U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in the town of Owego Tuesday, highlighting a new partnership between Lockheed Martin and the technology company Intel.
The two companies will manufacture semiconductor chips for Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R multi-mission helicopter, which is used by the U.S. Navy for anti-submarine warfare and combat search and rescue.
Schumer said the semiconductor chips, which are used in everything from appliances to smart phones, will bolster the helicopter’s defense systems by identifying threats more efficiently. The chips will be tested in helicopters at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Owego.
“We know how important chips are, but chips are important to our national security as well,” Schumer said. “Our helicopters, our tanks, our guns, everything is dependent on chips, these very sophisticated little semiconductor chips.”
The U.S. Department of Defense had planned to cut the number of combat rescue helicopters purchased from Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky in its 2024 fiscal budget. That’s in part because of a shift in the Air Force’s strategic focus.
But Schumer said he helped prevent the cuts and secured $400 million in this year’s budget for the purchase of 10 more combat rescue helicopters.
“These helicopters are vital to allowing our soldiers who put their lives on the line [to] conduct rescue missions and give crucial advantages in the field,” Schumer said. “And this program is critical for the jobs it creates.”
Another $10 million will go to the company’s MH-60R multi-mission helicopter program. Both types of helicopters are manufactured in Owego.
“That is money that not only builds the helicopter, but it's pumped into the economy of the Southern Tier,” Schumer said. “Because the over 1000 workers who work on this plant eat at the restaurants and go to the stores and buy the cars and build the additions to their homes, all of which helps the economy get going.”
Congress passed legislation further prohibiting any cuts to the combat rescue helicopter program in December last year.
Sikorsky, the Lockheed Martin subsidiary, secured a $650 million contract for upgrades to the HH-60W combat rescue helicopters in 2023. The helicopters were recently deployed to Japan for use in future search-and -rescue operations.