Fri, Jan 30, 2009
$200 Million-Plus Deal For Composite Components
Alliant Techsystems announced this week it recently agreed to a
contract valued in excess of $200 million with Rolls-Royce to
produce composite aft fan cases for the new Trent XWB engine. The
Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the sole engine currently available to
power the new Airbus A350 XWB family of aircraft.
At the date of the announcement, Rolls-Royce had received orders
for over 1,000 Trent XWB engines... a figure ATK says is an
"unprecedented" launch position for a large civil aerospace engine
at such an early stage in the program. In addition to fabricating
the aft fan cases, ATK will integrate additional components into
the cases to deliver a finished aft case in support of
Rolls-Royce's assembly of the full fan case module.
The first ATK-fabricated Trent XWB aft fan case is scheduled for
delivery to Rolls-Royce in late 2009. Initial ground testing of the
Trent XWB is due to commence in 2010, with maiden flight on the new
Airbus twinjet scheduled for 2012. Support of the Rolls-Royce
design effort and initial production of the Trent XWB aft fan cases
will begin immediately.
"ATK's competitive advantage in composite fabrication
technology, built on decades of experience, offers our customers
industry-best quality and affordability that can only come from
automated fabrication processes," said Jack Cronin, President, ATK
Mission Systems. "The era of composite aircraft will revolutionize
the industry and this agreement is strong evidence that ATK is well
positioned to be a leading force in the production of composite
aircraft and engine components for decades to come. We look forward
to working with Rolls-Royce on this exciting new program."
In addition to the composites ATK will provide for the Trent
XWB, the company also produces composite fan containment cases for
commercial aircraft engines, composite solid rocket motor casings
and launch vehicle payload fairings; composite military aircraft
wing skins, stabilators and pivot shafts for aircraft such as the
F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter; and composite rotor tubes for
nuclear power generation.
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