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$200 million contract for Toronto’s Messier-Dowty Inc.

Nov. 10, 2011, Toronto - Boeing today announced it has awarded Messier-Dowty Inc. a contract valued at nearly US$200 million to continue manufacturing nose landing gear assemblies for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.


November 10, 2011  By Carey Fredericks

Messier-Dowty Inc will manufacture the assemblies at its production facility near Toronto.

“Messier-Dowty’s outstanding performance in production and delivery of F/A-18E/F and EA-18G nose landing gear has been instrumental to continued, ahead-of-schedule and on-budget delivery of the Super Hornet and Growler for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force,” said Eddy Morin, country director and vice president in Canada for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “This contract strengthens our companies’ long-standing relationship, which spans nearly two decades.”

“We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Boeing Defense Space & Security for the supply of F/A-18 nose landing gear,” said Bryan Teed, President, Messier-Dowty Inc. “We’re proud to say that for more than 15 years, this work has been a mainstay of production at our Ajax site. Through the work we have with Boeing on the F/A-18 and V-22 programs, the site has been designated as a Military Center of Excellence by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty. We look forward to extending and expanding our relationship with Boeing.”

Messier-Dowty Inc is a division of Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, a Safran group company. The company also provides Boeing with main and nose landing gear for the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and the 787 Dreamliner passenger airplane; and it is a supplier of wheels and carbon brakes for the 787 and the Next-Generation 737 airplane.
Boeing delivered 210 Super Hornets to the Navy during the initial F/A-18E/F multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which spanned fiscal years 2000 through 2004. Super Hornet deliveries under a 2005-2009 MYP for 257 aircraft continue through 2011. In September 2010, Boeing was awarded a new MYP contract for 124 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft to be delivered through 2015.

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"Boeing continues to see strong international interest in the Super Hornet and we expect deliveries to continue through the end of this decade," said Mike Gibbons,     F/A-18 and EA-18 programs vice president for Boeing.

The F/A-18E/F is the U.S. Navy's frontline strike fighter, delivering forward-deployed air combat capability from the decks of 11 Navy aircraft carriers around the world, including ongoing missions in Afghanistan. The EA-18G, the United States' newest combat aircraft, conducts advanced airborne electronic attack missions to support Navy and joint force requirements. The Australian government became the first Super Hornet customer outside the United States in 2007 when it signed a contract with the U.S. Navy to acquire 24 F/A-18Fs. On Oct. 21, 2011, Boeing completed ahead of schedule its delivery of Royal Australian Air Force Super Hornets.

This subcontract is in line with Canada's Industrial & Regional Benefits (IRB) policy and is an integral part of Boeing's IRB programs in Canada. Canada's IRB policy requires prime contractors such as Boeing to make investments in the Canadian economy as a result of winning defense and security contracts with the Government of Canada. Boeing has four active IRB programs tied to the purchase and sustainment of four C-17 airlifters – designated CC-177 for Canadian Forces; the procurement of ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems services; and the purchase of 15 CH-47F Chinook medium-to-heavy-lift rotorcraft – designated CH-147 for Canadian Forces.

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