Jane Edwards
Lockheed Martin and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy have signed a deal to keep the headquarters of Lockheed’s Sikorsky subsidiary in Connecticut and increase the helicopter business’ workforce in the state to more than 8,000 by 2032.
Sikorsky will develop 200 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters for the U.S. Navy over the next 16 years through its Connecticut headquarters as part of the deal, Malloy’s office said in a news release published Tuesday.
The agreement also calls for Lockheed to double its annual investments of $350 million in in-state suppliers and raise its capital spending on equipment and machinery by 22 percent.
Lockheed will receive up to $200 million in financial incentives from the government of Connecticut in the form of annual grants, sales and use tax exemptions and performance incentive grants in exchange for job creation, in-state supplier support and other investment efforts over the deal’s term.
“Assuming the state’s proposal is approved by the legislature and the union agreement is ratified, Sikorsky will be able to transition the CH-53K production work to Connecticut,†said Dan Schultz, Sikorsky president.
Lockheed appointed Schultz in November 2015 after the company finalized its $9 billion purchase of Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp.
The state’s legislature must decide by Oct. 7 to help Lockheed meet the Defense Department’s requirements for the production of CH-53K helicopters.
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.
