THE next US president will usher in an era of reduced military spending that could impact on Lancashire’s aerospace industry, a leading manufacturer has warned.
As Americans go to the polls on Tuesday, they will be voting for two candidates with vastly differing views on budgets for the US military.
On the one hand there is Barack Obama, a Democrat who is on the record as saying that he would start moves to pull the US out of Iraq if elected and move some funds away from the defence budget.
Opposing him is John McCain, a Republican Vietnam veteran who spent five years as a prisoner of war and who has vowed to keep supporting the military and the country’s war effort.
The issue for Lancashire is that each of these spending paths could have different implications for its thriving aerospace sector which is headed by BAE Systems.
With over 4,000 employees at its Samlesbury site the company has embarked on a multi million pound overhaul of the site based around contracts for the F-35 Lightning II, a fighter jet that is being sold to the US Air Force along with a host of other countries.
A BAE Systems spokesman said: “We believe the US defence market remains a strong and attractive market within which to do business.
“Our large order book gives us a good deal of forward visibility and the company’s strategy has been to focus on areas of the US defence market that we believe offer good sustainability.
“Despite this strong business position in the US market the company’s plans are based on what we believe to be realistic assumptions for reduced growth in US defence spend.”
BAE Systems heads the East Lancashire aerospace supply chain and is a sector that has a major foothold in the area.
The spokesman added: “The company believes that a strong defence and security environment is likely to be a feature of any US presidential election campaign.
“Although each candidate may present some differences in priorities around that core defence strength, the company has a broad base of programmes and activities in the US market.
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