Winnipeg plant one of largest F-35 parts producers in Canada

 

Magellan Aerospace builds the horizontal tail assemblies for the controversial aircraft

Of the more than 100 companies in Canada that produce components for the F-35 combat aircraft, Mississauga-based Magellan Aerospace is one of the largest. Notably, it is also majority owned and chaired by billionaire N. Murray Edwards, the 35th richest person in Canada, who controls oil sands giant Canadian Natural Resources Limited, or CNRL, and the mining company Imperial Metals, responsible for the catastrophic Mount Polley tailings disaster.

However, most of Magellan’s fighter jet manufacturing does not take place in Ontario, where much of the Canadian F-35 supply chain is concentrated, or even in provinces like Alberta or British Columbia, where Edwards’ many other interests are located. Instead, Magellan’s main F-35 production happens in a large factory in the St. James neighbourhood of Winnipeg, right next to the city’s airport.

In 2013, the general manager of Magellan’s Winnipeg operations said the plant was “doing the largest volume of work on the F-35 in Canada.” This claim was reiterated in 2016 when the Winnipeg Free Press reported that that “Magellan’s St. James plant is one of the largest participants in the F-35 program in Canada.” Shortly after, the Winnipeg plant was again described as the “largest Canadian structural supplier to the controversial jet.”

Specifically, Magellan’s Winnipeg factory manufactures the horizontal tail assembly for the F-35A: the main variant of F-35 that Canada recently committed to buying 88 of, and that serves as the basis of Israel’s special subvariant, the F-35I. The company won an initial contract to build the essential parts in 2009, with the first completed tail assembly installed onto an F-35 at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth factory in 2013.

Magellan had this contract renewed several times since, most recently in late 2022, right before Canada announced its plan to finally pull the trigger on buying the fighters. Over the lifespan of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, Magellan’s Winnipeg plant is expected to ship more than 1,000 horizontal tail assemblies, accounting for half of all tail assemblies for the F-35A. In 2019, Magellan reported that the plant was ramping up deliveries to 60 per year. In total, it is anticipated that these contracts will be worth about $1.5 billion in revenues.  (more...)

Winnipeg plant one of largest F-35 parts producers in Canada