Congressional Team Seeks Jet Contract for Palmdale
In a strong expression of support for building the next generation of military jets at Palmdale’s Plant 42, California’s entire congressional delegation has signed a letter asking the Department of Defense to compare production costs there with costs at any other facility.
The contract to build the Joint Strike Fighter could be worth up to $750 billion over 25 years and is expected to generate thousands of new jobs in the region where it is built.
The Oct. 8 letter to Undersecretary of Defense Jacques Gansler asks the department to require the two competing contractors--Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.--to study the costs of building the jet in Palmdale and to use that assessment as a benchmark when considering other sites.
Located 30 miles south of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Air Force Plant 42 is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility that has been the production site of numerous military aircraft, most recently the B-2 Stealth bomber.
Although both Boeing and Lockheed Martin operate production facilities at Plant 42, they have hinted that they might build the jet outside of California.
Signed by the 52 California members of the House of Representatives, as well as by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, the letter includes several arguments in support of Plant 42.
“California offers a unique combination of the state-of-the-art production facilities, proximity to strategic military bases . . . a highly skilled work force, and an unparalleled statewide network of tens of thousands of aerospace suppliers,” the letter states.
Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who represents the area and who hand-delivered the letter to Gansler, said the recent passage of Assembly Bill 2797 makes California the most economical choice for building the Joint Strike Fighter.
The new law, which provides tax credits for each state job created as part of the Joint Strike Fighter program, would cut up to $350 million from the cost of the project, McKeon said in a statement.
“Everyone concerned must be made to realize the advantages both to the contractors and to the military of doing final assembly in Palmdale,” McKeon said. “If we keep politics out of this decision, there is no question that Plant 42 will be chosen as the site for the Joint Strike Fighter.”
The goal of the Joint Strike Fighter program is to produce a jet that is affordable and can be used by all branches of the military. Up to 90% of the parts and equipment will be identical on all versions of the plane to hold down the cost of maintenance and supply.
With as many as 3,000 planes to be built, the contract for the Joint Strike Fighter could prove to be largest in military history, said McKeon spokesman David Foy.
If Plant 42 were selected, the program would undoubtedly provide a major economic boost to the Antelope Valley, which is only now beginning to recover from steep cuts in the aerospace industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“This is a very big deal. You are talking about at least 2,000 or 3,000 jobs in the area,” said Danny Roberts, assistant executive director of the Palmdale Redevelopment Agency.
“The stealth capability and technology for these planes already exists [at Plant 42], and those production facilities would have to be re-created elsewhere,” Roberts said.
The winner of the competition to produce the Joint Strike Fighter is expected to be announced in 2000 or 2001. In the meantime, whether the unified support of the California congressional delegation is enough to sway the Pentagon and the contractors in favor of Plant 42 remains to be seen.
“We started out as an underdog and we still have an uphill struggle, but we’re not too late,” Foy said. “When California is united and it flexes its muscles, it can do some big things.
