KAI succeeds in localizing wing spar components for Israeli business jet

Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), a South Korean aerospace and defense company, announced on Friday that it held a commemorative event for the successful localization of components for Israel Aerospace Industries' business jet, the G280, at the Paris Air Show the previous day.

Earlier, KAI formed the "With Korea" consortium with domestic material suppliers and successfully localized two types of wing spars for IAI's G280. The wing spar refers to the main structure that makes up the aircraft wing.

After successfully developing prototypes for the G280 wing spar in December last year, the consortium received the first article inspection approval from its customer, IAI, in May of this year. The consortium will begin delivering the first batch this month.

KAI stated that this is the first case of locally developed components being deployed in civilian aircraft.

"Through this localization, it is estimated that cost savings of up to 2 billion won ($1.5 million) will be achieved by the end of the project, and the lead time, from material ordering to delivery completion, will be significantly reduced to about 25%," a KAI official said.

The With Korea consortium consists of a total of 10 Korean companies, including KAI and SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel Corporation. It is a collaborative body that works together for the localization and commercialization of aircraft materials such as aluminum, titanium, etc.

During this localization process, SeAH Changwon Special Steel was responsible for raw material production and the overall process, while the other participating companies shared responsibilities in forging processes, special processes and material testing. KAI provided process technology development and technical support and took charge of the approval process for the application of IAI and the G280 aircraft.

KAI plans to develop and commercialize forging products, extrusion materials, aerospace standard forms such as bearings, and other aviation components in stages by 2025 for the localization of aircraft materials.

Write to Mi-Sun Kang at misunny@hankyung.com