The MoD has awarded Raytheon a new £60 million contract to replenish supplies of Paveway IV guided bombs to the British Army. EDO MBM (a unit of US arms dealers ITT Exelis) will manufacture the umbilical interconnect system and containers in Brighton. Paveway IV bombs have been used in Afghanistan and Libya and an earlier model of the Paveway was used in Iraq.
The MoD claims that this will sustain hundreds of jobs at the factories concerned (see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-17597889).
The MoD claims that this will sustain hundreds of jobs at the factories concerned (see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-17597889).
Chloe Marsh of Smash EDO said “this new MoD contract shows that the government is spending public money to prepare for more war at the same time as selling off essential services like the NHS, the benefits of these new contracts will be felt by multinational arms manufacturers such as ITT and Raytheon, not the British public.”
Andrew Beckett said “the rearmament that this contract represents is part of the process of preparing to fight new wars for resources such as the threatened attack on Iran. It is imperative that we step up our resistance to the companies profiting from militarism.”
Ian Pritchard of Campaign Against Arms Trade said “It is spurious to use UK jobs as an excuse for spending millions on manufacturing bombs. Any government spending will generate jobs, but spending on arms production is propping up a stagnant sector that soaks up scarce resources and engineering skills. Instead the government should be investing in the renewable energy sector which is vibrant and rapidly expanding but needs government investment for the UK to gain market share. This would benefit human security by helping tackle the real threat of climate change, instead of boosting an industry whose products mean death and destruction.”
Andrew Beckett said “the rearmament that this contract represents is part of the process of preparing to fight new wars for resources such as the threatened attack on Iran. It is imperative that we step up our resistance to the companies profiting from militarism.”
Ian Pritchard of Campaign Against Arms Trade said “It is spurious to use UK jobs as an excuse for spending millions on manufacturing bombs. Any government spending will generate jobs, but spending on arms production is propping up a stagnant sector that soaks up scarce resources and engineering skills. Instead the government should be investing in the renewable energy sector which is vibrant and rapidly expanding but needs government investment for the UK to gain market share. This would benefit human security by helping tackle the real threat of climate change, instead of boosting an industry whose products mean death and destruction.”
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