At the ongoing Farnborough Air Show (Farnborough, Hampshire, U.K., 9-15 July), GKN Aerospace is demonstrating the growing technological contribution the company is making to increasing aircraft performance and efficiency.

Current products are the centre piece of the display. The latest primary, all-composite wing structures, now in production, will sit alongside complex engine structures manufactured in exotic metals and carbon fibre composite materials.

The company’s B-787 passenger cabin window, which is the largest aircraft passenger cabin window in service today and incorporates highly advanced coatings, forms part of the display with the company’s innovative electro-thermal ice protection technology which also equips the B-787 where it provides ice protection for the wings. This technology is also used in the F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter.

Focusing on maintenance and repair of the increasing amount of composite structure in the airframe, developmental composite damage detection and laser-based repair activities are also a featured technology.

Mike McCann, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace comments: “We have demonstrated strong growth across our order book and continue to increase our customer portfolio. Our product design & manufacturing technological expertise remains a key differentiator and our emphasis on developing and extending our technological capabilities remains at the heart of our long term strategy. Along with many other growth companies across the global aerospace sector, we face a pressing need to attract new engineering talent. This is a highly dynamic sector with ambitious targets to achieve and Farnborough represents an important opportunity for us on two fronts: to progress our key business relationships; and to demonstrate to young people in the UK just how challenging and fulfilling a career in aerospace is in today’s world.”