Boeing may close its helicopter plant in Ridley Township as tight federal funding puts the Philadelphia region’s helicopter industry at risk, writes Joseph N. DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
That’s despite a record $1.5 trillion proposed U.S. military budget for 2027. Little of that money is going to major helicopter programs, leaving Boeing’s Delaware County plant and Leonardo’s Northeast Philadelphia facility on uncertain ground.
Boeing’s Ridley plant is the region’s largest industrial employer, with about 3,000 workers. It’s built and upgraded Chinook helicopters for 60 years…