Rockwood Composites and Leonardo ten year partnership produces 10,000 blades for towed radar decoys

Rockwood Composites and Leonardo have marked the 10th anniversary of their partnership with delivery of the 10,000th blade for the towed decoy on the Eurofighter Typhoon for Leonardo, the global high-tech aerospace, defence and security specialist.

All parts are fully CNC machined and supplied paint ready on a just in time basis. Rockwood has also supplied Leonardo with connector plates for the wing of the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Holly Jones, senior sub-contract buyer at Leonardo in the UK, said: “Our 10-year partnership with Rockwood is testament to their ability to deliver quality composite components consistently when we need them.”

Rockwood Composites managing director, Mark Crouchen, added: “I remember when we set up the company and were pleased to have the confidence of a company of the calibre of Leonardo. Working with this OEM over the past decade has helped Rockwood become what it is today, innovating and supplying some of the most pioneering advanced manufacturing companies.

“Compression and bladder moulding, which is now being used in a wide range of industries, from aerospace to medical devices, with our products helping our clients withstand from the highest temperatures in the solar system (100 million degrees C) to a couple of degrees above absolute zero.”

Rockwood designs and manufactures composite components using out-of-autoclave techniques, compression and bladder moulding of pre-preg composite material in metal tooling. They deliver cost effective solutions to technically demanding problems, showcasing first class quality components, promptly delivered into a wide range of sectors.

The team at Rockwood has been supplying aerospace, defence and nuclear industries and has a proven track record of delivering complex structures.