$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.

FMI: www.rolls-royce.com, www.atk.com