Vought wins A330/A340 wing program extension

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. (Dallas, Texas) has signed a life-of-program contract extension with Airbus Industrie (Toulouse, France) for various long-range aircraft wing packages. The new contract, with its provisions for increased delivery rates, has a potential total value of approximately $1 billion over the next five years.

Under the contract, Vought continues to be the sole-source supplier to Airbus on the A330/A340 mid- and outboard leading edge assemblies, top panel assemblies, center spar assemblies and mid-rear spars as well as the A340-500/600 mid- and outboard leading edge assemblies, top skins and stringers, center spar assemblies and mid-rear spars.

"This contract extension with Airbus is extremely important to us,"said Neil Peace, Vought's Airbus program director. "We see it as a vote of confidence in our manufacturing capabilities and quality.”

In 1988, the company was awarded a contract to supply wing components for the A330/A340 aircraft. Initial deliveries began in 1990, with shipment of the 775th unit occurring this month. About 600 Vought employees in Nashville work on the Airbus A330/340 program.

"As a result of the contract extension and increased delivery rates, Vought is making additional capital investments to upgrade our existing equipment, including multiple automated riveting machines and high-speed, long-bed machining centers,"said Alan Smith, Vought's Airbus business director, in a statement. "These investments are important to meet the commitments under the contract and are large building blocks in our growing relationship with Airbus.”

The A330/A340 family of long-range aircraft offers a single basic airframe in several versions, with two or four engines, to achieve operating efficiencies.

Vought is one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of aerostructures, including composites-based components.