WINNIPEG (CP) -- Magellan Aerospace says it will invest up to $112 million in its Winnipeg Bristol Aerospace plant to gear up for the Joint Strike Fighter program, a multinational effort led by the United States that could be worth billions of dollars of revenues to the Canadian company over the next two to three decades.
The Canadian government will provide Magellan with up to $41 million in repayable financial support for technology and process development.
Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 supersonic stealth fighter plane with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.
Three variants of the F-35 will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 countries.
Magellan has been manufacturing low quantities of components and assemblies for the JSF program for the past five years and considers itself to be "well-positioned" to get future contracts under the program.
Although there are many factors to consider, Magellan management estimates that the company could reap as much as US$3 billion over 25 to 30 years, with revenues of up to $120 million per year once full rate production is achieved.
"The JSF is a game-changing program due to its size, its advanced technology, and most importantly for Magellan, its manufacturing and process technology," Jim Butyniec, Magellan's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"We are also investing in capability for the JSF program in other Magellan locations, and we have been in discussions with various levels of government in the areas of training and sophisticated tooling, both in Manitoba and Ontario."
The federal government will be investing up to $41 million over five to seven years, starting in the current quarter, through the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative (SADI) program.
The SADI funds will supports the development of new manufacturing and process technology for composite and metallic materials for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.
