ACAB and Korean Air sign agreement on cooperation in composites by Corporate communications, Volvo Aero

The Volvo Aero owned company, Applied Composites AB – ACAB – and Korean Air have signed an agreement to work together on radomes, wing structures and other components in composite material.

The agreement in itself is not an order. It is an MoU, a non binding Memorandum of Understanding in which the parties express a shared wish to cooperate within the development of radomes, wing structures and other components in composite material. The agreement is nonetheless a major success for ACAB as competition from American and British companies in the industry is extremely tough.

Korean Air is not only a world-leading airline; the company also has an Aerospace Division which develops and manufactures components for the commercial aerospace industry. Korean Air is in a period of strong growth and has been selected for several Korean Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs.

The agreement is considered to be strategically important for ACAB as the company has plans to expand within the commercial and military aerospace segments.

ACAB has previously supplied radomes (nose cones) for the Swedish Gripen aircraft. Radomes are often light and stiff sandwich designs that allow radar signals to pass through them. The product is a part of the fuselage and is load-bearing. It can be positioned in the nose, as on the Gripen, or for instance on the underside of an aircraft.

The cooperation agreement also covers a number of other components made from composites such as so called radar absorbing structures (RAS) and related products. The structure has a load bearing function but also absorbs incoming radar signals, instead of reflecting them in the way that a metal or carbon fiber material would. Its objective is to make the aircraft (e.g. UAV) invisible to radar.

Volvo Aero and ACAB are investing in technology for the cost effective manufacture of composite components for aero engines. This technology can also be used successfully in other aerospace components such as load bearing structures, wing leading edges and more. The amount of composite material used in aircraft is steadily increasing and it is being used in more and more components. Naturally, the objective is to reduce total weight and hence reduce fuel consumption and environmental impact.

“We are very pleased with the agreement with Korean Air. This is an important agreement for ACAB because it both consolidates our position as world leader in radomes and is an important step towards identifying new products and new customer groups in aerospace,” says Torgny Stenholm, President of ACAB.