Back to news

December 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace

GKN Aerospace, SAMC and AVIC Supply sign JV Agreement for Advanced Aerostructures

December 8, 2020 - COMAC subsidiary SAMC (Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company), AVIC Supply and GKN Aerospace have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement for the manufacture of Composite and Metallic Aerostructures in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, China. This represents a significant milestone in GKN Aerospace's long-stated ambition to grow within the commercial aerospace market within China.

The state-of-the-art, 80,000m2 facility in Jingjiang will be GKN Aerospace's first aerostructures JV in China. It will offer COMAC, AVIC and Western customers the opportunity to access an important local supply of advanced aerostructures in the country. The JV builds on COMAC, AVIC and GKN Aerospace's proven track record in the global commercial aviation industry. Production is scheduled to begin in Q4 2021 and, by the mid-2020s, the workforce is expected to grow to 1,000 people.

In addition to the JV facility, GKN Aerospace is in final preparations to open (April 2021) a separate 20,000 m2 site in Jingjiang, focusing on the manufacture of transparencies for the commercial market.

Both endeavours will help meet China's national industrial strategy of “made in China 2025”.

John Pritchard, President Civil Aerospace at GKN Aerospace said: “The establishment of the first aerostructures JV and the upcoming opening of the transparencies facility in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, China are exciting milestones. We are proud to extend our footprint in China by working together with our committed partners COMAC, SAMC and AVIC Supply. The collaboration with the local authorities and support of the regional government has been vital. I am sure the combination of our dedicated teams, technology leadership and extensive aerospace experience will lead to exciting growth opportunities. We are excited to be part of the growth of the commercial aerospace industry in China.”

GKN Aerospace has a strong three-continent footprint, supporting customers in the Americas, Europe and in Asia. In recent years, growth in Asia has included opening a new wiring systems plant in Pune, India in Q4 2019, as well as unveiling a new aero-engine repair and research plant in Johor, Malaysia, in October 2018. With two new sites in China, GKN Aerospace will be delivering aerostructures, wiring systems and transparencies for the commercial aerospace market from seven sites across China, India, Malaysia and Turkey.

View source version on GKN Aerospace: https://www.gknaerospace.com/en/newsroom/news-releases/2020/gkn-aerospace-samc-and-avic-supply-sign-jv-agreement-for-advanced-aerostructures/

On the same subject

  • Here’s how much global military spending rose in 2018

    April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Here’s how much global military spending rose in 2018

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — Overall military expenditures rose 2.6 percent between 2017 and 2018, to hit a total of $1.82 trillion dollars, according to new research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The total from 2018 is 5.4 percent higher than 2009, and represents a 76 percent increase over 1998, a 20-year period. Sixty percent of global military spending came from five countries: The United States ($649 billion), China ($250 billion), Saudi Arabia ($67.6 billion), India ($66.5 billion) and France ($63.8 billion). Russia ($61.4 billion) and the United Kingdom ($50 billion) were the other two countries to spend $50 billion or more on defense. However, there are ups and downs among the biggest spenders. While the U.S. (4.6 percent, the first overall growth since 2010), China (5 percent) and India (3.1 percent) increased their respective military spending year over year, Saudi Arabia cut its spending by 6.5 percent, France by 1.4 percent and Russia by 3.5 percent. And overall defense spending per gross domestic product fell to 2.1 percent in 2018, representing $239 per global citizen, a 0.1 percent decrease over one year and a 0.5 percent decrease over 10 years. Notably, Russia ranked outside the top five for the first time since 2006. China, meanwhile, increased its military spending for the 24th consecutive year, and its spending is almost 10 times higher than it was in 1994; however, researchers warn that Chinese growth may slow in the coming year. “The annual rate of growth of China's military spending has slowed steadily since it reached a post-2009 high of 9.3 percent in 2013. The growth of 5.0 percent in 2018 was the lowest annual increase since 1995,” the authors note. “China has followed a policy of linking growth in military spending with economic growth. With its economic growth slowing in 2018 to the lowest level in 28 years, slower rates of growth in the coming years can be expected if China continues to follow this policy.” SIPRI, which is widely considered to be the authority on military expenditures and exports, having gathered such data for decades. Other key developments, as noted by the researchers: Military spending in South America rose by 3.1 percent in 2018. This was mainly due to the increase in Brazilian spending (by 5.1 percent), the second increase in as many years. Military expenditure in Africa fell by 8.4 percent in 2018, the fourth consecutive annual decrease since the peak in spending in 2014. There were major decreases in spending by Algeria (–6.1 percent), Angola (–18 percent) and Sudan (–49 percent). Military spending by states in the Middle East, for which data is available, fell by 1.9 percent in 2018. Total military expenditure by all 29 NATO members was $963 billion in 2018, which accounted for 53 percent of world spending. Military spending in Turkey increased by 24 percent in 2018 to $19 billion, the highest annual percentage increase among the world's top 15 military spenders. Six of the 10 countries with the highest military burden (military spending as a proportion of GDP) in the world in 2018 are in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia (8.8 percent of GDP), Oman (8.2 percent), Kuwait (5.1 percent), Lebanon (5 percent), Jordan (4.7 percent) and Israel (4.3 percent). https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/04/28/heres-how-much-global-military-spending-rose-in-2018

  • Northrop Grumman Reveals Low-Band Jammer Candidate

    September 23, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR

    Northrop Grumman Reveals Low-Band Jammer Candidate

    Steve Trimble Northrop Grumman has revealed the first photograph of a pod for the Next Generation Jammer-Low Band (NGJ-LB) system possibly weeks ahead of a competitive contract award. The U.S. Navy image released by Northrop shows the full-scale candidate for the NGJ-LB contract during testing inside the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility's anechoic chamber. The image reveals a pod with a dimpled outer mold line similar to the ALQ-99 low-band pods, which the winning NGJ-LB design is expected to augment and then replace. Northrop and rival L3Harris recently completed anechoic chamber testing of both competing NGJ-LB pods while wrapping up the 20-month Demonstration of Existing Technologies phase, which precedes a contract award for the engineering and manufacturing development phase scheduled in November. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has budgeted $3 billion to develop and build the NGJ-LB pods over the life of the program. Each pod will be integrated on the Boeing EA-18G aircraft. The low-band pods will complement the Raytheon NGJ-Mid-band pods now in early production. NAVAIR also has expressed long-term interest in a new high-band pod. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/sensors-electronic-warfare/northrop-grumman-reveals-low-band-jammer-candidate

  • German military headed for 56-bln-eur spending gap in 2028 - Spiegel
All news