Florida Jobs Created by Military Contract

Over the last year, approximately 100,000 Florida jobs have been lost. One of the industries that has been struggling the most in the last 12 months, is construction. With the state having the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, there is little need for companies to start new projects. Altogether employers in the area have done away with 79,200 positions in this industry.

The loss of so many Florida jobs is the reason that the news of any new employment opportunities is such a big deal. Recently the Army signed a contract worth $122 million with Lockheed Martin Corp. which will create as many as 200 new high-tech jobs in Orlando.

This deal has Lockheed Martin’s soon-to-be new employees working on refining and testing the technology behind the Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM). This weapon is seen to be the next-generation combat missile used by the Apache helicopter and a variety of other military aircraft.

Aside from the new jobs at the company’s Orlando missiles unit, another 80 more new positions are expected to be created at Lockheed’s Ocala plant that specializes in defense-electronics. In addition to these jobs, 40 new employees will be needed at the missile factory in Troy, Alabama, said a company’s spokesperson.

Altogether, Lockheed employees approximately 4,000 individuals at its Sand Lake Road south Orlando facility. Statewide it has 11,000 individuals on its payroll at 24 different locations, making it the largest defense company in Florida.

Also receiving a similar contract is Raytheon Co., said a spokesperson for the Army. Some believe that this means that the two companies may have to compete to be the sole winner of future agreements sometime later on in this decade.

The JAGM is expected to replace both the Hellfire II and the Longbow Hellfire missiles on Apache helicopters used by the Army, the Marine’s Super Cobra and the Seahawk reconnaissance helicopter for the Navy. In addition to this, it will be the main weapon on the unmanned aerial Warrior vehicle and take over the Maverick missiles place on the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.