Unmanned vehicles may be built in Dayton

A Fortune 100 defense contractor has a plan to build military unmanned aerial vehicles and bring about 1,000 jobs to the area within 10 years if federal authorities designate UAV flying space for the region, according to an Ohio lawmaker.

The company, with operations in Beavercreek, envisions manufacturing UAVs that could carry missiles and cameras and that would be smaller than the current Predator aircraft, said state Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield.

The catch: The company wants to build the remotely piloted planes near airspace designated to test-fly them, putting pressure on Ohio to obtain federal approval for such airspace if it wants those jobs, Widener said.

"That's kind of the linchpin in the whole conversation," he said Wednesday, elaborating on comments he made Monday at a Springfield Rotary Club meeting. "They have the wherewithal to do what they need to do to make the investment."

Widener declined to identify the company, but said it's on the Fortune 100 list. Major defense contractors with local operations and the potential resources to undertake such a project include General Dynamics Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co.

In addition, Science Applications International Corp., a Fortune 500 company, announced earlier this year that it would spend $3.5 million to bring 180 additional jobs to its Beavercreek operations in support of Air Force research at Wright-Patterson and $1.6 million more to create an additional 35 jobs at Springfield in support of unmanned aircraft research and development at Springfield Air National Guard Base, which is revamping itself to host Predator unmanned aircraft operations.

Widener said the company envisions manufacturing 50 to 60 of the planes annually. The company, which currently makes parts for unmanned aircraft but does not build the entire planes, forecasts that its planes would sell for between $3 million and $5 million each, he said.

Widener said in spring 2010, he went with company representatives when they showed their plan to the Ohio Department of Development and requested state financial support. The state didn't make a financial commitment, he said. At the time, the company was considering buying an existing Beavercreek building for the envisioned planes, Widener said.

The state development department said it cannot comment on discussions with companies unless a formal announcement has been made.

At the Dayton Daily News' request, Widener asked the company if it would identify itself and speak with the newspaper. The company declined, he said. He is still in communication with its management, he said.

The Dayton region is working to become a national center of expertise for unmanned aerial vehicles and systems, capitalizing on local aerospace research and development strengths, advanced-materials manufacturing and the presence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has applied for Federal Aviation Administration approval to allow flying of small unmanned aircraft within five miles of Wilmington Air Park, a former Air Force base in Clinton County.

But FAA approval may not occur for three months or more, officials at Wright-Patterson said. The FAA could give annual renewals of the approval thereafter.

Other possibilities for UAV flying areas include the region near the Springfield Air National Guard base and the Buckeye-Brush Creek military operating area that the Springfield base has used for F-16 training flights.

The AFRL said it has also made a formal request through Air Force channels for designation of special-use airspace in the Buckeye-Brush Creek area. "This is a three-to-five-year process and the Air Force would submit this to the FAA at the appropriate time in the process," Wright-Patterson spokesman Daryl Mayer said in an email.

Designated areas for flying UAVs already exist in Colorado, Kansas, California, New Mexico and North Dakota among other places, putting Ohio at a disadvantage. The closest one to Dayton is the Indiana National Guard's Camp Atterbury, near Columbus, Ind.

Legislation that the U.S. House passed earlier this year to fund FAA operations directs that agency to create four new test sites for unmanned aircraft and to establish a program to integrate the remotely piloted planes into airspace used by manned airplanes, according to language offered by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and others. Turner said he hopes Wilmington and Wright-Patterson will be contenders for the designated testing zones and the jobs that could come with them.

Others involved in the local unmanned aircraft industry said that if the FAA decides to approve UAV airspace in the Dayton region, any resulting job growth would likely take months, if not years, to develop and would involve multiple companies.

Mike Farrell, chief executive officer of Farrell Aircraft Co., Vandalia, who helps prepare applications to request such FAA approvals, questioned whether any one company would have the production demand for UAVs to support 1,000 jobs.

It could be that a combination of companies, including a manufacturer, research organization and suppliers, could bring a few hundred jobs within a few years if UAV flying areas were approved in the Dayton area, he said.

Officials of the Dayton Development Coalition said, however, that job growth could be quicker than anticipated if UAV flying areas in the Dayton region are approved.

The region's manufacturing and research expertise, along with Wright-Patterson, a hub of Air Force research, development and acquisition, make the area attractive to companies in the UAV industry, coalition officials said.

"There is significant interest in this area, regionally and nationally," said Joe Zeis, the coalition's vice president and chief strategist. "As we get airspace, there's a very large interest due to the confluence of industry and aerospace research here."