Competing for Marine 1 contract, Co. consolidates US HQ (23 Pres. Copters)

[Khephra]

VIENNA, Va. -- AgustaWestland, amid a fierce competition to build the next fleet of presidential helicopters for the Marine Corps, announced Friday that it will consolidate and relocate its U.S. headquarters to Reston.

The company expects to create 300 new jobs as it moves its U.S. headquarters from Crystal City in Arlington County to Reston. The relocation will begin in January, company officials said.

AgustaWestland, the world's second largest helicopter manufacturer, is part of a partnership with Lockheed Martin bidding on a potential $1.6 billion contract to replace the fleet of 19 Marine One helicopters deployed across the country and used almost exclusively to transport the president with 23 new aircraft, beginning in 2008.


http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--presidentialhelic1119nov19,0,5766313.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[never cry wolf]

1. OMG! that's almost $70 mill per copter!....n/t

[denverbill]

2. Add this to the 'is this really necessary' list.

Don't we have military units with helicopters in virtually every state of the union? Are these helicopters 'safe enough for the troops but not safe enough for the President'?

This is not even a Bush thing, or a liberal/conservative thing. It's just an enormous fucking waste of money to have 23 helicopters sitting around in various parts of the country doing nothing 99.9% of the time.

[benburch]

3. A custom-made helicopter from a GOP firm...

Let's just say that I hope Bush does a lot of flying in these...

I imagine that every corner that can be cut in their production will be cut.

[mulethree]

9. Are they a GOP company?

They're British and Italian. Making lots of deals so they can make 65% of this bird in the U.S., are the contracts all going to GOP companies?

[mulethree]

4. We need to buy 23 of them because _______ ??

AgustaWestland Demonstrate EH101 Transportability Aboard C-17

http://www.agustawestland.com/communication08_01.asp?id_news=48&yy=2002

[Ernesto]

5. Our "conservative" leader wants to save tax payers $$$$$$

NOTTTTTTTTTTT

[dArKeR]

7. Thanks for posting the pic!

[dArKeR]

6. Fierce? Who gets the money, the Baker, Bush, Cheney, Gingrich, Delay...

or Robertson family?

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Sikorsky Aircraft of Stratford, CT - a blue state

has built every presidential helicopter since presidents started flying in them. Why? Because they're far and away the best.

I guess a blue state company can no longer get government contracts, huh?

I wonder when Electric Boat, builder of our sub fleet, will move from Groton, CT? (Maybe to .... mmmm ... I dunno ..... Port Arthur, TX?)

I wonder when Norden (inventor of the device that won WWII's air war over Germany with their revolutionary Norden bomb sight) will move from Norwalk, CT? (Maybe to .... mmmm ... I dunno ..... San Antonio, TX?)


I wonder when Pratt and Whitney, jet engine maker extraordinaire, will move from Hartford, CT? (Maybe to .... mmmm ... I dunno ..... New Braunfels, TX?)

[DS1]

10. I can't understand why they don't put him in an Osprey.

/tongue firmly in cheek

If it's good enough for the troops to use in combat....

[MADem]

11. USMC would go ballistic

...if they tried to take that role from them. The reason they need so many is because they never fly alone. You don't see them all, only one lands on the lawn, but they fly in a group. If you need them staged at more than one location, you need back-ups, and back-ups for back-ups.

I don't begrudge a leader the best possible air or surface transport. I just don't like the weecowboy, but he'll not get many rides in the new toys, unless the next president offers him one as a courtesy. The bright spot is that by the time they go through all the procurement and testing and kink-working-out, weecowboy will be home chopping on brush.

It's like Clinton with the new limos. He only got a few rides, with the TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION DC plates, before the weecowboy got the new hard cars (and switched the plates).