Congressman Maurice Hinchey stopped by Lockheed Martin in Owego Tuesday to announce new contracts from the U.S. Navy.
The company will receive $249 million to upgrade technology on the Navy’s fleet of H-60 helicopters. Company officials say the work will include equipping the vehicles with GPS-like capabilities, something the Navy has long hoped to do.
The 500 helicopters are currently in combat overseas.
Lockheed officials say the contracts will not only help them keep 160 jobs locally, but also put them in the running for similar work with other navies across the world. Right now, they are in negotiations with both the Australian and Norwegian navies.
