Finmeccanica and Russian Technologies signed a partnership agreement - on the occasion of the Italy-Russia intergovernmental summit held today at the Kremlin in Moscow and attended by the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev - for the establishment of a number of joint ventures in Russia to manufacture carbon fibre components. The agreement was signed by Finmeccanica Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, and by Russian Technologies Director General, Sergey Chemezov.

Finmeccanica, through its company Alenia Aeronautica, has a multi-year experience in composite materials, thanks also to the investments in these technologies for the civil aviation sector. Particularly, Alenia Aeronautica has a significant role in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner programme, contributing for 26% to the innovative aircraft, which is almost entirely made of carbon fibre.

The main characteristics of composite materials are their lightness, stability, malleability and versatility. The use of these materials also reduces maintenance activities, as they are more resistant to corrosion than aluminium alloys.