Spirit AeroSystems has nearly completed construction of a new production facility to support a secret defense program, a company executive says.
“We have a program we’re working on right now–and I won’t say a lot about it. It’s not coming out for a while. We actually have a facility that is almost completely done that will do a significant production rate,” said Duane Hawkins, president of the Wichita-based aerostructures company’s defense and space business.
The secret program may be in early development, but the customer has provided enough information about plans for future production that Spirit AeroSystems decided to make the capital expenditure well in advance, said Hawkins, speaking at the Aviation Week A&D Programs conference on Nov. 2.
“We have enough visibility about what this program is going to look like in the future that we feel confident in making that kind of investment,” Hawkins said.
The new production program would add to Spirit AeroSystems’ growing presence in the defense sector. Long known as an aerostructures supplier for Boeing’s commercial aircraft programs, Spirit AeroSystems has been focusing on building up the defense business amid the ongoing slump in commercial aviation production.
In addition to supplying major structures for the 737-derived P-8 and 767-derived KC-46, Spirit AeroSystems now supplies the fuselage for the Sikorsky CH-53K and Bell V-280 Valor. The U.S. Air Force also named Spirit AeroSystems as one of seven Tier 1 suppliers for the Northrop Grumman B-21.
In recent months, Spirit AeroSystems has also touted its ability to apply automated assembly technology to the most advanced aerostructures, such as scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missiles. The Air Force has selected a Raytheon/Northrop team to develop and field the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile in 2027.
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