Two military contractors have landed multimillion-dollar deals to do work in Maine for the U.S. Department of Defense.

General Dynamics’ Saco plant won $191 million to build defense systems that intercept rocket-propelled grenades and guided missiles targeting tanks, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Tuesday. Pratt & Whitney, based in Connecticut, is getting $216 million to improve fighter plane engines, with some of that work to be performed at the company’s North Berwick facility.

The General Dynamics technology – called Iron Fist Active Protection Systems – is used in Army Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. It was developed in cooperation with Elbit Systems, an Israeli company. Building the systems will support 20 new jobs in Saco, a nearly 10% increase in the facility’s workforce of more than 200, Collins said.

“The contract awarded to General Dynamics’ Saco Facility is especially good news for the skilled workers who will be responsible for the assembly of these critical weapons protection systems,” said Collins, who is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Iron Fist systems are designed to defeat rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles, improving the safety of soldiers in combat zones, she said. The contracted work is expected to be completed by 2027.

The defense plant has drawn protests by anti-Israel activists demanding an end to the production of military equipment and components.

General Dynamics is the sole manufacturer of bombs used by Israel in its Gaza campaign, according to reporting by the Financial Times. The Defense Department announced last year that half of a $32.5 million delivery order to produce “Guided Missile MK 82 directors” and controls would happen at Saco’s General Dynamics site.

The Iron Fist Active Protection System is add-on equipment that can be applied to a range of vehicles, from light ones to heavy armored fighting vehicles. It’s designed to intercept a threat by launching a small warhead at a safe distance from the protected platform at a “precisely calculated moment” and defeating or destroying the threat through a shock-wave effect, General Dynamics said.

The Iron Fist provides 360-degree protection coverage for close range in open terrain and urban environments, according to General Dynamics. Its technology includes sensing techniques, a search-and-track radar and infrared sensor that detects threats, predicts trajectories and provides a short reaction time.

Demand for active protection systems has increased significantly due to rising military spending globally “amid widespread geopolitical tensions as well as the growing need for higher survivable and technologically advanced weapon systems against emerging combat threats,” according to Zack’s Equity Research.

General Dynamics’ combat systems division posted revenue of $2.28 billion in the quarter ended June 30, up nearly 19% from the same three-month period last year.

Separately, Collins announced that jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX Corp., was awarded a $216 million contract for an upgrade to its F-35 jet fighter engine. Collins said the the F-35 engine core upgrade is “critical to modernizing the most widely used advanced fighter aircraft in the U.S. military,” including in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. She did not say whether the contract would add jobs in North Berwick.

The contracted work is expected to be completed by 2028.