NH Aerospace and Defense Export Connects Companies

Representatives of prime contractors present at the NH Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium conference. Courtesy photo.

The NH Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium (NHADEC) held its annual conference recently to help members connect with contractors and attracted about 120 attendees. After presentations, attendees had the chance to network with representatives from BAE Systems, BELL Helicopter, L3 Technologies and Raytheon. The overarching theme was that these industries remain hot and contractors are are looking for companies to add to their supply chain.

Some of the highlights of the evening included:

• Keynote speaker Sean Slatter, president and CEO of LSI, a government business development consultant, spoke about business opportunities in defense, explaining that the U.S. defense budget increased 13 percent, from $639 billion in 2018 to $886 billion in 2019.

• Aerospace technology is a significant part of that spend and include significant acquisitions such as: 77 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters ($10.7 billion), 10 P-8A aircraft ($2.2 billion), 24 F/A-18s ($2 billion), eight CH-53K King Stallion cargo helicopters ($1.6 billion), and 60 AH-64E attack helicopters ($1.3 billion).

• The top 10 contractors accounted for 29 percent of contract spending in FY 2018, or $147.3 billion of the $508 billion contract spending, Slatter says. Lockheed Martin ranked first ($50.7 billion), Raytheon fourth ($14.7 billion), BAE Systems ninth ($5.3 billion), and L3 Technologies 10th ($5.2 billion).

• Raytheon, headquartered in Massachusetts, spent $535 million with 299 NH suppliers during the past three years. About 70 percent of those are small businesses, representing 1,300 jobs. It also spent $2.8 billion with 2,055 suppliers across New England during the same time frame.

• L3 Technologies Warrior Sensor Solutions in Londonderry manufactures an extensive portfolio of night vision and electro-optical products and is seeking long-term relationships and agreements with suppliers.

• BAE Systems, which has facilities in Hudson, Manchester and Merrimack and will be opening another large facility in Manchester, spent $2 billion in 2018 with 3,387 suppliers, of which 2,229 were small businesses. Of that $489 million was spent in the Northeast.

• BELL Helicopter, based in Texas, presented the latest developments with its vertical-lift technology and its desire to connect with potential supply chain partners. Among the NH companies it has done business with are Astronics Luminescent Systems, NH Ball Bearings and Timken.