U.S. defense contractors with the most at stake in Egypt
Egypt -- where a popular uprising
that began last week seeks the end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year
rule -- is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after
Israel.
The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United
States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year
the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt's military compared to about
$250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested
similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain's Telegraph reports.
The U.S. has long made the case that its unconditional funding
for Egypt strengthens relations between the countries and provides
benefits for the U.S. such as expedited processing for U.S. Navy
warships sailing through the Suez Canal.
Indeed, one of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks noted
that "President Mubarak and military leaders view our military
assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and
consider the USD 1.3 billion annual FMS as 'untouchable compensation'
for making and maintaining peace with Israel."
Last week White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama
administration would be reviewing its assistance to the Egyptian government
based on events over the coming days.
Obviously
any change in U.S. aid policy would have important ramifications for
Egypt. But it could also have implications for the U.S. companies that
contract with the Defense Department to provide good and services to the
Egyptian military -- and for their workforces and communities.
Facing South reviewed the Department of Defense contract database
over the past two years to see what deals are already in place, and
discovered many contracts with connections to the South. The following
are the 10 biggest contracts involving aid to Egypt in that period.
1. Lockheed Martin -- Fort Worth, Texas and Orlando, Fla. Last March, the
aerospace giant won a $213 million Air Force contract to provide Egypt with 20
F-16 fighter jets (pictured above). The following month, its Lockheed Martin
Missiles subsidiary in Orlando, Fla. got a $46 million Army contract to provide
night vision sensor systems for Apache helicopters.
2. DRS C3 and Aviation -- Horsham, Pa. In December 2010, this subsidiary of the
Italian company Finmeccanica received a $46.1 million Army contract to provide
vehicles, hardware and services for Egypt's border surveillance program. That
same month DRS landed another $19.6 million Army contract to provide
surveillance hardware and services for the Egyptian government.
3. L-3 Communication Ocean Systems -- Sylmar, Calif. and Garland, Texas. The
company's Sylmar operations completed a $24.7 million deal with the Navy last
August to provide a sonar system for the Egyptian Navy. And in April 2009,
L-3's EOS Division in Garland, Texas got a $6.6 million Army contract to
provide Egypt with military imaging equipment.
4. Deloitte Consulting -- Arlington, Va. The professional services firm won a
$28.1 million Navy contract in December 2009 to provide planning and other
support for Egyptian aircraft programs.
5. Boeing -- Mesa, Ariz. and St. Louis. Last May, the aerospace firm landed a
$22.5 million Army contract to provide Egypt with 10 Apache helicopters. The
month before that, the company's St. Louis operations won a $5.8 million Navy
contract to provide logistics support for other governments, with $262,530 of
that designated for assistance to Egypt.
6. Raytheon -- Tucson, Ariz. and Andover, Mass. The weapons and electronics
firm received a $26 million Navy contract in June 2009 to provide 178 Stinger
missiles to both Egypt and Turkey. This past December, it finalized a $5.6
million Army contract to provide Hawk missile system technical assistance to
the Egyptian government.
7. AgustaWestland -- Reston, Va. In November 2009, the Navy made definite a
previously awarded $17.3 million contract for the company -- a subsidiary of
Italy's Finmeccanica -- to provide helicopter maintenance for the Egyptian
government.
8. US Motor Works -- Cerritos, Calif. and Grand Prairie, Texas. The company got
a $14.5 million Army contract
in June 2009 to provide engines, components and spare parts for
vehicles acquired for the Egyptian Armament Authority, with most of that
work to be done in Texas.
9. Goodrich Corp. --- Chelmsford, Mass. In October 2010, Goodrich landed a
$10.8 million Air Force deal to procure and deploy reconnaissance systems for
use on the F-16 fighter jets purchased by the Egyptian Air Force.
10. Columbia Group -- Washington, D.C. In June 2009, the defense contractor
completed a $10.6 million contract with the Navy
to provide remotely operated vehicle systems as well as technical
support and training to the Egyptian Navy, with most of the work to be
performed out of the company's Panama City, Fla. operations.
Many other companies with recent deals related to Egypt have operations in the
South as well. They include Michelin Aircraft Tire of Greenville, S.C.; Wyle
Laboratories, Camber Corp. and Summa Technology, all of Huntsville, Ala.;
WRSystems Ltd. of Fairfax, Va.; TASC of Chantilly, Va.; and Clayton
International of Peachtree City, Ga.
For a full listing of Defense Department contracts awarded over the past two
years for work related to Egypt, click here.
(Photo of F-16 fighter jet by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway for the U.S. Defense
Department via Wikimedia Commons.)
http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/02/us-defense-contractors-with-the-most-at-stake-in-egypt.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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