Super Hornet and the Woodstock Ball Bearings

We have decided to look at a random sample of recent Defense Department weapons contracts won by Woodstock, NY companies.

The F18 E/F Super Hornet fighter/attack aircraft (pictured here with its "Weapons Load-out") flies on ball-bearings made in Woodstock, NY. Our town's biggest employer Ametek Rotron has gained a Pentagon contract for $1,836 (dated May 24) to supply 18 ball bearings for the warplane, which first strutted its stuff in Desert Storm in 2003. We have reported before on Rotron's previous trade in these high-tech weapons components. In the latest contract the ball bearings are priced at $102  each.