The Momentary, a gallery space which typically hosts art exhibitions or musical performances might not be a space you’d expect to host a summit meant to foster the growth of aerospace and defense companies. But on Wednesday, Aug. 21, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other state officials were meeting in the Tower Bar with nationally recognized companies like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, RTX (formerly called Raytheon) and Rafael Advanced Defense System, an Israeli defense technology company.
You might not recognize these companies’ names, but they have a big economic impact in our state. According to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, aircrafts, spacecrafts and parts thereof are Arkansas’ number one export. That’s more than timber, more than rice or chicken. Colonel Robert Ator, the director of military affairs within the commission, says that’s the state’s goal exactly.
"I would say that, you know, first off, there are two portions to this," Ator said. "One is strictly military and the military impact. So that's the five installations that we have here in the state. And then we got the aerospace and defense industry. That's that's on the other part. Now, you know, the governor asked me to play in both those roles because, you know, first off, they're both federally funded. But more than that, I speak the lingo, you know, for the lack of a better term. And so when we take a look at that on the military side, we were able to really kind of turn things around. We've got a new mission coming in at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, it's a long, long story, but it really is a great case study of how state, local and the federal government can work together to be able to do big things rather quickly. And so you know that new mission is going to equal an economic impact here in the state of about $1.5 billion a year. And then you take a look on the defense side, on the aerospace and defense side."
So in short, Arkansas state leaders, including Governor Sanders, are driving efforts toward expanding military presence and support in our state and region.
“She wants Arkansas to be the arsenal of democracy," Ator said. "And so, you know, Arkansas is doing really, really big things. And again, it's a patriotic state that wants these industries in the state. We have space to do it, and we have an incredible workforce that allows us to be able to capture that."
So Gov. Sanders’ plan is to make Arkansas a national hub for defense. But where are these products going? Ator explains.
“Our new product lines that are starting up in Arkansas... And so you've seen a lot of announcements like the most recent one was General Dynamics with their increase in the 155 artillery, millimeter artillery shell that's being used over in Ukraine," Ator said. "That's a $1 billion project over five years. So it's a two phase expansion of General Dynamics down in Camden. More recently, we announced that Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics are working together to to expand into rocket motor production, because what's being made down in Camden is is in active use today. So what we're talking about is, you know, the PAC-3, or the Patriot missile system, the atacms, the gimlers and multiple rocket launch systems that go out of there, to say nothing of Javelin that that is being made down in Camden as well. But what most people don't know is that you know about, what? About eight months ago, we announced the startup of the R2S which is making the rockets that will go into the Iron Dome that's being used in Israel, in with that conflict with Hamas."
There are those companies again. Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, RTX. In East Camden, Arkansas, missiles for the Iron Dome air defense system are set to begin production in early 2025. The Iron Dome is a mobile defense system that rose to prominence in Israel. Ator says this and other Arkansas-made aerospace and defense products are directly involved with conflicts abroad.
Back to the protest at the Momentary. Chad Causey, Executive Director of the Aerospace and Defense Alliance, told KUAF via a written statement that there were several reasons for hosting the summit in Bentonville.
Causey says the location was strategically located in the geographic center of the country, allowing connectivity with other aerospace and defense hubs in mid America. In addition to that, more than 11,000 Arkansans work in aerospace and defense.
According to the AEDC, last year’s exports in these industries totaled $850 million. But Yosra (she declined to give her last name), an active member of Friends of Palestine Northwest Arkansas’, said the economic benefits of these industries are not worth the cost.
"I'm here because Bentonville is hosting a summit for companies that some of them are making weapons that are currently being used to kill people in Palestine," Yosra said. "So we're now actively welcoming companies that are part of this genocide that's happening now. As someone who lives in Bentonville for many, many years so far, I really find this heartbreaking. I used to see Bentonville as a city for art, entrepreneurship, inclusiveness and diversity. Now I see it as being part of, or accomplishing in, a genocide. If we cannot stop it, at least, let's not take part in it, right? And if you want to do it for money, there's a lot of things you can do for money. So I really see that this is a clear disregard for human life and human dignity. I don't see any other way around this."
According to AP News, most recent reports from health officials in Gaza say the death toll of this 11-month, ongoing conflict surpasses 40,000 Palestinian people. Gaza’s health ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but says almost 6,000 women and over 10,000 children have been killed. We asked Yosra what she would say to any Arkansan who doesn’t feel like these international issues affect us here directly.
"And just asking this question makes makes me feel that we're not connected as humanity across the world, really," Yosra said, "Because if we're actively sending weapons to kill people, and we feel disconnected from those people that we're killing... There's something wrong with us. Really asking this question in itself means that there's something wrong. And I hope that we find humanity in ourselves and start to understand that what's not impacting you today, it's gonna impact the impact you tomorrow."
We asked Causey to comment on the summit being tied to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He said, quote, “We support the First Amendment which protects an individual’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly.”
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
