‘Survitec’ – Serving Imperialism
Last night, Monday 20th of January, Lasair Dhearg activists paid a visit to Survitec base of operations on Irish soil. As part of our campaign aimed at highlighting imperialism in Ireland and elsewhere, activists erected a banner along the front of the Survitec site, notifying passers-by and nearby residents of the extent of which the company is involved in the business of imperialist expansionism.
As an example of where businesses in Ireland fit into the global neo-colonial structure, Survitec is up there with the best of them. Founded in 1920, the international conglomerate has a global presence that includes Britain, the US, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore and Dunmurry, Ireland.
Just outside Belfast, their Irish office receives their orders from the Survitec Group Head Office based in the heart of Britain’s most imperial city; London. Its customers include the British Ministry of Defence, the US Navy & Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force & Navy, international oil thieves Shell, and weapons producers Lockheed Martin & BAE Systems.
Survitec F-35 Flight Suit
The company has its own dedicated ‘Aerospace & Defence’ department, which specialises in the provision of goods and services to governments and military throughout the world, keeping their global war machines ticking. According to the company themselves, they are “…a global leader in the manufacture…[and] supply… of defence and aerospace survival technology.”
In short, the company is integrated root and branch in the business of imperialism. A significant amount of its profits are received from governments and military budgets who require the company’s services in their ongoing wars across the globe.
Survitec flight suits can be found worn by fighter pilots as they grace the skies of conflict zones in the Middle East. Dedicated Survitec facilities produce the suits and other materials for the ‘Joint Strike Fighter’, the new F-35 Stealth multi-role fighter jet, to be used by the United States, Britain and their NATO allies.
These nations also utilise inflatable tactical training structures developed by the company. Significant contracts include the U.S. Air Force along with security forces across the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Whilst Survitec also make safety and survival equipment for the marine environment etc,. this contrasts sharply with the provision of goods and materials used in the dispensing of death across the globe. There is a moral imperative for this business to shut down its aerospace and defence operations, particularly in Ireland, and to focus on the manufacture of other goods.
Survitec is but one example of a whole network of businesses and other organisations operating in Ireland who profit from the provision of services & materials of war. The continued use of Ireland as a base of operations for profit-making for these companies must end. The only solution is the removal of both failed states on the island; ending the British occupation of Ireland’s Six Counties; and a new 32 County Socialist Republic that cherishes not just all the children of the Irish nation but across the globe – an Irish Socialist Republic that can serve as a shining example to the international community.
End Imperialism!
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