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 contract 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 will supply 18 countersink nose-piece attachments.
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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.
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