CPI Aero
Encyclopedia
CPI Aero is an aerospace and defense contractor
headquartered in Edgewood, New York on Long Island
.
CPI was founded in 1980 by two former executives of Grumman Corporation. It adopted its current name in January 2005, on its 25th anniversary, at the same time it relocated to its current facility which was nearly twice the size of its old location.
CPI manufactures structural aircraft parts for the Department of Defense
, primarily for the United States Air Force
. It primarily focuses on aircraft that are still in use by DoD, but where the original manufacturer no longer wishes to provide support. Aircraft for which CPI manufactures parts are the C-5 Galaxy
, the A-10 Thunderbolt II
, the T-38 Talon
, and the E-3 Sentry
. CPI outsources manufacturing of component parts and performs final assembly at its Edgewood facility.
CPI considers itself a "mini" prime contractor, in that it claims the ability to provide the technical expertise and program management required with larger DoD contracts, but without the sizeable overhead of the larger defense contractors. CPI is classified as a small business, and thus can compete for "set-aside" small business contracts and subcontracts. CPI claims to have a "win rate" (i.e., successful wins on competitive bids) of 13%, which it also claims to be well above the industry average of 5%.
In early 2004, CPI was awarded a major set-aside contract to supply C-5 wing tips, panels, and other parts (referred to as the TOPS contract). The potential value of this contract could be up to $215 million over the seven-year life of the contract. CPI was also selected as a "critical subcontractor" by Vought Aircraft Industries on Vought's "unrestricted" C-5 TOPS contract. However, orders under the TOPS contracts have been delayed pending government review of needs. During 2005, CPI announced that it has been given major subcontract orders from Northrop Grumman
and Lockheed Martin
.
Defense contractor
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
headquartered in Edgewood, New York on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
.
CPI was founded in 1980 by two former executives of Grumman Corporation. It adopted its current name in January 2005, on its 25th anniversary, at the same time it relocated to its current facility which was nearly twice the size of its old location.
CPI manufactures structural aircraft parts for the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, primarily for the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. It primarily focuses on aircraft that are still in use by DoD, but where the original manufacturer no longer wishes to provide support. Aircraft for which CPI manufactures parts are the C-5 Galaxy
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
, the A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
, the T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
, and the E-3 Sentry
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
. CPI outsources manufacturing of component parts and performs final assembly at its Edgewood facility.
CPI considers itself a "mini" prime contractor, in that it claims the ability to provide the technical expertise and program management required with larger DoD contracts, but without the sizeable overhead of the larger defense contractors. CPI is classified as a small business, and thus can compete for "set-aside" small business contracts and subcontracts. CPI claims to have a "win rate" (i.e., successful wins on competitive bids) of 13%, which it also claims to be well above the industry average of 5%.
In early 2004, CPI was awarded a major set-aside contract to supply C-5 wing tips, panels, and other parts (referred to as the TOPS contract). The potential value of this contract could be up to $215 million over the seven-year life of the contract. CPI was also selected as a "critical subcontractor" by Vought Aircraft Industries on Vought's "unrestricted" C-5 TOPS contract. However, orders under the TOPS contracts have been delayed pending government review of needs. During 2005, CPI announced that it has been given major subcontract orders from Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
and Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
.