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 desctibes 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.
