Air Industries Group, in conjunction with a major OEM customer, has secured the welding equipment, related tooling and peripheral equipment used to weld the arresting gear that secures the E-2D aircraft's tail hook, which is essential for landing on aircraft carriers. The company says that this machinery is the only equipment currently certified to weld the arresting gear.

The equipment is being installed at Air Industries' Sterling Engineering facility in Connecticut, and Lou Melluzzo, CEO, is delighted: “With the addition of the arresting gear welding equipment, Air Industries will become the sole provider in our industry of a mission-critical welding process for the E-2D platform. This action will not only secure our position as a key supplier to a major aircraft program, but will also form the basis for an expanding portfolio of special processes to include welding capabilities.”

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a carrier-based battle-management aircraft, is in serial production, and approximately 65 E-2Ds are active in the fleet, which is forecast to expand by more than 40% to 93 aircraft in 2027.

Melluzzo continues: “The importance of the E-2D to our nation's defense posture andndash; and to Air Industries' growth andndash; cannot be over-stated. For many years, our company has supplied landing gear, arresting gear, hooks, and other products for this platform. Our E-2D product backlog is close to $20 million, or 29% of our total backlog. Also, many of the products we manufacture for this aircraft besides the full landing gear are 'consumables' that must be regularly replaced based on usage. The welding equipment enhances our partnership with the manufacturer, and with after-market suppliers supporting the E-2D program.

“Welding complements the vertical integration of other processes such as painting, which Air Industries has recently brought in-house, in a strategy designed to shorten production times and reduce costs.”