Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Surface Transforms
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 February 2008
Carbon-ceramics set for future European
missiles
Work will characterise material design properties of carbon-ceramics in missile components.
Surface Transforms has been awarded a 3 year contract with a value of GBP 150,000 from MBDA, which is owned jointly by BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica and is one of the largest missile manufacturers in Europe The contract with MBDA is linked to the development of a novel attitude control system applicable to a range of future European missiles
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 7 Sep 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The work will characterise material design properties of carbon-ceramics in missile components including at very high temperatures and develop alternate low-cost manufacturing routes culminating in the manufacture of test component demonstrators.
The work will be supported jointly by the UK and French Ministries of Defence as part of the Innovation and Technology Partnership (ITP) on Materials and Components for Missiles.
According to Kevin Johnson, Chief Executive of Surface Transforms: "Earlier work with MBDA over the past two years has shown that carbon-ceramic is now a strategic material which gives significant performance advantages over carbon-carbon and huge weight savings over advanced metal alloys".
"We can deliver distinct cost benefits with improved performance using our proprietary technology".
The directors believe Surface Transforms is the only UK supplier of this strategic material.
The material is derived from the company's core business in automotive ceramic brakes.
The desire for lower cost high quality products has led the company to invest significant time and money in its technology in order to improve the manufacturing process while reducing the material production cost.
The IPR for the company's carbon-ceramic products relates to the combination of three key process stages: carbon fibre preforms, carbon matrix CVI and silicon melt infiltration.
The directors believe that although there are two European competitors in automotive ceramic brakes, neither uses this high-mechanical-integrity three-stage route developed by Surface Transforms.
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