The Lockheed Martin company says it hired 8,300 since coronavirus hit and made $1.1 billion worth payments to keep suppliers afloat.

The world’s largest defence contractor, says it has hired more than 8,300 employees since March, when coronavirus began shutting down businesses across the United States. Lockheed, in a statement Friday, said it plans to hire a total of 12,000 employees this year.

“In this volatile environment, it is more important than ever before to maintain the operations of the defence industrial base and support our men and women in uniform,” Lockheed’s new CEO and President Jim Taiclet said in the statement.

The company also says it has sent suppliers early payments of more than $1.1 billion, the result of the Pentagon paying companies more money up front to soften the supply-chain hiccups that have slowed weapons manufacturing. Collectively, defence companies have sent billions of dollars to small or at-risk suppliers.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon began bailing out companies — sending hundreds of millions of dollars to firms that have seen large parts of their business dry up amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, it sent $187 million to five companies.