Community Press, February 2005

JOBS . . . JOBS . . . JOBS 

Lockheed Martin-Owego Wins Presidential Helicopter Contract 
more pictures

On January 28, in a hangar full of  anxious Lockheed Martin-Owego employees, a live video feed of the Navy announcement gave them the news they wanted to hear: "Today we are announcing the selection of Lockheed Martin . . ." The rest of the statement was drowned out by cheers. It was official! Lockheed Martin and TeamUS101 had won the prestigious contract to provide the next fleet of twenty-three Presidential helicopters.

 Lockheed Martin will act as prime contractor and systems integrator for TeamUS101 which also includes the Italian-British firm of Agusta-Westland and Bell Helicopter Textron. The Navy chose Lockheed and TeamUS101 over competitor Sikorsky which has been responsible for the Presidential Helicopter known as "Marine One" since 1957. 

 Based on the current contract schedule, the first US101 helicopter will be available to transport the President in 2009, with the entire fleet delivered by late 2014.
 Lockheed immediately began work on the program, building on staff and facilities already in place. Lockheed plans to build a new integration center and hangars in Owego, and to hire 750 new employees this year - which, as Governor George Pataki put it, means "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" for our area. 

 Senator Tom Libous said that when he was asked if the contract win would be a shot in the arm for the Southern Tier, he replied "This would be a heart transplant!"
 Pictured (above and below): Red, white, and blue confetti falls on Lockheed Martin employees as they react to the good news of the contract win.

 The Community Press
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