The acquisition of Sikorsky may be the final piece of a jigsaw that even the largest corporations can only dream of achieving. Any company looking to get awarded government contracts knows that the best way to get them, apart from having an outstanding product, is support in Congress and the Senate. One way to achieve this is by providing jobs to constituents in member’s home states.

For employees at Sikorsky in Coatesville this is all good news, as the further Lockheed Martin expands its influence, the greater the chance that more jobs will be created there. Lockheed is already the biggest single contractor for the Pentagon, regularly awarded billions in defense contracts each year. Last year alone it was awarded $25 billion in new work which is nowhere near its best year at 9 percent of the total expenditure down from over 12 percent in other years.

Up until now, pretty much the only states where Lockheed Martin did not have significant political base were Connecticut and New England.  With more than 1,300 local suppliers in 44 states for the potentially $1 trillion F-35 project, Lockheed Martin already has most representatives rooting for it on the hill. By buying Sikorsky, not only does the company move into one of its last uncharted areas of defense contracts, but also gains valuable political capital in key states.

The value of bi-partisan political capital is not to be underestimated in these two states, as two of Lockheed’s main competitors General Dynamics and Raytheon have staunch support in these regions. By buying Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the presidential helicopters, Lockheed may have neutralized some of their support.

Traditionally, United Technologies, the former owner of Sikorsky, supported the Democrats in these two states while General Dynamics went with the Republicans due to its submarine programs. With Lockheed now responsible for 8,000 jobs in Connecticut alone, due to the Sikorsky purchase, and it is already looking at ways it can bank further support on the hill.

Lockheed Martin executives and lobbyists “will get to know people in Connecticut and New England that they might not have known as well, and they can come back to them on other stuff,” he said in an interview. “I think the people in the Connecticut delegation will probably be feeling warmly toward Lockheed and even might be more receptive to their requests regarding other programs — even ones that aren’t manufactured in Connecticut.”