Smash EDO Press Release - For Immediate Release

14th December 2010

For details contact Andrew Beckett or Chloe Marsh on 07538093930 or
 smashedopress@riseup.net

Early this morning a group of anti arms trade activists attached
themselves to the gates of the EDO/ITT weapons factory in Brighton. The
action was taken in protest against the company's supply of arms
components being used by the US military against civilians in Afghanistan.

EDO is currently working on a contract, worth US$5 million[1], for supply
of weapons
umbilical connectors to the US air force A-10 and F-16 aircraft. Paul
Hills, EDO,
managing director, has described the function of the connector as "to provide
coordinates to the guidance unit... on the weapon."[2]

These American aircraft are being used in war crimes against the people of
Afghanistan.

EDO's connector systems have already resulted in civilian deaths in
Afghanistan. In
2009 Royal Dutch Air Force F-16s, equipped with EDO's FRCS connectors[3],
killed 52
civilians in a bombing raid in Helmand[4].

Smash EDO press spokesperson Chloe Marsh said "The government's spending
review made
only perfunctory cuts to the defence budget. Every job in the arms trade
is still
massively subsidised by the state. The exports made by EDO benefit only
the company
CEOs. All this at the same time as the government is cutting the education
and
health budgets and hammering ordinary people's pensions and benefits."

The arms industry makes its money through destroying the lives of
civilians abroad
whilst the budget cuts target the most vulnerable people here. We say that
it is
obvious where the budget cuts should be focused - on an arms trade that only
benefits the corporations.

Notes For Journalists

[1] The contract can be viewed at  http://bit.ly/8Y8jbq

[2]Mr Hills made this comment during his five day long cross-examination
for the
trial of the six 'decommissioners' who had broken into his factory during
Israel's
2009 massacre in Gaza - see  http://bit.ly/95hlzW , pp 37. For a full
transcript of
his evidence see www.smashedo.org.uk/resources.htm

[3] In an interview with the British journalist Joe Plomin the Dutch
military were
asked "Were the Dutch F-16s which provided air support to soldiers from
NATO's
International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar on the 30th of
September 2009
fitted with Field Replaceable Connector Systems (FRCS)?" The Dutch
replied: "We are
using these connectors. It's confirmed." [4]  http://bit.ly/9meosr