ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS has been awarded a $13 million contract to produce composite horizontal-stabiliser pivot shafts for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 fighter aircraft.
The order follows a development effort under which Alliant (formerly Hercules Aerospace) demonstrated that it could produce the complex shaft using automated fibre-placement technology, for a weight saving per aircraft of about 45kg over the original titanium pivot shaft (Flight International, 10-16 January).
The new contract calls for the production of 20 shafts for use in nine F-22 development aircraft, the first of which is scheduled to be flown in May 1997.
Source: Flight International
