Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will take over the Senate Armed Services AirLand subcommittee beginning March 28, the committee announced Tuesday, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) having to step down due to Senate Democratic Conference rules.
Blumenthal also sits on the personnel and seapower subcommittees. Though his home state, Connecticut, tends to generate the most money from government contracts for ship construction and repair, Blumenthal is no stranger to the aviation industry. Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney, both under the United Technologies Corp. [UTX] umbrella, are headquartered in Connecticut.
The engine that powers the F-35 is built by Pratt and Sikorsky is the prime contractor for the UH-60 series of helicopters.
According to the Defense Technology Initiative, which studies the defense industry in the New England region, the Defense and Homeland Security departments spent nearly $12.7 billion in contracts with Connecticut companies in 2011, the most recent year for which analysis is available. A total of $2.7 billion of that went to aircraft and airframe structures, second only to the $3.9 billion for shipbuilding.