Source | Coexpair

Coexpair (Namur, Belgium) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Md., U.S.) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore an opportunity for improving an existing F-35 manufacturing process with Coexpair’s composites aerostructure technologies, products and software.

Under the MOU, Coexpair will use a phased approach to develop, demonstrate and test fabrication of representative F-35 composite parts, and Lockheed Martin will provide assistance in qualifying process requirements. This agreement aligns with Lockheed Martin’s commitment to foster strong industrial partnerships and leverage Belgian expertise to drive innovation for the F-35 program while strengthening Belgium’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

“This framework creates new opportunities to sell our equipment and molds made in Belgium to defense and aerospace programs of strategic importance worldwide,” says André Bertin, Coexpair president.

Coexpair wishes to build, equip and train Excellence Manufacturing Centers based on its same-qualified resin transfer molding (SQRTM) 4.0 solution, starting in Belgium in collaboration with Belgian aerospace groups. Version 4.0 of the Coexpair SQRTM manufacturing process and equipment features full automation based on Coexpair and Coexpair Dynamics joint equipment and software. The software suite, Maestro, synchronizes equipment, manages all production data and includes process simulation and AI enhanced quality documentation. Maestro is running at Airbus, Safran and Aciturri Engines and others.

Coexpair technology is already demonstrated on civil Embraer and Airbus aircraft to improve part quality and performance, reducing costs by 30%. According to the company, the full solution divides energy consumption by four and waste by 10. The potential of Coexpair was clearly identified by Syensqo in 2019 supporting an initial Essential Security Interest (ESI) project for the F-35. This project demonstrated the potential of SQRTM 4.0 for manufacturing of a representative F-35 part with Syensqo thermoset materials. This project also resulted in a new automated fiber placement (AFP) equipment line at Coexpair Dynamics that increases the processing speed of Syensqo aerospace thermoplastic composites by four times, opening new markets.