{"id":8122,"date":"2025-05-21T16:36:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T21:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=8122"},"modified":"2025-05-21T17:02:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T22:02:42","slug":"when-expansion-means-escalation-a-response-to-boeings-new-fighter-jet-facility-in-st-louis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/when-expansion-means-escalation-a-response-to-boeings-new-fighter-jet-facility-in-st-louis\/","title":{"rendered":"When Expansion Means Escalation: A Response to Boeing\u2019s New Fighter Jet Facility in St. Louis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">This week, <a href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/mo\/st-louis\/news\/2025\/05\/20\/boeing-releases-sneak-peak-of-new-st--louis-expansion\" title=\"\">Boeing released<\/a> a concept video showcasing its planned expansion of advanced fighter jet facility in St. Louis. While some in government and industry may celebrate the promise of $20 billion in defense contracts, 500 new jobs, and a state-of-the-art digital aerospace campus, we must pause to ask: At what cost are these developments being made?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Boeing\u2019s new fighter jet facility will be used to produce the F-47 fighter jets\u2014part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/4131345\/air-force-awards-contract-for-next-generation-air-dominance-ngad-platform-f-47\/\" title=\"\">Pentagon\u2019s Next Generation Air Dominance<\/a> (NGAD) program. These jets are not designed for humanitarian relief, environmental restoration, or domestic infrastructure; they are designed for dominance\u2014lethal air superiority in future wars. As the <a href=\"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/\" title=\"\">Peace Economy Project<\/a>, we question how such investments align with the true needs of our communities in St. Louis and across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Where is the US Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD)?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rSQNWU2k1yI?start=71&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Let\u2019s take a closer look at what this fighter jet facility expansion really means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Billions for Bombs, Not for Basic Needs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">While Boeing and defense contractors reap billion-dollar deals, schools in North St. Louis remain underfunded, hospitals understaffed, and basic infrastructure\u2014clean water, public transit, affordable housing\u2014continues to crumble. St. Louis County Council approved a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stlpr.org\/economy-business\/2023-09-19\/st-louis-county-approves-155-million-in-tax-breaks-for-boeing-expansion-at-lambert\" title=\"\">staggering $155 million<\/a> in tax incentives to help subsidize this expansion. Imagine what $155 million could do if reinvested in education, public health, or job training for sustainable industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We are told these fighter jets will bring jobs. But history shows us that military jobs are among the least efficient ways to create employment. According to research from the <a href=\"https:\/\/watson.brown.edu\/costsofwar\/costs\/economic\/economy\/employment#:~:text=Key%20Findings,and%2017%2C200%20in%20health%20care.\" title=\"\">Costs of War project<\/a> at Brown University, every $1 billion spent on defense creates about 11,200 jobs, whereas the same amount spent on education or clean energy could create 15,000 to 17,000 jobs. That\u2019s not just a missed opportunity\u2014it\u2019s a strategic failure to invest in people over weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conceiving the Fighter Jet Facility: <strong>A Community Left Out of the Conversation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This expansion is happening without meaningful public engagement or community input. The neighborhoods closest to the new facility in North St. Louis County have long experienced disinvestment, environmental injustice, and over-policing. Now they will live next to the production site for warplanes designed to extend U.S. military dominance abroad. Were these residents consulted? Was their consent given?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rethinking What Security Means<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Boeing\u2019s messaging leans heavily on \u201cnext-generation\u201d innovation and security. But real security is not found in fighter jets. It\u2019s found in stable housing, accessible healthcare, living wages, and a clean environment. It\u2019s found in diplomacy, conflict prevention, and demilitarization\u2014not in fueling an arms race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We must ask ourselves what kind of future we\u2019re building when we funnel resources into war machines while our communities cry out for care. The St. Louis region deserves bold, visionary investment\u2014but not one that comes at the expense of peace, justice, and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Say &#8220;No&#8221; to this Fighter Jet Facitly: <strong>A Call for Peace-Centered Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Peace Economy Project calls on elected officials, civic leaders, and community members to demand better. Let\u2019s shift our priorities away from perpetual militarization and toward building an economy that values life over weapons, healing over harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Let\u2019s reimagine what could be built in St. Louis if we divested from destruction and reinvested in the people. Expansion should mean opportunity\u2014not escalation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boeing\u2019s $1.8 billion fighter jet facility expansion in North St. Louis County is being touted as a win for jobs and innovation. But behind the sleek digital renderings and promises of economic growth lies a deeper question: why are we still pouring billions into war production while our communities lack basic necessities?<\/p>\n<p>The new F-47 fighter jets being developed under the NGAD program will not solve St. Louis\u2019s housing crisis. They will not make drinking water safer or schools stronger. They will not address the racial and economic injustices that persist across our region. Instead, they will reinforce a national priority that has long placed military might above human needs.<\/p>\n<p>If St. Louis truly wants to lead in innovation, let it be in clean energy, public health, education, and restorative justice\u2014not in building the next generation of tools for destruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[408,407,284,232,259],"class_list":["post-8122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-boeing-expansion","tag-demilitarize-st-louis","tag-economic-justice","tag-military-spending","tag-peace-economy"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/sven-piper-aBk2jFNxTwE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1707%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8124,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions\/8124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}