GKN for A400M refueling pylons

REDDITCH, England, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Britain's GKN Aerospace has been picked by Cobham Mission Equipment to produce air refueling pylons for the Airbus' A400M military airlifter.

First deliveries of development units for vibration testing will take place in February, with production deliveries starting in early 2013 and continuing through to 2020.

The contract is worth about $9.5 million.

The GKN Aerospace pylon design will be manufactured using a combination of composite and metallic components to achieve specified weight and performance targets that are essential to ensure safe and efficient completion of air-to-air refueling.

"This contract represents the successful development of our existing wing structures and fuel delivery systems businesses," said Jeff Armitage, vice president and managing director, Nacelles, at GKN Aerospace.

"It takes us into an important new customer relationship with Cobham and into a market where our expertise in complex composite, metallic and hybrid wing structures can bring real operational advantage."

GKN Aerospace has designed, and now supplies, the A400M wing spar -- the world's first all-composite wing spar for a large aircraft.