Exeter's Cobham to Celebrate Expansion

Officials at Exeter's Cobham defense manufacturing plant on Friday will celebrate an expansion of the facility.

Cobham makes radar parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the jet of the future for the United States and several partner countries.

Cobham recently started building an addition that will double the size of its manufacturing plant on Continental Drive. The plant currently employs about 225 people; the expansion would add at least 130 more, according to company officials. Most of the new employees are those who transferred from a Massachusetts Cobham plant that company officials decided to close.

Officials will celebrate the expansion Friday morning. U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-NH, will be on hand.

Cobham is also planning on expanding its presence in Exeter on Industrial Drive, where about 125 employees work. That expansion would require 80 more employees, company officials have said.