KRW 21.5 Billion Invested in Large-Scale Aircraft Composite Demonstration Facility... Targeting Entry into the Global Civil Aircraft Supply Chain

Established at Busan Mieum Industrial Complex by 2030
Four Types of Advanced Equipment to be Installed, Including Automatic Layering and Resin Injection Systems

The government will invest KRW 21.5 billion to establish a shared infrastructure where the entire process of producing, molding, and verifying large composite parts for aircraft can be demonstrated in one place. This initiative aims to support domestic small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized aircraft parts companies that find it difficult to equip themselves with expensive machinery, helping them enter the global civil aircraft supply chain.

The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) announced on September 9 that it will set up the "Next-Generation Advanced Manufacturing Demonstration Support Base for Aircraft Structural Parts" at the Mieum Industrial Complex in Busan, from 2026 to 2030. The total project cost is KRW 21.5 billion, comprised of KRW 15 billion in government funding and KRW 6.5 billion in local government funding. Busan Technopark will lead the project.

Bird's-eye view of an automatic large composite layup system for aerospace use. Provided by Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA)

As demand for lightweight and low-carbon airframes is increasing in the global civil aircraft market, the importance of composite parts utilizing materials like carbon fiber is also on the rise. However, domestic aircraft parts companies have faced challenges entering the market due to a lack of expensive dedicated equipment and infrastructure necessary for the production and verification of large composite parts.

To address this issue, the government plans to gradually establish four types of advanced equipment that companies can jointly use. The core systems include the "Large Composite Automatic Layering System for Aerospace Use," which stacks carbon fiber sheets at high speed and precision to produce large structures, and the "High-Pressure, High-Speed Resin Injection System," which injects and molds resin uniformly inside large parts.

The project will also introduce the "Composite Cutting System for Aerospace Use" for precise processing of composite raw materials, and "High-Temperature Press" for large-scale molding and quality verification of thermoplastic composites. The plan is to support the entire process, from raw material processing to parts molding and quality verification.

Institutes such as the Korea Institute for Materials & Components Convergence will provide support for component design consulting, process monitoring, the establishment and analysis of material, process, and inspection data, as well as prototype production.

Tae seog Oh, Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), stated, "We will provide support from processing and molding to quality verification and data-driven technology support so that domestic small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized aircraft companies can grow into core partners of global aircraft manufacturers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.