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Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kan., U.S.), manufacturer of composite and metallic structures for commercial and defense sectors, announced on June 11 that the Department of Defense (DoD) allocated $80 million to Spirit to expand domestic production capability for advanced tooling, composites fabrication and metallic fabrication. Supporting a number of military programs, including programs for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, Spirit says these funds are part of the national response to COVID-19 in support of the defense industrial base (DIB), and are authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act.

"We appreciate the confidence our customers have in Spirit's capabilities to serve a variety of critical defense needs," says Duane Hawkins, senior vice president of defense and fabrication at Spirit AeroSystems. "Our growing work on defense programs has provided a measure of stability for the company and helped us as we shift capacity to serve other needs, particularly in the defense market. These funds under Title III will help retain employees with critical skills."

Spirit says it will use the funds to build tooling, fabricate composite parts and machine complex metallic parts at its Wichita facility. The 12 million-square-foot space typically focuses on large, complex, soft metal and composite parts for fuselage, pylon and wing structures.