GKN Aerospace is investing £4 million ($5.2 million) to advance Airbus’s Sustainable Wing Solutions (SusWingS) research and technology program. The company announced Wednesday that it will be stepping up its existing collaboration with the airframer, along with Cranfield University and the University of Manchester.
The program’s objective centers on developing high-performance wings and environmentally conscious manufacturing processes. The overall £15 million budget includes an £8 million contribution from the UK government-backed Aerospace Technology Institute.
The SusWingS work will build on the progress achieved through Airbus’s Wing of Tomorrow program that focuses on a new approach to wing design. GKN delivered three fixed trailing edge assemblies to Airbus, which is now testing full-scale Wing of Tomorrow demonstrators in its facilities at Broughton and Filton in the UK.
Now the SusWingS partners will focus on developing single-sided fasteners for one-way assembly of wings, replacing the standard two-piece units. They also are targeting advanced carbon-fiber composite materials and numerical analysis models for predicting structural behavior.
According to GKN, the project will seek to validate ways to monitor and minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing processes. The partners will assess emissions and sustainability metrics such as volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, waste, water, and energy.
Airbus has worked on the SusWingS program for six months and expects to complete the project in the first quarter of 2026.