US aeronautics firm in Cork denies Israel arms connection

A US-owned aeronautics firm, which is a subsidiary of a major arms manufacturer and employs 100 people in Cork, has denied that any of its work here is connected to weapons used by Israel against civilians in Gaza.

Collins Aerospace, which has an office in Penrose Wharf, is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defence manufacturers.

Asked whether any of the systems or equipment used in Cork contribute to weaponry sold by RTX to Israel, a spokesperson for Collins Aerospace told The Echo: “No, nothing from Cork … this is a commercial aerospace business, which is not part of the defence subsidiary, but is part of RTX”.

When asked to confirm that RTX was selling weaponry to Israel, the spokesperson said they were “not able to go into details of what is being provided where, and to which customers, in which countries”.

Collins Aerospace was established in Cork in 2010, where it employs about 100 people, out of a staff of 1,000 on the island of Ireland.

Globally, Collins has 80,000 employees, and, in 2023, it reported adjusted sales figures of $26.2bn.

Collins Aerospace has three plants in Ireland: One in Kilkeel, in Co Down, where it manufactures one third of all airplane seats sold globally; one in Shannon, where it focuses on aircraft maintenance and overhaul; and in Cork, where it concentrates on applied research and technology.

The company has been criticised for its ties to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in the six months since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7.

Since then, Gaza has come under heavy IDF bombardment, with the death toll in the besieged enclave now 33,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

As famine looms in much of Gaza, military aid to Israel is becoming controversial for the US, and the activities of American arms manufacturers are likely to come under increased scrutiny.

BRIEFING

At an on-site media briefing in Cork attended by The Echo, Collins Aerospace said its work is focused on systems within aircraft.

A company spokesperson said it wished to establish a relationship with local media outlets ahead of “a number of announcements possibly coming up in the next few months”.

It was the company’s first such media briefing, and it came after a number of pickets held by the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign (CPSC) outside Collins Aerospace’s Cork office, the first of which occurred last November.

Picketers could be heard outside during some of Thursday’s briefing, and afterwards members of the CPSC said that they were protesting the presence in a neutral country of a subsidiary of a major arms manufacturer.

Cork City Councillor Ted Tynan, of the Workers’ Party, who is a member of the CPSC, said that Collins Aerospace was “directly linked” with the arms industry.

“Some of [its] equipment is finding its way to Israel, where it is being used in the genocidal slaughter of men, women, and children in Gaza and occupied Palestine,” Mr Tynan said.

“This company should separate itself from military operations or else it should be shut down: It’s as simple as that. The most important element here is human life. What about the thousands of children that have been slaughtered in the rubble of Gaza?”

Collins Aerospace has a relationship with Scoil Padre Pio in Churchfield, and it operates outreach events offering pupils an introduction to engineering.

It has also attended Cork City Council’s Carnival of Science, and has part-sponsored lab upgrades in University College Cork.

Last month, Blarney singer-songwriter Mick Flannery joined other Irish acts, including Gavin James, Soda Blonde, and Kneecap in withdrawing from the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, in protest at events sponsored by the US military and military-industrial companies, including Collins Aerospace, specifically because of their involvement in Gaza.

SUBSIDIARY

Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary of US aerospace and defence manufacturer RTX Corporation, which was previously known as Raytheon.

Raytheon was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1922 and worked initially in refrigeration technology, before moving into electronics, and during World War II it worked in radar systems. In 1945 it pioneered the first microwave oven.

It later moved into designing and building guided missiles and missile systems, with its Patriot missile gaining prominence in 1991, during the first Gulf War.

In 2020, Raytheon completed the first radar array for the US army’s new missile defence radar, the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS).

In June 2023, Raytheon rebranded as RTX Corporation.