Gates' defense budget could ripple to regional firms

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has proposed deep cuts to some large weapons programs. Gates says he is overhauling how the military spends its money. It’s unclear how those cuts will affect the local economy.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has proposed deep cuts to some large weapons programs. Gates says he is overhauling how the military spends its money. It’s unclear how those cuts will affect the local economy.

Transcript:
Both Lockheed Martin and Boeing have not yet said how they will be impacted by the cuts. But Congressman Joe Sestak, whose Delaware County district includes a Boeing plant, says Boeing could end up on the winning end.

The plant in Ridley Park helps build the V-22 Osprey aircraft. Sestak says the Defense Department’s plans to eliminate the C-Sar helicopter could mean more demand for the Osprey, which can fly like a plane and a helicopter and is in use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sestak: “I think its a wise decision because its about the best capability, not just jobs, but the best capability with the right jobs to enhance that ability and I think Boeing will end up as a prime contender for that.”

Sestak says more reforms are needed to reign in defense spending, which has risen by 70 percent since 2000.

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