Military project pits Tampa against Jacksonville for jobs
Aircraft contract could reach $1 billion, and bid battle includes a U.S.-foreign angle
BY TED JACKOVICS
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA -- Aircraft manufacturers in the United States and Brazil are competing for a U.S. military project with programs that pit Tampa against Jacksonville for jobs. It also raises a political issue over a foreign company bidding for U.S. defense work.
The Air Force is expected to award a contract within days that could reach $950 million to supply propeller-driven fighter aircraft and training for light air-support missions, such as those under way in Afghanistan.
Florida members of Congress have taken opposing sides in favoring a manufacturer, while a conservative think tank raised the issue of why the Pentagon would consider awarding a U.S. military contract to a foreign manufacturer.
Embraer of Brazil promises to assemble its A-29 Super Tucano fighter in Jacksonville, creating 50 jobs there and "supporting" 1,200 U.S. jobs in 20 states.
Hawker Beechcraft of Wichita, Kan., wants to produce an AT-6 variant of its T-6 military trainer, "sustaining" more than 1,400 U.S. jobs in 37 states.
If Hawker Beechcraft gets the contract, it could be worth between $15 million and $25 million to Tampa-based CAE USA Military Simulation & Training.
The initial number of jobs CAE USA could gain if Hawker Beechcraft wins the contract is also small -- about 25. But these days, economic-development officials contend that double-digit job gains are likely to be the norm and are to be prized.
The Tampa jobs would be for highly skilled, highly educated professionals for simulator equipment and training programs. Annual salaries on the project would range from $60,000 for entry-level software engineers to more than $100,000 for project engineers and program managers.
What makes the project even more promising is that CAE USA, one of the few major national companies that is headquartered in Tampa, envisions creating a market niche in fighter-aircraft projects that could be lucrative for years.
"Hawker Beechcraft winning the contract would mean a lot to our company," said CAE USA President and General Manager John Lenyo, whose company and Hawker Beechcraft introduced the AT-6 simulator at the Paris Air Show in June.
"We have invested several million dollars in developing the prototype ground-based training systems including simulators for the AT-6.
"A new program like this could evolve into a program with long legs," Lenyo said, citing the example of CAE USA's C-130 simulator business that has grown to developing more than 40 full-mission simulators and additional training devices in recent years.
The light air-support fighter project was created from the military's desire for an inexpensive aircraft to carry out missions in places such as Afghanistan that have evolved into reconnaissance and light attack sorties, compared with heavy bombing.
The first 20 aircraft in the project are intended for Afghanistan's armed forces, with proposals for a similar, light attack reconnaissance program to follow for the U.S. Air Force if funding becomes available.
Embraer proposed its Super Tucano, which foreign nations have flown in combat, while Hawker Beechcraft offered the variant of a training aircraft that has accounted for 725 deliveries to the U.S. and other countries.
The competition has been intense, with the Air Force decision to come months after the firms expected -- in the aftermath of the Air Force's contentious decision in February to award Boeing a $35 billion-plus contract for a tanker that followed years of political and technical wrangling.
Derek Hess, director of Hawker Beechcraft's light attack program, cited his firm's aircraft being a training mainstay for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in addition to foreign-nation users, with half the planes supplied to Greece's air force capable of carrying ordnance.
Gary Spulak, president of Embraer at its U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, said in an email that its aircraft has performed 16,000 hours of combat missions. Embraer would provide ground training devices, with the prime contractor, Sparks, Nev.-based Sierra Nevada Corp., providing curriculum development.
The light air-attack program has attracted little public attention compared with the much more expensive tanker project awarded to Boeing this year, but the element of U.S. vs. foreign competition for an American defense project has added some drama to the contract decision.
While the decision officially rests on technical attributes outlined in the project's specifications, that hasn't stopped the competitors and their political allies from chiming in.
In June, the Lexington Institute, a libertarian think tank in Arlington County, Va., raised an issue similar to one that contributed to the incendiary U.S.-Boeing vs. European-Airbus competition.
"Why would the military of a country running the biggest budget and trade deficits in history consider buying a new light fighter from a foreign maker when there's a perfectly good plane already available from domestic sources?" the group said.
Republican state Sen. Mike Haridopolos took exception to a similar view in a May 1 editorial in The Wichita Eagle that favored hometown Hawker Beechcraft. Haridopolos noted in a guest column with The Daytona Beach News-Journal that the foreign Embraer supports U.S. economic growth.
In addition to Embraer's North American headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Haridopolos noted, the company opened another facility in Melbourne that will create 200 jobs.
And in a letter to the secretary of the Air Force, Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West, who represents parts of Fort Lauderdale, said technical criteria should be the primary selection criteria, and he made a case for Embraer -- without naming the company -- based on the Super Tucano combat history.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa said in an interview that she backed Hawker Beechcraft's bid along with the opportunities Tampa's CAE USA would gain.
"What is important this day and age is fair competition and what is the most cost-effective for the Department of Defense," Castor said.
"I support creating jobs in Tampa as a benefit to our local community, with the simulation industry continuing to grow and evolve in the Tampa-Orlando corridor."
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Photo credit: HAWKER BEECHCRAFT
Photo: A pair of Hawker Beechcraft AT-6s take a test flight. If the Kansas-based company is awarded the contract, it could be worth between $15 million and $25 million to Tampa-based CAE USA Military Simulation & Training.
Photo credit: CAE USA
Photo: A pilot uses CAE USA's prototype AT-6 simulator, which the company introduced at the Paris Air Show this year. CAE USA envisions creating a niche in fighter-aircraft projects.
Photo credit: EMBRAER
Photo: Embraer's Super Tucano would be assembled in Jacksonville if the Brasilian firm wins a U.S. defense contract. Foreign nations have flown the plane in combat.
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