22 June
The US Department of Defense (DOD) has announced five Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III actions to strengthen the domestic industrial base and protect jobs in the region hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of $187m in funds will be distributed to Austal USA, W International, Weber Metals, American Woolen Company and GE Aviation to ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of operational readiness. Austal USA and W International will receive $50m and $55m, respectively, to strengthen domestic shipbuilding industrial base. As part of a $25m agreement, Weber will make die forgings for DoD weapons systems. American Woolen will receive $2m to produce fabric for army dress uniforms.
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GE has received $55m investment from the US Department of Defense (DOD) to boost the domestic aviation defence industrial base. Under the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III investment, the company will remanufacture select aircraft engine components for F110-100/-129 turbofan jet engine and the F118-101 turbofan jet engine used on the US Air Force’s F-16 and the U-2 aircraft. It has been projected that both the F-16 and the U-2 propulsion systems have future readiness challenges. These funds will help the service from the future shortfall and sustain the viability and readiness of the propulsion systems. Further, it is expected to save more than 225 American jobs.
The New York (NY) National Guard is gradually withdrawing troops on duty as the number of Covid-19 cases in the state continues to decline. Currently, the force structure stands at 2,459 soldiers, 353 airmen, 76 members of the New York Guard, the state’s self-defence force, and 71 members of the New York Naval Militia. The troops will be moved to a steady-state operations posture. Also, six regional joint task forces have been combined into two new headquarters to handle missions and operations in the state. Soldiers have moved 714 pallets of personal protective equipment and 1,029 pallets of other equipment, delivered 360,000 masks. They will receive and warehouse 845,000 medical gowns, 2.2 million protective masks, 4,000 oxygen cylinders and another 150 pallets of supplies.
