Defence and security company Saab has received a contract extension with Airbus for the A320-family Aileron for the life of this programme. Based on the current Airbus order backlog for the A320-family the initial contract is valued at 701 MSEK. Further Airbus sales will lead to additional orders and thereby increase the total contract value.

Saab has delivered ailerons for the wings of the Airbus A320-family since 2000. Saab has carried out extensive work aimed at reducing product costs through innovative new design and manufacturing processes for these composite ailerons. Saab has developed new state of the art CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer) monolithic technologies and the concept have reduced the number of parts on the ailerons by over half.

"We are very pleased to have received this contract which further strengthens the partnership between Saab and Airbus. The renewed contract shows that we have been successful in our efforts of reducing production costs through innovative design and manufacturing processes in our previous deliveries," says Kjell Johnsson, Senior Vice President and head of Saab's Aerostructures operation within business area Aeronautics.

Airbus has an order backlog of 3,370 aircraft for the A320-family. Today, 40 aircraft are produced per month, a number that is planned to increase to 42 aircraft per month in Q4 2012.

Saab has cooperated with Airbus since 1997, and besides delivering ailerons for the A320 family, Saab also delivers the mid and outer fixed leading edges for the A380 and the crew entrance door for the A400M military transport aircraft.