As Base Closings Loom, Hanscom’s Boosters Tout its Research Clout

Word out of Washington, D.C., of another round of military base closings is showcasing Hanscom Air Force Base’s role in fueling the region’s high-tech economy as supporters come to its defense.

With states across the country scrambling to protect their military facilities from cutbacks or closings, Hanscom’s backers are trumpeting the Air Force installation’s role in fueling innovation through millions of dollars in research contracts for companies along Route 128.

Meanwhile, the adjacent Hanscom Field in Bedford has grown into one of the top centers in the country for business aviation, providing a jetport for companies across Greater Boston.

Boosters insist they are anticipating further growth at both facilities, with more corporate jet travel and possibly more military research funding as the Air Force and other branches go increasingly high tech.

“Hanscom Air Force Base is an anchor in Massachusetts and a powerhouse throughout New England,’’ said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, and president of the Defense Technology Initiative, an arm of the council that is spearheading the drive to protect the base from closure.

A look at the numbers illustrates how important Hanscom has become over the years, Anderson said.

The Air Force complex, spread across a property that extends into Bedford, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln, generates 10,214 jobs and pumps nearly $1.2 billion every year into the local economy, according to a recent study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division.

While Hanscom was rolled out in World War II to train fighter pilots, it later emerged as a major electronic systems research center.

The growth of the Air Force research operation at Hanscom, in turn, helped fuel the rise of the high-technology industry along Route 128 as the military contracted out research work to private companies, Anderson said.

Those close ties are on display today at MITRE Corp.’s 100-acre campus, which abuts Hanscom, as well as the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, whose campus includes part of the base.

There are roughly 115,000 jobs related to the defense industry in Massachusetts, two-thirds connected with research at Hanscom, Anderson said. Roughly $3 billion a year in defense-related contracts flow through Hanscom to local companies, he said.

“You can certainly credit defense spending coming to Massachusetts as a key factor for contributing to the growth of the technology community along 128,’’ he said.

The announcement by the Pentagon late last month that a new round of base closings will be explored has stirred concern across New England, with the region’s congressional delegation vowing to lobby to save Hanscom.

But Anderson said he is unfazed by the Pentagon announcement, seeing the base-closing study as a way to possibly make Hanscom a technology hub not just for the Air Force, but for the other military services as well.

While some states will lose bases, others may see their military installations grow through consolidation.

Anderson said Hanscom’s position as an Air Force research complex in a top high-tech region makes it a good candidate to become a hub in a consolidation.