CBS News featured a story on a study by the UMass Donahue Institute looking at the impact that defense contracts have on Massachusetts’ economy. The findings, announced Tuesday by Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray and members of the Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force, show that the state’s six operating military bases bring over 45,000 jobs and $13.7 billion to the Bay State’s economy.

This study is the first comparison made between Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Barnes Air National Guard in Westfield, the U.S. Army's Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Fort Devens, Hanscom Air Force Base and the Massachusetts Military Reserve on Cape Cod.

Hanscom Air Force Base, the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center, had the largest economic impact, contributing more than $8.4 billion in fiscal year 2011 through operational and procurement activities.

The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, which specializes in areas like technology research and development, contributed more than $4.4 billion to the economy and employed over 14,000 people during the same period.

The Massachusetts state study was released the day after results of a study looking at the economic impact that federal defense and homeland security contracts have throughout New England were announced on Capitol Hill. That study found that such contracts added $33.9 billion to the region's economy last year — an 85 percent increase from eight years ago.

Martin Romitti, director of Economic and Public Policy Research, the Donahue Institute group that authored the study, said when combined, the two studies create a "more comprehensive picture of what the defense industry and the jobs associated with that really are."

Read the article, “Report reveals impact of Mass. military bases"