AEDC's economic impact exceeds $642 million Published Jan. 14, 2013 By Kathy Gattis AEDC/PA ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Arnold Engineering Development Center's (AEDC) economic impact - which includes AEDC and its remote operating locations - the Hypervelocity Tunnel 9 at White Oak in Silver Spring, Md., and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, Calif. - was $642.9 million for fiscal 2012. Each location impacted the local areas through payroll, secondary jobs created through local spending, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, fuel and services and the spin-off impact of those purchases. AEDC employed a mixture of active-duty military personnel from the Air Force and Navy; Department of Defense civilians; and contractor personnel, which totaled 2,402 personnel in fiscal 2012. Of the 2,402 personnel, 52 were active-duty military; six Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 285 appropriated fund civilian employees (includes general schedule, federal wage board and other military branches); 66 government non-appropriated fund employees; 38 other civilians (credit union, Base Exchange and commissary tenants); and 1,955 contractor and sub-contractor employees. Additionally, using the Tennessee Valley Authority economic impact model methodology, AEDC estimated that more than 1,657 secondary jobs were created in the local area, for a total of 4,059 jobs directly related to AEDC. Examples of secondary jobs include those created by home construction and at local supermarkets, car dealerships and department stores. During fiscal 2012, the payroll cost for AEDC government and contractor personnel was $279 million. AEDC's direct expenditures - which include utility costs, service contracts with outside vendors and military health insurance paid to local doctors and hospitals - was $159 million. Furthermore, the indirect spin-off impact of these direct expenditures is approximately $206 million. The overall economic impact figure does not include more than $95 million paid to the approximately 4,434 retired military personnel living in the local area. In total, this retired pay group generates more than $140 million, including the spin-off effect. Additionally, these figures do not include the impact from test customers or other companies who maintain staff at AEDC to manage tests of their products or participate in the test process. The economic impact data and secondary employment estimates represent AEDC's economic impact during fiscal 2012, which runs from Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012. AEDC operates the world's largest complex of ground test facilities with a replacement value of more than $11.8 billion.