Loenardo’s China JV to Develop Composites for CR929 Wide Body Aircraft

Leonardo has signed a MoU with Kangde Investment Group of China to establish a joint venture, Kangde Marco Polo Aerostructures Jiangsu for the development, production and assembly of composite materials components for the CR929 wide-body aircraft.

Kangde Investment Group celebrated the laying of the foundation stone of the new facility in Zhangjiagang city, in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, today where the carbon fibre fuselage sections for the new CR929 long-range airliner will be built.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from Leonardo, COMAC and Kangde Investment Group, the Jiangsu Province Governor and other local dignitaries, as well as a large representation of Chinese aerospace companies and research institutes.

The CR929 programme was launched by COMAC, together with the Russian Company UAC, in 2017 with the aim of developing a long-range wide-body aircraft. Leonardo signed a preliminary agreement with COMAC, a public Chinese company in charge of civil aircraft programmes in the country, in 2015 to start collaboration for the development and production of sections of the fuselage made of composite materials.

This will allow Leonardo to take further advantage of its proprietary technologies and capabilities for the development of a new long range airliner.

Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo’s CEO, said: “Leonardo’s decision to participate in the CR929 provides further recognition of our advanced capabilities in the design and manufacture of composite aerostructures.”

China is expected to have requirements for more than 1,500 new wide body aircraft in the next twenty years. Leonardo is also looking at the development of the Chinese space industry and potential opportunities to collaborate in this growing market.