Do Composites Have a Toehold in Aerospace?
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS) employs a supply chain of over 1,500 active members. But if you think composites-related companies enjoys a cushy representation in this list, think again.
They make up a small percentage of this chain – only 42 companies, or less than 3 percent. A large part of this is because NGAS places a stronger emphasis on sensors and other non-material elements.
Any wider usage of composites would depend on NGAS’s product needs. “It always comes down to what we’re building that requires composite structures. We’re not going to capitalize for any additional composite structures, so it depends on new business,” says Kohl. “That’s what causes anything to grow. If we’re developing a larger plane that’s an all-composite structure, we’d look for a new contract.”
The company currently utilizes composites for their F-35 plane, but the company only envisions building one model per day. Kohl says if that capacity increases, then so do the opportunities for more composite companies to join the supply chain.
Despite the small representation of composites, the company is making efforts to stay on top of the latest technological developments. “We did a survey a year or two ago, and looked at composites firms to get an assessment as to what was out there. One of the interesting things is the technology curve, which is moving pretty rapidly. It becomes mature very quickly and then it becomes a commodity,” says Kohl. “Time will tell if composites will play a larger part in that maturation.”
