Leonardo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese group Kangde Investment as part of the Comac CR929 program with the aim of increasing its presence in China. As part of the programme, Leonardo will enhance the skills and intellectual property developed on the national territory against the financial participation by Kangde to ensure a primary role in the future joint venture. Named Kangde Marco Polo Aerostructures Jiangsu Co. Ltd., the company will be responsible for the development, production and assembly of composite material components for the CR929 aircraft. Leonardo's proprietary technologies and production capacities will therefore allow the development of a new long-range civil transport aircraft.
Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo's Chief Executive Officer, said: “Leonardo's choice to participate in the CR929 program demonstrates our advanced capabilities in the design and production of large aerostructures in composite material. As announced in our Business Plan, we aim to broaden the mission of our Aerostructures Division, enhancing our production site in Pomigliano D'Arco in particular, and to increase our presence in China, a market where we are already present with helicopters and air traffic control systems. air traffic". According to market estimates, over the next twenty years China will need over 1.500 new wide-body aircraft. The developments of the country's space industry are also of interest to Leonardo. Today in the city of Zhangjiagang, in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, the Chinese group Kangde Investment Group celebrated the laying of the foundation stone of the new plant where the carbon fiber fuselage sections of the new COMAC CR929 long-range aircraft will be built. The ceremony was attended by representatives of Leonardo, COMAC, Kangde Investment Group, the Governor of Jiangsu Province, various local politicians and a vast representation of companies and research institutes in the Chinese aerospace sector.
The CR929 program was launched by COMAC, together with the Russian company UAC, in 2017 with the aim of developing a long-range, wide-body aircraft. Leonardo had signed a preliminary agreement in 2015 with COMAC, the Chinese state company responsible for the country's civil aeronautical programs, to start the collaboration for the development and production of fuselage sections in composite material.
