BAE cuts ribbon on $7.5m plant for missile defense system

NASHUA, Nov 03, 2009 (The Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BAESF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Shortly after a U.S. Army helicopter was shot down in Iraq six years ago, BAE Systems got an emergency call from the military looking for a missile warning system to help prevent such attacks.

The defense firm began building its Common Missile Warning System, quickly dedicating some of its manufacturing space to production of the electronic systems, which use flares to confuse an enemy missile and send it off course. The systems are currently being used on all Army helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This week, BAE Systems unveiled a new $7.5 million manufacturing facility at the Spit Brook Road location in Nashua that will be used to build the sister product, a more advanced missile defense systems for military helicopters known as the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures system, which uses lasers to thwart missiles.

Five weeks after employees moved into the space, BAE held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen stopped by to cut the ribbon, giving a short congratulatory speech to BAE executives and manufacturing employees before touring the new facility.

"It's the people who work here who make a difference," Shaheen said. "Your motto, 'We protect those who protect us,' is especially fitting when you think about the difference you make for men and women in the military."

The tour portion of the event was not open to members of the media.

Tom Arseneault, president of BAE's Nashua-based Electronic Solutions line of business, said that although the new facility hasn't created new jobs, it has allowed the company to keep staffing levels relatively flat.

In June, BAE announced that it would cut around 125 positions in southern New Hampshire in anticipation of decreased defense spending. The move came less than six months after a company-wide reorganization, in light of the anticipated defense cuts, to create a more "lean" operation, and shortly after President Barack Obama shaped his first defense budget, giving the defense industry a clearer picture of what's to come.

The new manufacturing facility will eventually employ about 120 "hands on" production people and a support staff of about 50-60, according to Robert Kirsh, manager of IR Systems Common Build Electronics, Intelligence & Support.

The Common Missile Warning System that BAE was commissioned to build six years ago has logged more than one million combat flying hours. In addition to that system, the Army now wants to install the next generation Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures systems on all of its helicopters.

Every so often, Kirsh said, a veteran from one of the wars makes a special trip to BAE in Nashua to personally thank employees for working on products that save lives. When a pilot stops by, usually on their own dime, the company packs employees in the auditorium to hear him or her speak.

"There's not a dry eye in the house," Kirsh said. "It's very emotional. Because we know it works and saves lives."

Monday's event marked the sixth unveiling of a new manufacturing facility for BAE in southern New Hampshire since 2002. Shaheen also attended a ribbon cutting ceremony that year for a 35,000 square foot facility for work on F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter systems, but at the time she was still governor of New Hampshire.

BAE Systems is the nation's sixth-largest defense contractor and the largest private employer in Greater Nashua. The company has had a presence in Nashua since 1999, when it bought Sanders Associates and made the city the home base of its Electronics & Integrated Solutions Operating Group.

In addition to the two facilities in Nashua, BAE has campuses in Hudson and Merrimack.

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