It’s a sleek looking fighter jet, designed to be the U.S. military workhorse for the 21st century. Called the Joint Strike Fighter, it has the latest stealth technology, with both air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and a 27-millimeter cannon. One model is expected to be able to land on aircraft carriers while another model can take off vertically, & #225; la the famous Harrier jet.
And by the way, it’s expected to cost $750 billion over the next 30 years. It would be the largest defense contract ever, with 3,000 planes expected to be built.
That’s why California’s legislators are jumping through hoops to try to convince defense contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build the jet in Palmdale. The city of Palmdale and the state of California commissioned a study showing that an estimated $525 billion will go to suppliers, which the proponents said would help revitalize Southern California’s aerospace industry.
To bring home the point that all politics is local, that study broke down the number of aerospace suppliers in each California representative’s district. The study said OC’s six congressional representatives have 6,600 aerospace suppliers in their districts.
However, to date, the project hasn’t appeared on the screens of many aerospace companies in Orange County. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Antelope Valley), considered the point man for California’s effort to land the fighter, said OC companies have not contacted him about the project.
“A lot are sub-contractors that have five to 10 employees and are involved in day-to-day operations,” said McKeon. “They’re not investing in something several years out. This is a job they won’t receive any money on for a few years.”
It’s an uphill battle for the Palmdale site. Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the only two competitors for the bid, already have announced that if they win the contract, they plan to build the planes at their established facilities, which are in St. Louis and Fort Worth, respectively.
McKeon acknowledged that it’s unlikely that Boeing or Lockheed will shut down existing lines to transfer the plane production to Palmdale.
“We’re not going to have the government tell the companies, ‘This is where you will build the plane.’ We’re hoping Lockheed and Boeing will be so competitive,that the bidding is so tight,that one might say, ‘We can save $2 billion by building in California.’ That saves taxpayers $2 billion and everyone comes out a winner, except in Missouri or Texas.”
To reach this $2 billion in savings, California is promising incentives such as a $1,000 credit for each new employee hired by small and start-up firms that work in aerospace, enterprise zones with tax breaks, and research and development tax credits.
Political Allies
But both St. Louis and Fort Worth have formidable political allies. St. Louis’s district is represented by Rep. Richard Gephardt, the top-ranking Democratic leader in the House. Another powerful Missouri Democrat is Rep. Ike Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Fighting for Texas are House majority leader Rep. Dick Armey, majority whip Rep. Tom DeLay and Rep. Martin Frost, chairman of the Democratic caucus. And then there’s the presidential front-runner, Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
But California’s delegation is trying to exert its own weight. Its 52 congressional representatives and two senators have signed letters urging the Pentagon and the two companies to consider Palmdale. Rep. Jerry Lewis, a Republican from San Bernardino County, is chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the panel that oversees the entire Pentagon budget. Lewis calls himself a forceful advocate of aerospace jobs in California.
For the Democrats, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove repeatedly has argued in recent speeches that the Palmdale site could mean thousands of jobs in Garden Grove and Anaheim.
Uncertain Effect on OC
Nonetheless, it’s still not certain how much effect Palmdale production would have on Orange County.
The Orange County aerospace industry was hit hard in the downsizing of military spending in the 1990s. The Employment Development Department reported that the aircraft and parts industry employed 8,600 in 1991, but that fell by a third to 5,600 in 1994. As of 1998, it had rebounded to 8,700 jobs.
Frank Souza, president of the UAW Local 887, which includes aerospace workers at Boeing facilities in Southern California, said his union’s membership has declined from 30,000 in the mid-1980s to its current 2,400.
Souza couldn’t say whether the Palmdale project would create jobs for Boeing’s facilities in Orange County, since these facilities concentrate on Minuteman missiles, Delta rockets, satellites, communications and other electronics. However, Souza said previous projects at Palmdale have provided benefits to Orange County.
“When the B-1 bomber was built (in Palmdale), a lot of contract suppliers came out of Orange County,” he said.
Mike Mathews, a communications manager for Boeing in Long Beach, said Boeing is committed to St. Louis. He said a list of suppliers has not yet been finalized, but geography isn’t as important nowadays.
“The ways companies choose major subcontractors doesn’t have to do much with geography. There are a lot of other factors,” said Mathews.
And at least one Orange County company following the issue said it makes no difference where the plane is built. Parker Aerospace, which employs 1,800 at three facilities in Irvine, is a supplier of hydraulics, flight controls and fuel components to both Boeing and Lockheed.
“We’ve been selected to provide products for both competing versions of the aircraft. Either way, we’re poised to participate in the program,” said Cheryl Flohr, spokeswoman for Parker Aerospace.
Both Lockheed and Boeing are building their prototypes at Palmdale. A “flyoff” between the two models is expected next year. The two companies will submit their bids next year and a decision by the Pentagon is expected shortly thereafter. The planes are expected to begin rolling off the line in 2007.
The contractors themselves are lining up political support for their bids.
“Lockheed has assured me even if construction is done in Texas, they will build the leading edges of the wings in Palmdale,” said McKeon. “That’s a big contract in and of itself. But we’re going to keep fighting for the whole thing.” n
