Heinrich Welcomes New Missile Defense Work Coming To New Mexico

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced today that IEC-SoCal Braiding and Continental Machine were awarded contracts to manufacture missile defense components in Albuquerque. The contracts are part of a $149 million contract awarded to Raytheon by Rafael for the Iron Dome Weapon short-range rocket defense system. 

"New Mexico plays a pivotal role in our national security and defense," said Sen. Heinrich. "This work is a good start and reflects our state's unique capabilities. I am hopeful that new manufacturing of Iron Dome in the United States will bring additional jobs to New Mexico down the road."

Senator Heinrich played a key role in securing an amendment in last year's National Defense Authorization Act that supports American jobs by authorizing $15 million for the production of the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system in the United States. To date, the United States has provided nearly a billion dollars to Israel for Iron Dome batteries, interceptors, and general maintenance; of which $220 million was authorized in the FY14 National Defense Authorization Act for procurement of additional Iron Dome batteries and missiles. Despite these significant investments, the United States has not shared in production of this missile defense system until now.