Feds fan out to promote jet fighter program

Story by BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau

LUNENBURG – As the debate begins in Ottawa today over whether Canada should enter into a $16-billion contract to build new jet fighters, federal fisheries minister Gail Shea toured Composites Atlantic in Lunenburg, praising workers for their contribution to the program.

Workers at this plant are making fuselage panels for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, a stealth airplane that will replace the military's CF-18s and is currently undergoing air trials.

The military airplane is part of a multi-billion joint program that involves Canada and seven other countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. The opposition has raised concerns about whether Canada needs these particular planes, whether we can afford them and if Canadian companies will get enough contracts out of the partnership.

Shea said cabinet ministers such as herself are visiting sites across the country today touting the benefits of the program for Canada. “It's to get a message to Canadians that these procurements are providing for much, much employment across Canada,” she said.

Derek Kinsman, chief operating officer for Composites Atlantic, said the project is worth about $8 million to the company over 15 years. It means the creation of 15 jobs immediately, plus support staff, and he said work is expected to carry over to the late in the next decade, “so it's a long term proposition for us.”

He said the company is already in discussions with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, two aerospace companies involved in the joint fighter program, about the potential for more contracts.

“It's an opportunity to leverage this into many more opportunities and jobs for Nova Scotia and Lunenburg,” Kinsman said.

Composites Atlantic is making composite contoured panels that run from the fuselage to the wing area. “These composite structures are an integral part of the air worthiness and strength of the structure itself, so they're a very high-quality structural element of the aircraft,” Kinsman said.

The company was awarded the contract in 2008 and began making the panels last year. It makes a total of ten panels for the three different models of the aircraft.

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