Geopolitics Drives Technology Shift to Defense at GKN

As GKN Aerospace seeks to absorb what CEO Peter Dilnot described as “the most geopolitical change we have seen in a generation,” the group has been recalibrating the focus of its research and development work to prioritize areas such as new uncrewed aircraft applications. The company is also pursuing breakthroughs in additive manufacturing it believes could alleviate the industry’s ongoing supply-chain issues.

Briefing reporters several weeks before the Farnborough International Airshow, Dilnot said that the shifting role for drones in both the Ukraine and Iran conflicts points to a market in which “there will not be many armed helicopters.” This conviction lies behind new GKN partnerships supporting new autonomous platforms, including one it has begun developing with drone innovator Anduril and eVTOL developer Archer Aviation.

GKN is providing the wing structure for Archer’s Midnight air taxi, as well as thermoplastic flight control surfaces for the four-passenger aircraft being developed by rival eVTOL developer Joby Aviation. The group is also active as a design partner for CFM International’s RISE narrowbody engine technology and supports the EU-backed SWITCH program that is developing a hybrid-electric version of Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan alongside RTX’s Collins Aerospace 

Dilnot said that in the 18 months since “[President] Trump rattled the cage on European defense spending,” the imperative to support military capability on the basis of national sovereignty has grown stronger through programs that include collaborative combat aircraft. That said, he added that GKN’s extensive manufacturing base in the U.S. enables it to satisfy the “buy American” ethos taking hold on that side of the Atlantic.

According to GKN chief technology officer Russ Dunn, the group could potentially expand its contribution to new uncrewed aircraft systems to include flight controls, aerostructures, electrical systems, and propulsion. In November 2025, Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration awarded the company a $16 million contract to develop a technology demonstrator, including a turbojet engine, for a potential new family of drones.

In civil aerospace manufacturing, Dilnot said European companies are struggling to maintain competitiveness due to rising labor and energy costs. He sees a shift in work toward India, while adding that complex geopolitical tensions now make it less likely that Western companies will move further production there.

Nonetheless, Dilnot added that the long-term growth potential for air transport in China has vindicated GKN’s investment in its joint venture with local airframers Comac and Avic. This supports production of items including wiring and transparencies for Boeing airliners, as well as the horizontal stabilizer for Comac’s C909 and parts for the C919.

Additives Could Replace Forgings

Meanwhile, GKN is backing the engineering teams at its four Global Technology Centers to achieve advances in additive manufacturing that could replace metal forgings and castings—the availability of which Dilnot said has “become a fundamental supply-chain issue.”

Since Spirit AeroSystems was broken up late last year, with some sites going to Boeing and others to its rival Airbus, GKN now claims to be the world’s largest independent aerostructures business. It is targeting a 50% increase in incremental profits from additive manufacturing by 2029.

In June, GKN finished its work on the H2Gear hydrogen propulsion research and development program to explore options for next-generation regional airliners. While the work highlighted obstacles such as establishing acceptable permeability limits for hydrogen fuel tanks, Dunn indicated that GKN intends to continue efforts to bring cryogenic power distribution and propulsion systems to market in aerospace and other industries such as wind turbine energy production.

GKN is also advancing efforts to make hydrogen propulsion viable for commercial air transport through further collaboration with Airbus on cryogenic power distribution via the H2FlyGHT and ICEFlight programs. These are being conducted in tandem with its electrical wiring and interconnection systems business in the Netherlands.

Despite the renewed focus on military opportunities, GKN’s portfolio still favors civil markets. Civil work accounted for about 68% of the airframes division, which generated nearly £2 billion ($2.6 billion) in 2025, and roughly 78% of the engines division, which generated about £1.6 billion.