Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bombardier seeks $5.75 million in state funds to create top‑secret capable facility in Wichita
Summary
Mike O'Neil, a company representative for Bombardier Defense, told the Kansas House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that Bombardier seeks $5.75 million from the governor’s budget to build a physically separate, secure facility on its Wichita campus to qualify for top‑secret military work.
Mike O'Neil, a company representative for Bombardier Defense, told the Kansas House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that Bombardier is asking the state to support construction of a physically separate facility on its Wichita campus that would allow the company to work to top‑secret specifications with U.S. military customers. The governor’s budget recommendation includes a $5,750,000 state appropriation for that purpose; Bombardier’s initial private request was $6,000,000.
The request, O'Neil said, would fund “infrastructure” on the existing Learjet Way campus in Wichita to segregate programs requiring top‑secret clearances from the rest of the site. “The state portion of the budget recommendation will assist in creating physically separate infrastructure within the existing Bombardier campus in Wichita suitable for hosting programs up to top‑secret level,” O'Neil said. He said Bombardier plans to invest “a multiple” of the state amount and estimated the company’s contribution at roughly three times the requested state funding.
O'Neil described Bombardier Defense’s current work with U.S. military programs — including projects the testimony identified by shorthand as Bacon, Pegasus, Ares, Athena and Hades — and said those programs focus on surveillance and communications rather than weaponization. “These are high altitude aircraft that are able to communicate with all of our forces on the ground in real time,” he said, adding the systems support detection and translation capabilities used for strategic surveillance. He also cited projected contract revenues in the company’s defense programs over several years as part of his return‑on‑investment pitch.
Committee members asked practical questions about location and jobs. Representative Alcala asked whether the secure facility would be on the same campus; O'Neil said it would be on the same campus at an adjacent address (described in testimony as “2 Learjet Way”) but would have separate entry points and security. Representative White asked for an estimate of permanent hires; O'Neil said about 1,200 employees currently work on the Bombardier defense side in Wichita and that the state SGF portion’s direct contribution to new permanent hires was “not specified,” though he characterized likely growth as “hundreds, but I wouldn't say thousands.”
Representative Carlin asked whether Bombardier expects additional economic incentives beyond the governor’s recommendation; O'Neil said none were anticipated and that the governor’s recommendation reflected prior smaller grant awards the company had received. O'Neil acknowledged ongoing coordination with the governor’s office and Kansas commerce officials and invited committee members to visit the Wichita campus for a tour.
No formal committee action or vote on the appropriation took place during this hearing. The appropriation is recorded in the governor’s budget recommendation; committee members said they would consider the item as part of budget work going forward.
