Unison says, “Thanks, Mike!”
NORWICH – Unison Industries, the Norwich aerospace systems manufacturer which employs roughly 280 local residents, had words of gratitude for Congressman Mike Arcuri during the New York Democrat’s visit to Chenango on Thursday.
In a press conference held at Unison’s Town of Norwich manufacturing facility, the company’s director of operations, Gary Cummings, credited Arcuri with safeguarding local jobs through his efforts to continue federal funding for a multi-billion dollar alternative engine program spearheaded by Unison’s parent company, GE.
For more than a decade, GE has partnered with Rolls Royce in developing the F-136 fighter engine as an alternative to competitor Pratt-Whitney’s F-135 propulsion system for the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The stealth, single engine supersonic jet is being developed by Lockheed Martin to replace several existing fighter jets, including the F-14, F-16 and F/A-18. The first 30 are slated for delivery in 2012.
The alternative engine program was roughly 70 percent of the way to completion, having already received more than $2.4 billion in federal allocations, when the program ended up on the chopping block in the 2010 Presidential Budget, Cummings said.
A total of 10 of the F-136’s components, including new pressure sensors being developed locally, are to be manufactured in Norwich, he explained, and loss of the program posed a long-term threat to 25 percent of the local facility’s employees.
It would also, in essence, grant a $100 billion decades-long monopoly to a sole-source manufacturer over the life of the F-35 joint strike fighter, he added.
“There has to be competition,” Cummings said.
Cummings reached out to Arcuri last year and asked for the congressman’s assistance in reinstating funding for the alternative engine program.
“We were not alone in this fight,” said Arcuri, whose efforts led to $560 million in funding for the F-136 being included in a 2010 defense spending bill, which passed by a margin of 400-3 in a House vote in July.
“It is now in the defense budget,” said Cummings, who thanked the congressman for his support.
“To stop now would be a terrible waste of taxpayer money,” said Arcuri, who added that it was inadvisable from a defense perspective to put all the country’s “eggs in one basket.”
He complimented Cummings and his staff on their facility, and thanked them for their work “to keep our country safe.”
“We’ll continue fighting for you to make sure the F-136 engine remains in production,” the congressman said.
In a press conference held at Unison’s Town of Norwich manufacturing facility, the company’s director of operations, Gary Cummings, credited Arcuri with safeguarding local jobs through his efforts to continue federal funding for a multi-billion dollar alternative engine program spearheaded by Unison’s parent company, GE.
For more than a decade, GE has partnered with Rolls Royce in developing the F-136 fighter engine as an alternative to competitor Pratt-Whitney’s F-135 propulsion system for the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The stealth, single engine supersonic jet is being developed by Lockheed Martin to replace several existing fighter jets, including the F-14, F-16 and F/A-18. The first 30 are slated for delivery in 2012.
The alternative engine program was roughly 70 percent of the way to completion, having already received more than $2.4 billion in federal allocations, when the program ended up on the chopping block in the 2010 Presidential Budget, Cummings said.
A total of 10 of the F-136’s components, including new pressure sensors being developed locally, are to be manufactured in Norwich, he explained, and loss of the program posed a long-term threat to 25 percent of the local facility’s employees.
It would also, in essence, grant a $100 billion decades-long monopoly to a sole-source manufacturer over the life of the F-35 joint strike fighter, he added.
“There has to be competition,” Cummings said.
Cummings reached out to Arcuri last year and asked for the congressman’s assistance in reinstating funding for the alternative engine program.
“We were not alone in this fight,” said Arcuri, whose efforts led to $560 million in funding for the F-136 being included in a 2010 defense spending bill, which passed by a margin of 400-3 in a House vote in July.
“It is now in the defense budget,” said Cummings, who thanked the congressman for his support.
“To stop now would be a terrible waste of taxpayer money,” said Arcuri, who added that it was inadvisable from a defense perspective to put all the country’s “eggs in one basket.”
He complimented Cummings and his staff on their facility, and thanked them for their work “to keep our country safe.”
“We’ll continue fighting for you to make sure the F-136 engine remains in production,” the congressman said.
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