Spirit AeroSystems announced the Department of Defense (DoD) allocated funding to Spirit to expand domestic production capability for advanced tooling, composite fabrication and metallic fabrication. These funds are part of the national response to COVID-19 in support of the Defense Industrial Base.

"We appreciate the confidence our customers have in Spirit's capabilities to serve a variety of critical defense needs," said Duane Hawkins, Senior Vice President; President, Defense and Fabrication, Spirit AeroSystems. "This $80 million funding for Spirit provides the Department of Defense additional production capacity for defense needs and helps maintain critical skills in the Defense Industrial Base."

Spirit will utilize the funds to build tooling, fabricate composite parts and machine complex metallic parts at its Wichita, Kan., facility. Spirit designs and manufactures both composite and metallic structures for commercial and defense customers. With long-standing machining capabilities, Spirit crafts more than 3 million detailed parts annually for original equipment manufacturers at peak production. The 5-axis center of excellence in Wichita focuses on large, complex, soft metal parts for fuselage, pylon and wing structures, all built on high-tech, high-speed, latest-generation equipment and is part of 12M sqft of manufacturing space.

"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," said Hawkins. "These funds under Title III will help retain employees with critical skills."

Spirit supports 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.

Defense Production Act Title III contracts support the Defense Industrial Base and use funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act.