A COMPANY in Huddersfield supplying aircraft parts is set to share in a job-creating series of contracts for new fighter jets.
Wesco Aircraft, which has its European headquarters at Clayton West, is among about 130 companies to supply components for the 3,000-strong fleet of F-35 jets. The planes will be assembled in the USA with deliveries to begin in 2015.
The design and manufacture of the fifth generation aircraft is expected to create and sustain some 25,000 jobs in the UK over 30 years and boost UK productivity by £28.7bn, according to Lockheed Martin, which is leading the programme.
The Joint Strike Fighter planes, which have been in development since the mid-90s, are expected to be used by the Ministry of Defence to replace Harrier and Tornado jets, with two of three test aircraft to be handed over to the UK in June.
A number of other countries around the world including Australia, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands have also already made orders, with the US buying the largest proportion to provide the bulk of its tactical air power.
Work will primarily be carried out at the BAE Systems site at Samlesbury, Lancashire, where the fuselage and other structural components will be made.
Other places to benefit include companies with sites at Denham in Buckinghamshire, Birkenhead in Wirral, Lostock in Lancashire, Wimborne in Dorset, Bristol and Southampton.
Wesco, which has its global HQ in California, supplies items including bearings, electronic sensors, switches and circuit breakers, clamps, valves and sealings for the aviation industry.
