Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

I suppose deciding if this story is a good one or a bad one depends on which company you work for.

The Air Force awarded a lucrative contract Thursday for search and rescue combat helicopters to a team led by aerospace giant Boeing Co.

But, maybe most importantly, is that our men and women in combat get the latest and best equipment to help them do their job as safely as possible. The competition for the $71 million dollar contract was stiff.

Chicago-based Boeing beat out rival Lockheed Martin Corp. and helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft for the contract to build 141 helicopters by 2019 for the Air Force's fleet of rescue aircraft, known as the Combat Search and Rescue program.

But if you look closer, these companies are no strangers to each other.

A team led by Lockheed had offered the US-101, the same helicopter selected last year for the Navy's presidential helicopter, Marine One. Boeing also teamed with Sikorsky to offer the S-92, a newer helicopter mostly used by offshore oil companies.

But this is a high-stakes 'game'.

Sikorsky, based in Stratford, Conn., spent about $1 billion developing the new S-92 model, according to analyst estimates, but it has yet to find a U.S. government buyer. Sikorsky has a deal to provide 28 to the Canadian government.

But the news is good for engineers in the Philly area.

The helicopters will be built at Boeing's plant in Ridley Park, Pa., near Philadelphia. About 200 new engineering jobs will be created initially, with more jobs expected as production moves forward. There are currently about 4,800 employees in Ridley Park, Boeing spokesman Joseph LaMarca Jr. said.

It's been a fairly decent couple of weeks for Boeing, though.

Earlier this week, Boeing got a boost when FedEx Corp. became the first customer to cancel an order for Airbus' much delayed A380 superjumbo jets and said it would buy Boeing 777s.

My only caution is, be careful about putting all your eggs in one basket.