The company linked to a chemical leak in the US state of California that prompted up to 50,000 residents to evacuate over the weekend produces components for F-35 fighter jets that are likely destined for Israel, according to a report by US-based news website The Intercept.
The incident occurred at GKN Aerospace’s facility in Garden Grove, California, where a chemical storage tank ruptured last week. Since 2017, the plant has received more than $13 million in subcontract work from defense manufacturing giant Lockheed Martin, the report said.
According to the report, Lockheed Martin relies on hundreds of subcontractors in more than a dozen countries to support F-35 production. One of these companies is GKN Aerospace Transparency Inc., a Garden Grove-based subsidiary of GKN, which has secured over $255 million in Lockheed Martin subcontracts.
“While GKN chases contracts and profits, our community pays the price with school closures and disrupted livelihoods,” Sofia Awaida, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement and Garden Grove resident who was evacuated due to the leak, said on Tuesday.
“And our people abroad pay the price when the same weapon systems produced here are used to massacre people in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Iran and all across the region.”
