Quickstep Holdings Limited, Australia's leading independent manufacturer of advanced carbon fibre composite components, today announced that it will receive funding to produce housings for an F-35 Lightning II countermeasure flare.

Mark Burgess, CEO and Managing Director of Quickstep, said: "This exciting new project will involve Quickstep applying advanced tooling and process engineering skills to establish world-class advanced manufacturing capabilities for production of F-35 countermeasure flare housings."

Funding via Chemring Australia from the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, through a multi-million dollar U.S. Government contract, will support engineering and production tooling for the production improvement project. Additionally, a New Air Combat Capability – Industry Support Program (NACC-ISP) grant of A$1 million will complement investment being made by Quickstep.

During the project, Quickstep will commission additional advanced manufacturing processes and technologies at Bankstown, extending its capability to support the F-35 Program and other defence and aerospace projects.