It's the end of an era as Connecticut-based Sikorsky lost out on a $1.3 billion contract to create a new aircraft model.
The Army envisions that model would replace its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters once they retire.
The company has produced nearly 4,000 helicopters since the 1970s so how will this impact the state?
"In the long term, it may have significant impacts in terms of employment," said Quinnipiac University Professor Emeritus of Entrepreneurship and Strategy David Cadden.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
Cadden believes there may be short term and long term effects for the state after Sikorsky lost the bid.
"It’s very concerning for the employee. If I were one of the employees, I would be nervous in terms of my long term employment. Naturally, people should start taking a look at even though I have my job in the short term, I might want to be taking a look at what steps I could take for long term employment," he said.
Sikorsky's pitch failed to win over Army officials with its Defiant-X prototype in partnership with Boeing.
Local
The contract was instead awarded to Texas-based Bell, which will produce its own V-280 Valor tilt-rotor aircraft.
After the announcement, Sikorsky and Boeing put out a statement saying, “We remain confident DEFIANT X® is the transformational aircraft the U.S. Army requires to accomplish its complex missions today and well into the future. We will evaluate our next steps after reviewing feedback from the Army.”
In his expert opinion, Cadden has thoughts about why The Pentagon chose Bell's bid.
"It had an edge on the Sikorsky submission on the basis of speed and a slight edge in terms of range," he said.
The announcement does bring disappointment.
Governor Ned Lamont's office released a statement saying in part, "This news is disappointing, but it’s important to remember you can’t fly without Connecticut. Sikorsky is a legacy Connecticut company with one of the best trained workforces in the world. The state will continue to work closely with Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky to secure future opportunities for the people of Connecticut."
The next generation helicopter is set to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters and around 1,200 Apache attack helicopters around 2030, but according to Cadden, all hope isn't lost.
