The Connecticut General Assembly has approved a $220 million incentive package to keep the factory of Lockheed Martin'™s Sikorsky subsidiary in the state and increase the helicopter business' workforce to more than 8,000 by 2032, Connecticut Post reported Wednesday.
Ken Dixon writes Sikorsky will build 200 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters at its Stratford, Connecticut-based manufacturing facility as part of the deal, which is included in the Connecticut Strategic Defense Investment Act.
Lockheed will receive up to $8.6 million in annual incentives over a 14-year period and $5.7 million in annual sales tax exemptions from the state government in exchange for job creation, in-state supplier assistance and other investments over the deal's 16-year term, Dixon reports.
The state legislature's approval comes a week after Lockheed and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the proposed incentive package.
Lockheed acquired Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp. for approximately $9 billion in November 2015.
CH-53K is a heavy-lift helicopter designed to provide maritime- and ground-based logistics support to the. U.S. Marine Corps and has fly-by-wire flight controls, aircraft survivability equipment and ballistic protection tools.