Northrop Grumman and Airbus Partner on “Wing of Tomorrow” Program

January 30, 2019

Northrop Grumman finalized a Cooperation and Research Agreement (CRA) with Airbus on the Wing of Tomorrow program for future potential high-rate production opportunities. (Photo by Master Films / A. Doumenjou)

Northrop Grumman Corporation recently finalized a Cooperation and Research Agreement to work closely with Airbus on the Wing of Tomorrow program. The three-year agreement expands the current Northrop Grumman relationship with Airbus and explores complex composite wing stiffener forming automation with out-of-autoclave material systems through an investment in equipment, test articles and engineering support.

Northrop Grumman is currently producing composite fuselage stringers and frames for the Airbus A350 XWB -900 and -1000 variants at its state-of-the-art Aircraft Commercial Center of Excellence facility in Clearfield, Utah. The company has successfully delivered more than 200,000 Airbus A350 parts since the inception of the program.

Northrop Grumman’s proprietary automated stiffener forming process has been instrumental in the development and manufacture of high-rate production composite stringers and frames that are extremely high quality, affordable and dimensionally precise. This technology will be evolved to the new material systems, geometries and processing needs of the future while maintaining the superior benefits of a highly automated production process.

The Airbus Wing of Tomorrow program will address future aggressive aircraft production rates and the requirement for wings to be made faster and more affordably. The program will explore the best materials, manufacturing and assembly techniques, as well as new technologies in aerodynamics and wing architecture.

New material experimentation represents a major part of the program, and lower-cost composite technologies currently being pursued could enable wing components to be produced with significantly reduced equipment and tooling costs, along with enabling a faster production cycle. Increased use of composite materials also opens up new possibilities in terms of wing configuration and construction.

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