Quickstep wins C-130J wing flaps contract with Lockheed Martin

Quickstep Holdings Ltd. (Sydney, Australia), a manufacturer of carbon fiber composite components, on Dec. 10 announced that it has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Lockheed Martin for the manufacture and delivery of 120 sets of C-130J carbon fiber wing flaps through 2018 at a rate of approximately 24 sets per year. This MOA is subsequent to Quickstep’s March 2012 announcement that the company was awarded the tender to manufacture wing flaps for the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

The value of activities under the agreement, which includes previous purchase orders announced by Quickstep, is $75 million (USD).

Quickstep managing director Philippe Odouard says, “We are delighted to sign this memorandum of agreement with Lockheed Martin which provides increased certainty for Quickstep. Under the agreement, we will supply 120 shipsets of carbon fiber wing flaps through to 2018. Since being awarded the tender against global competition, we have made significant progress including qualification of processes, transferring of manufacturing jigs, establishing a qualified trained workforce and commencing production. We are on track to deliver the first completed assemblies in the next few weeks.”

Each shipset includes four carbon fiber wing flaps. Each flap contains more than 200 individual parts including carbon ribs, spars and skins; more than 200 tools are used for the parts’ development and manufacture. The wing flaps are expected to be delivered at a rate of approximately two sets per month beginning January 2014.

The Lockheed Martin C-130J wing flaps program is one of two significant aerospace programs awarded to Quickstep, which is also producing components for the F‐35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program.