UAE to Make First Advanced Materials for Aircraft Production
ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi will start this month to manufacture advanced composite materials to be used in the production of aircraft, a path-breaking project worth more than $2 billion involving partnerships with European aerospace companies including EADS and Airbus.
Mubadala Development Company, an investment firm owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said on Sunday that it would start construction of its Abu Dhabi Composites plant on June 29. The facility, to be called Strata, would become operational in the fourth quarter of next year, it said in a statement.
The plant will manufacture components using advanced composites, including flap track fairings, ailerons, spoilers and assemblies for Airbus aircraft and separate components for ATR Regional Aircraft, a joint venture between EADS and Finmeccanica of Italy.
Advanced composites are lighter than traditional plane-making materials such as aluminum, and use of them requires some of the latest technologies available for the production of modern commercial aircraft. Strata marks a milestone in Abu Dhabi’s effort to diversify its economy with a focus on knowledge-intensive manufacturing. The emirate’s government hopes that Strata will form part of the core of a new aerospace industry in the UAE.
Strata has formed industrial partnerships with companies such as EADS, Airbus and Alenia Aeronautica, a part of Italy’s Finmeccanica. Initial contracts with these partners are worth more than $2 billion, Mubadala said.
The facility will focus at first on manufacturing composite components and assemblies, but it will progressively include engineering, design, and research and development, Mubadala said. “The construction of this plant is a crucial step for Abu Dhabi in achieving its ambition for Strata to become a Tier One supplier for the next generation of civil aircraft during the next decade and beyond,” Mubadala Aerospace Associate Director Homaid Al Shemmari said in the statement.
· haseebhaider@khaleejtimes.com
quoted from: Khaleej Times
Mubadala Development Company, an investment firm owned by the Abu Dhabi government, said on Sunday that it would start construction of its Abu Dhabi Composites plant on June 29. The facility, to be called Strata, would become operational in the fourth quarter of next year, it said in a statement.
The plant will manufacture components using advanced composites, including flap track fairings, ailerons, spoilers and assemblies for Airbus aircraft and separate components for ATR Regional Aircraft, a joint venture between EADS and Finmeccanica of Italy.
Advanced composites are lighter than traditional plane-making materials such as aluminum, and use of them requires some of the latest technologies available for the production of modern commercial aircraft. Strata marks a milestone in Abu Dhabi’s effort to diversify its economy with a focus on knowledge-intensive manufacturing. The emirate’s government hopes that Strata will form part of the core of a new aerospace industry in the UAE.
Strata has formed industrial partnerships with companies such as EADS, Airbus and Alenia Aeronautica, a part of Italy’s Finmeccanica. Initial contracts with these partners are worth more than $2 billion, Mubadala said.
The facility will focus at first on manufacturing composite components and assemblies, but it will progressively include engineering, design, and research and development, Mubadala said. “The construction of this plant is a crucial step for Abu Dhabi in achieving its ambition for Strata to become a Tier One supplier for the next generation of civil aircraft during the next decade and beyond,” Mubadala Aerospace Associate Director Homaid Al Shemmari said in the statement.
· haseebhaider@khaleejtimes.com
quoted from: Khaleej Times
