BAE SYSTEMS delivers the first A380 wing assembly to Airbus UK

BAE SYSTEMS has delivered the first Airbus A380 Inner Outboard Fixed Leading Edge wing assembly from its Aerostructures business in Prestwick, Scotland to Airbus at Broughton in North Wales.

The contract was awarded in 2002 and secured the design, development, manufacture and support work for the Airbus A380 Inner Outboard Fixed Leading Edge package. In less than 24 months, the wing assembly structure has been designed and manufactured using a global supply partner infrastructure covering Indonesia, North America, Malaysia as well as the UK.

Through collaborative partnerships with Altair in the UK, the software was developed, and with INBIS based in Preston, UK the design skills were applied to produce an innovative rib design, which resulted in an optimised weight saving over 500kg per aircraft.

Following delivery to Airbus at Broughton the structure will be assembled, together with the other A380 wing components, into complete wings and then transported to the aircraft final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The first new double-decker Airbus A380 aircraft is due to undertake its inaugural flight in 2005 and enter airline service in 2006.

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