A small factory in the backstreets of an industrial area in Campbellfield, Victoria was the scene of a Palestine solidarity protest on 2 February. Almost 200 people surrounded the entrance to expose Heat Treatment Australia’s (HTA) role in supporting Israel’s war machine.

HTA is involved in the manufacture of components for the multi-role Lockheed-Martin F-35 strike fighter jets, which have played a crucial role in the genocide of Palestinians. They are a supremely efficient killing machine.

Satellite data analysis procured by the BBC reveals the full scope of the devastation on the Gaza Strip. According to the analysis, approximately 144,000 to 175,000 structures throughout the entire area have suffered damage or have been completely razed. This equates to roughly 50 per cent to 61 per cent of all buildings in Gaza, so far. F-35s have been significant in that.

Renegade Activists, a group that often provides sound logistics to rallies provided a useful backgrounder to HTA’s activities:

A plane such as the F-35 of the F-16 is made up of thousands of parts produced around the world: There are about 50 factories in Australia making parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alone.

From the titanium keels made by Lovitt in Greensborough to the hinges on the bomb bay doors made by Rosebank in Bayswater, all the metal parts for the F-35 need to undergo very specific metallurgical treatments to bring them up to what is called Nadcap Standard (US National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) before they can be fitted to fighter planes.

“A traditional manufacturing business”

The corporate media in Australia has helped boost the image of HTA. The Courier Mail describes the business, which is also based in Brisbane as a “family owned firm, started in the 1970’s by Max Tucker”.

His daughter Karen Stanton who now runs the business stated: “We began as a traditional general manufacturing business… about ten to fifteen years ago, manufacturing in Australia began to decline. So, we started contemplating where we needed to diversify.”

The Australian Department of Defence states: “Without HTA’s services, such as heat treatment and vacuum brazing (high-end joining technology resulting in extremely strong joints), manufacturers in the supply chain would need to ship machined parts to the US for heat treatment and return them to Australia for final machining and assembly.”

Global Death

The F-35 is made possible through a global supply chain that has weaved an intricate web into the manufacturing sector in almost all advanced capitalist countries allied with US imperialism. The parts processed by HTA are used in every F-35 and the company has built a direct relationship with Lockheed Martin.

The 7 October attacks by Hamas fighters provided Israel the pretext to do what it has always wanted to do – destroy the Palestinian people, crush their resistance and seize the Gaza strip. In this aim, the F-35 is indispensable. The US has backed Israel to the hilt, upgrading F-35s previously provided to Israel through US military aid. Israel had already received 50 F-35s before the 7 October attack with another 25 on the way and they were the first to receive the aircraft outside the U.S.

Israel have adapted and added their own weapons systems, using the Gaza strip as a killing field to test their technological developments. F-35s have also been used to hit targets in Syria and Lebanon.

Government Support

HTA would not be making a killing without Australian government support. The Victorian Labor government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Israeli government in December 2022 to “further defence industry ties”.

The agreement is not listed on government websites and they have declined journalists requests to discuss it in detail. The webs of the military industrial complex spread far and wide.

The Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) has been essential to HTA’s growth. Stanton is quoted by the Department of Defence as saying: “CDIC business advisers provided mentoring, helped us apply for a Capability Improvement Grant to fund staff training and maintain necessary quality systems, introduced us to global primes and OEMs, and hosted various seminars and briefing sessions.”

A Successful Protest   

Apart from being a vibrant and spirited protest, the February 2 demonstration was effective in achieving its goal. HTA shut its doors for the day, not wishing for its activities to come under public exposure.

A group of activists had engaged in direct action and had picketed the facility the day before. The factory was stained in red paint highlighting the bloodthirsty nature of its business.

At least one truck could not make deliveries to the factory, further hindering its activity. The organisers of the protest are determined to keep the pressure up and another protest will be held 9 February.