The federal government is giving out a total of $16-million in loans to local companies to support their work in the defence sector.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser and MP Joanne Thompson delivered the goods at the PAL Aerospace hangar in St. John’s yesterday.

The funding is being divvied up among five companies: PAL Aerospace, Virtual Marine, Solace Power, CoLab AI, and Rutter.

The news comes off the back of a federal commitment last week of $35-billion for Arctic defense, which could result in some significant upgrades at 5-Wing Goose Bay.

When asked what all of this means for Newfoundland and Labrador’s role in Canada’s overall defence strategy, Minister Fraser indicated that people can expect to see more announcements being made here.

“We’re setting the table right now,” says Fraser, noting that the potential growth local companies could experience will position them well to further tap into the largest industrial defense strategy.