Local war profiteers: Howmet Aerospace in Kingston, NY

This is the second of an occasional series on local companies that profit from weapons production. The Howmet Fastening Systems plant in Kingston produces, literally, the nuts and bolts (and rivets and fasteners) of aviation. The parent company, Howmet Aerospace, boasts that "If it flies, we're on it". Like Woodstock's Rotron, Howmet in Kingston was for decades a prominent local employer, now a small branch of a giant corporation. And as with Rotron, we can only find occasional details of its weapons contracting thanks to a few government spare-parts requests that happen to make it into the public domain. 

We don't know how much of this particular factory's output is military but at least some of it is. Howmet Kingston is the sole source mentioned in an October 17 "request for quotations" from the Navy's NAVSUP Weapons Systems Support whose mission is "to provide Navy, Marine Corps, Joint and Allied Forces program and supply support for the weapon systems that keep our Naval forces MISSION READY". The Kingston factory is specified and will supply 18 countersink nose-piece attachments.

Israeli F-15 bombs Gaza in 2019

DLA [Defense Logistics Agency] Aviation has recently sought parts for the B-2 bomber (in November) and the F-15 aircraft (in December). The Kingston plant is listed as one of a few suppliers for these items, along with other Howmet locations.

Israel makes much use of the F-15 for genocidal purposes. Earlier this year the Trump administration proposed giving Israel some B-2s.

For its role in supplying Israel's genocide, the parent corporation, Howmet Aerospace, has been the target of recent anti-genocide and Palestine solidarity actions in Pittsburgh (the corporate HQ); Orange County, California; and Leicester, UK. The actions highlighted Howmet's contributions to the F-35.

 

War Profiteering As Usual

Israeli Black Hawk over Gaza

 

M2A3 firing missile in Syria, 2022 

A couple of War Department requests for spare parts, recently come to light, exemplify Ametek Rotron's continuing war profiteering and complicity in the Gaza genocide. They confirm that Woodstock's Rotron is the sole source of critical components for the Black Hawk helicopter and the Bradley M2A3 fighting vehicle.

 A December 2022 solicitation from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation department requests spare parts for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and its sister models, which are intensively used by Israel on Gaza and elsewhere as well as by the US in many theaters. 

More recently, this November, DLA Land solicited 43 circulating fans whose "end application" (in Pentagon-speak) is the M2A3. "This is a Sole Source procurement to Rotron Incorporated." (The M2A3 isn't in the Israeli arsenal.)

Sometimes people ask: what useful, civilian products could Rotron produce when they finally decide to put their great skills to peaceful uses instead of war machines? Well, two contracts this year provide examples of constructive devices they already make -- part of the 20% of Rotron's business which is non-military. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered components for weather radar. And NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) ordered spare parts for its research vessels. Of course one wonders whether these laudable initiatives might fall victim to the Trump regime's war on climate science. In general, desperately needed climate research and the green energy revolution require many systems for electronics cooling which Ametek Rotron is well situated to provide.

"Evolving battlefield requirements"

Ametek Rotron, along with many other war profiteers, will be peddling their products at the Association of the United States Army's Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington next week. This, according to AUSA, is "where the global defense community converges to shape the future of national security". Ametek's blurb for their booth, behind its corporate/bureaucratic jargon, indicates their close collaboration with their "partners" -- who include every branch of the US military, every major US weapons manufacturer, and many foreign war profiteers and armed forces (including those of Israel):

"At AMETEK, we are committed to solving our customers’ most complex challenges by engineering and manufacturing highly reliable, precision-engineered products and systems that support mission-critical programs across the aerospace and defense sectors. Our solutions are trusted by military leaders worldwide to perform in the most demanding operational environments—on land, at sea, in the air, and beyond the atmosphere.
With a customer-centric approach and full lifecycle support, AMETEK mitigates risk, enhances operational readiness, and ensures the long-term success of your mission. From concept through sustainment, our engineering teams work in close collaboration with defense partners to deliver tailored solutions that meet stringent military standards and evolving battlefield requirements."

These war machines run on made-in-Woodstock components

Ametek Rotron has conveniently listed some of the military machines that rely on cooling fans that are made in the village of peace, love and music:

Military aircraft:

KEY PROGRAMS

• A-1M
• A-29 EMB 314 Super Tucano
• C130 Hercules many variants
• E3 Sentry AWACS
• E6 Mercury
• E7 Wedgetail
• F15 Eagle
• F16 Fighting Falcon
• F18 Hornet/Super Hornet
• F22 Raptor
• F35 Lightning
• KC46 Pegasus Tanker
• P-3C Orion
• P-8 Poseidon
• T-7 Boeing-Saab Red Hawk
• UAV General Atomics
• V22 Osprey

MAJOR CUSTOMERS

• AMX
• Bell
• Boeing
• Boeing-SAAB
• Embraer
• General Atomics
• General Dynamics
• Lockheed Martin
• McDonnell Douglas

Helicopters:

KEY PROGRAMS

• Bell 407/427
• Bell 525
• JATAS
• MH-60K
• S-76D
• S92
• UH60J

MAJOR CUSTOMERS

• Bell Helicopter
• Lockheed Martin
• Mitsubishi
• Rockwell Collins
• Sikorsky
• TAI [Turkish Aircraft Industries]

Military ground vehicles:

KEY PROGRAMS

• 3DELRR mobile ground radar
• Bradley Fighting Vehicle
• HMMWV
• LAV III
• Leopard II MBT
• M1 Grizzly Breacher
• Marder 1A3 IFV
• Mobile Analytical Lab System
• Stryker ACV
• TPQ-47 mobile ground radar
• TPQ-53 mobile counter fire radar
• VBL LAV

MAJOR CUSTOMERS

• Aero Sekur
• AM General
• BAE
• Behr
• General Dynamics
• Lockheed Martin
• Panhard
• Raytheon
• Rheinmetall
• United Defense

Military vessels:

KEY PROGRAMS

• Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyer
• Columbia-Class Submarine
• Constellation-Class Frigates
• Ohio-Class Submarine
• San Antonio-Class Transport Dock
• Ticonderoga-Class Cruiser
• Vanguard-Class Submarine
• Virginia-Class Submarine

MAJOR CUSTOMERS

• General Dynamics Electric Boat
• Leonardo DRS
• Lockheed Martin
• Northrop Grumman
• Raytheon
• Ultra Electronics 

 

Woodstock's largest employer continues to supply critical weapons system components

As usual, only a few of Ametek Rotron's Pentagon weapons contracts find their way to the public domain, and virtually none of their private business. It's become even harder to find out info since they farmed out their contracting to military bottom-feeder Kellstrom Defense, which then morphed as a result of a merger into AllClear Aerospace & Defense. But here, from DIBBS, are a few recent government contracts that suggest how business continues as usual:

• Nov. 6, 2024: The Defense Logistics Agency orders 5 annular ball bearings from Rotron at $220 each -- to be shipped to the South Korean Air Force in Daegu, South Korea. (We don't know if the US taxpayer will be reimbursed by South Korea for these military aircraft parts.)
• Feb. 5, 2025:  The DLA orders 23 items called "PROPIMAX,GUARD,AIRC" at $435 each. They're deemed a "CRITICAL APPLICATION ITEM". One website suggests this item is for the Navy's MH-60R helicopters, made by Sikorsky.
  
• Feb. 19, 2025: The DLA's aviation division orders one "FAN,TUBEAXIAL" at $7,896, to be sent directly to USS Lyndon B. Johnson (pictured), one of the Navy's three huge Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers. According to a 2018 General Accounting Office report, these ships cost around $8 billion each.
• May 5, 2025: The Pentagon orders 30 more annular ball bearings for the South Korean Air Force -- this time they're $270 each. A new middleman appears in this order: it's to go via OS 2 Corporation, another of the many firms that get fat from the huge amounts of money that swirl around military contracting.
• May 16, 2025: The Pentagon demands that Rotron send replacements for two motor stators which Rotron had sent under an earlier contract, as they were "found to be non-conforming with the terms of the contract".
• May 29, 2025: The DLA's aviation division orders 6 centrifugal fans at the bargain price of $14,930 each. Again OS 2 Corp also gets a piece of the action.

 

Apaches in Coxsackie

An update to our previous post about local war profiteers Ducommun in Coxsackie, NY: "Later this month we expect to start full production of rotor blades for the Apache helicopter at our Coxsackie, New York facility which will complete the transition of that program from our Monrovia, California facility." So said Ducommun's Chief Financial Officer at a corporate earnings call earlier this month, adding that "we are going to see the Apache production here ramp-up". Apaches are prominent bringers of terror in Israel's ongoing genocidal siege of Gaza. The Reuters image here shows an Israeli Apache firing toward Gaza on May 14, 2024.

Local war profiteers: Ducommun AeroStructures in Coxsackie, NY

From time to time we'll take a look at some other war profiteers in our neighborhood. Today we turn to Ducommun AeroStructures in Coxsackie, NY, which manufactures large titanium and aluminum components and assemblies for the aerospace and military industries. Founded in 1977 as DynaBil, the facility was bought in 2008 by the California-based Ducommun Inc for $46.5 million. In 2018 the plant was said to have 240 employees.

We don't know what proportion of their business is military -- they also make parts for civilian aircraft such as Airbus, the Boeing 737 and 787, and Gulfstream -- nor do we have details of most of their business, but as with other companies a few contracts get into the public domain through press releases or articles.

This small random sampling of their activities shows in microcosm the military-industrial complex spreading its tentacles into every congressional district through networks of subsidiaries, subcontractors, and sub-sub-contractors. Companies like Ducommun AeroStructures and its neighbor Ametek Rotron loom large on the local scale, but they're tiny minnows in the murky ecosystem of weapons companies and military bottom-feeders:

• December 2023: Rep. Marc Molinaro touts his influence as a member of the the National Defense Authorization Act Conference Committee, boasting: "Critically for Upstate New York, the NDAA authorizes funding for Lockheed Martin in Owego, BAE Systems in Johnson City, Ducommun Incorporated in Coxsackie, and supports much of the local defense industry." All three are in his district.
  
• 2020: Ducommun Inc announces that its Coxsackie, New York Performance Center "received an award for hot form titanium products from Northrop Grumman, a new customer for the site."
  
• 2018: Then-Rep. John Faso enthuses that Ducommun AeroStructures manufactures "key systems" in Black Hawk helicopters and praises the Pentagon's acquisition of another 58 UH-60M Black Hawks. (In September 2024 an Israeli Black Hawk crashed in Gaza. On October 12, 2023 it was reported that Black Hawks were being "heavily employed" in Israel's escalating operation in Gaza. As for Faso, he has parlayed his single term in Congress into a job as "Senior Advisor" at Wellington Dupont, which coyly describes itself as a "public affairs firm" whose services include "Federal and State Government Relations" and "Lobbying Support".)
  
• 2014: Ducommun was recognized by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., for its role as a critical partner on the S-97 RAIDER high-speed scout and attack helicopter program. According to a company statement, Ducommun developed the main exhaust components for the helicopter at its Coxsackie, NY, facility.
• 2012: According to Business Wire, Ducommun "received a contract from Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT), to produce titanium firewall and baffle assemblies for the AH-1Z Cobra - the U.S. Marine Corps' newest attack helicopter. Ducommun AeroStructures will produce the assemblies at its Coxsackie, N.Y. facility through 2013." The AH-1Z, while a member of the Cobra family of attack helicopters, is usually known as the Viper. (The Israeli air force has used Cobra helicopter gunships since at least its 1982 invasion of Lebanon. In June 2023 Israel deployed two Cobras in a raid on Jenin in the West Bank.)
  
• 2010: Boeing puffs the benefits that would accrue to New York State "if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force's next aerial refueling aircraft": Ducommun AeroStructures, along with a dozen other NYS companies, have been selected to "produce critical components". In 2011 Boeing duly gets the contract and the war machine is christened A-46A Pegasus. Like certain other Boeing aircraft, the plane has been "riddled with technical issues". (In 2022 the Defense Department announced a contract with Boeing for 4 Pegasus tankers, for direct delivery to Israel by 2026.)
  
• 2010: American Metal Market reports that "under an initial $12-million contract, the Ducommun Aerostructures facility in Coxsackie, N.Y., will furnish 360 titanium subassemblies and components to Tighitco Inc. for the U.S. Army's H-60M Black Hawk helicopter that's being built by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. subsidiary of United Technologies Corp."
• 2010: "Ducommun Incorporated today announced that its Ducommun AeroStructures, Inc. (DAS) subsidiary has been awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for the V-22 Osprey titanium longeron assemblies." The V-22 is a multirole combat aircraft. At the end of September 2024 the US Air Force announced its deployment of three additional squadrons to the Middle East, with V-22s and AH-1Zs said to be among their equipment.

Woodstock/Gaza

What is the extent of Woodstock's complicity in the slaughter in Gaza? As usual we must stress that very few of Ametek Rotron's weapons contracts happen to reach the public domain. But we do know that Woodstock's largest employer has regularly shipped spare parts directly to the Israeli Defense Ministry and Air Force, and has continued to do so after the current assault on Gaza began. We know that made-in-Woodstock components are essential (often deemed "Critical Application Items" in Pentagon-speak) in:

• all the delivery mechanisms for the bombs (F-15s, F-16s, F-35s, drones, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, shipboard missile systems . . .)
• the navigation and guidance systems that direct the bombs to their targets
• the communications systems that run the whole battlefield
• military helicopters
• spy drones and spy planes such as the EP-3E
  
• Abrams, Bradley and Merkava tanks
  
• the M-113 armored personnel carriers that are prominent enforcers of oppression in the West Bank.

Rotron has also boasted in the past that it's a supplier for Israeli weapons manufactirers IAI Rafael.

War profiteers

Ametek beats profit estimates on strong demand from aerospace, defense sectors

This was the headline of a May 2 Reuters story about Ametek Rotron's parent corporation, Ametek Inc. The story explains that Ametek has 'benefited from a boom in the aerospace and defense sectors. Robust air travel demand and simmering geopolitical tensions have driven up demand from the sectors, one of the biggest contributors to Ametek's revenue'. 

Among the company's increased profits of war are the proceeds of its Rotron division's sales to the Israeli military even as the assault on Gaza escalated.

Meanwhile Ametek SCP (another division of Ametek's Aerospace and Defense group, based in Westerly, RI) won a share in a $9,676,177 contract on May 29 from the US Navy. This is for components for the Navy's nuclear-powered (and often nuclear-armed) attack submrines which underpin US military domination of the oceans. Ametek SCP seems to be a regular supplier of bits and pieces for the Navy. A June 15 contract for parts for Virginia class submarines was worth $1,497,360. Similar contracts followed on July 14 for $358,176 and on July 18 for $433,542.