
With a legacy in Alabama that spans more than half a century, Boeing Co. is looking toward the future with plans for new jobs, investment and breakthrough developments at its operations in the state. The aerospace manufacturer, which has about 2,700 Alabama employees, expects to add 400 more by 2020, along with an additional capital investment of $70 million. “As the leading aerospace manufacturer in Alabama, Boeing supports a diverse portfolio of programs from missile defense programs such as the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system – which recently successfully intercepted a mock Intercontinental ballistic missile during a test — to space exploration programs such as the Space Launch System family of rockets that will take us to Mars,” said Ken Tucker, director of State and Local Government Operations for Boeing in Alabama. “Boeing is investing in the future of Alabama as a center of innovation, continuing to bring highly skilled jobs and growth to the region.” The company is one of the key success stories touted by business recruiters as they seek to expand the state’s aviation and aerospace industry. Last week, the team was working at the Paris Air Show, where leaders of the world’s top aerospace firms convened. “Boeing’s continued growth in Alabama is a testament to the company’s strategic vision, as well as the skillful execution by its workforce in the state,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Boeing innovation in Alabama is key to our nation’s defense and space programs, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.” A major Boeing missile project in Alabama is the Ground-based Midcourse Defense initiative. (Missile Defense Agency) Alabama operations Boeing’s Alabama operations are centered at two main facilities in Huntsville, in the Jetplex Industrial Park and at Redstone Gateway. The company first established a presence in Huntsville in 1962 to support the new U.S. space programs, and today the local operations provide a wide variety of innovations and capabilities for both the commercial and defense sectors. In addition to the successful performance of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, which happened at the end of May, another recent development for Boeing in Alabama is the expansion of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Seeker facility in Huntsville. The 28,000-square-foot facility will include machinery and other capabilities to support the missile defense program for the U.S. Army. The expansion is progressing well and is on track to provide enhanced production capabilities by the end of the year, said Jennifer Wollman, a Boeing spokeswoman. Other Boeing operations in Alabama include the Huntsville Design Center, which supports 20 major programs such as the new 777X, 737 Max and 787, and Boeing Research & Technology, a research center that develops future aerospace solutions for defense and commercial businesses. Huntsville also is home to NASA’s Space Launch System program, where Boeing is responsible for the design, development, testing and manufacture of the core and upper stages, as well as the avionics for the nation’s next-generation rocket to transport people and cargo to deep space. Aerospace giant Boeing opened its Alabama Research & Technology Center in Huntsville in June 2015, building on its long-standing presence in the Rocket City. (Boeing) Moving forward A recent economic impact study showed the company contributes more than $2 billion annually to the state’s economy and sustains nearly 8,400 direct and indirect jobs. The study also showed that Boeing: Supported 8,393 direct and industry jobs in the state. Distributed an annual payroll of $264 million in Alabama. Spent an additional $749 million in the state, including $532 million to suppliers. Contributed nearly $1.7 million to nonprofit organizations. When the study was released, Boeing also announced an additional 400 jobs and $70 million in capital investment by 2020. “While our employment in the state currently remains steady with approximately 2,700 employees, we expect to see that increase in the coming years,” Wollman said. “We also continue moving forward with our capital investment plans and expect to have more to share on that later this year.” Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Donald Trump targets F-35, but aircraft means jobs in 45 states
President-elect Donald Trump is vowing to corral the “out of control” cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But congressional Republicans and Democrats, aware of the tens of thousands of jobs the aircraft generates in 45 states, will be wary of any plans by Trump to cut the program. A Monday morning tweet from Trump targeting the F-35 doesn’t explain exactly how he’ll save billions of dollars in military purchases while also honoring a campaign vow to rebuild the armed forces. Once Trump is in office, he can propose deep cuts to the F-35 or even elect to cancel the program altogether. But Congress, not the president, controls the government’s purse strings and makes the final decisions about the budget. Built by defense giant Lockheed Martin, the nearly $400 billion price tag for the F-35 makes the program the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons acquisition ever. Despite the huge cost, the program has strong bipartisan support in Congress, where lawmakers view the aircraft as essential to national security. After Trump’s tweet, Lockheed Martin’s shares tumbled, wiping out nearly $4 billion of the company’s market value. The F-35 program made up 20 percent of Lockheed’s total 2015 revenue of $46.1 billion. U.S. government orders made up 78 percent of its revenue last year. “Whoever has this airplane will have the most advanced air force in the world. That’s why we’re building the F35. That’s why it’s important to not only the U.S., our partners and our partners like the Israeli Air force to have this airplane,” said Jeff Babione, general manager of the F-35 program, at a base in Israel. Israel and several other U.S. allies are also buying the F-35, expanding the program’s international footprint. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited Israel on Monday as Tel Aviv received the first two next-generation F-35 fighter jets that will help preserve the country’s military edge in the volatile Mideast. The F-35, which uses stealth technology to avoid being detected by radar, is being built in different configurations to be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy’s version, for example, is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier. Current plans call for the United States to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s. Close to $13 billion will be needed annually between 2016 and 2038 to hit that procurement number, according to the Government Accountability Office. While the F-35 had massive budget overruns early on, the cost has stabilized and even dropped a bit following tough negotiations between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, according to Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Trump is unlikely to squeeze more blood out of this rock,” Harrison said. Lockheed said that it has worked to lower the price of the F-35 by 60 percent and expected the aircraft to cost $85 million each in 2019 and 2020. But the company’s estimate appears to omit the price of the engine and the cost of development. When those elements are added in, the cost per F-35 in current-year dollars is closer to $138 million, according to Harrison. Companies from 45 states are involved in the F-35’s production, with Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona and Florida playing the leading roles in testing and manufacturing the jet fighter. The company is teamed with more than 1,250 domestic suppliers to produce thousands of components ranging from highly sophisticated radar sensors to parts of the aircraft’s fuselage, according to Lockheed Martin. Overall, the F-35 program is responsible for more than 146,000 U.S. jobs, the company said. The Lockheed Martin plant where the F-35 is being built is located in Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger‘s district. She’s vice chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, represents the district next door to Granger’s. In a statement Monday, Granger hailed the F-35 delivery to Israel, calling the aircraft “what we need to keep our two countries safe in these dangerous times.” Thornberry’s committee has supported buying more F-35s than the Obama administration had asked for in its budget request. The F-35 will replace an aging inventory of U.S. aircraft that many lawmakers believe are becoming increasingly unsafe to fly. Claude Chafin, a committee spokesman, said Thornberry “shares the president-elect’s determination to have the Pentagon get weapons in the hands of our troops faster, while being better stewards of the taxpayer dollar.” The tweet on the F-35 marks the second time in a week Trump has blasted U.S. aircraft spending. Last week, he tweeted that costs to build new presidential planes by Boeing Corp. were “out of control” and ended the tweet with “Cancel order!” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
