Exelis wins Airbus A350 XWB composite strut contract

Exelis has been awarded a multimillion dollar contract from Airbus to produce center wing box struts for the A350-1000 aircraft. This contract marks the second award for the new Exelis STaR (Struts, Tubes and Rods) product line following the A380 award announcement last year. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2016 and will continue through 2020. Under the contract, Exelis will fabricate composite struts for the center wing box section of the A350-1000. Critical to the aircraft’s structure, the struts help distribute loads from the wings and fuselage into the center wing box providing structural support for the airframe. Exelis STaR products, through the use of patented manufacturing technology licensed from Bodair S.A. and a unique strut design, provide a high strength-to-weight ratio alternative to metallic struts and deliver greater weight savings compared with competing composite production methods.