Global Aeronautica Delivers First Assembled Mid-Fuselage
for Boeing 787 Dreamliner

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., MAY 15, 2007 – Global Aeronautica, LLC, a joint venture between Alenia North America, Inc. and Vought Aircraft Industries, today celebrated the delivery of the first mid-fuselage section for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The combined section, measuring 84 feet in length, represents approximately 50 percent of the airplane’s entire fuselage structure.

“This is an exciting ‘first’ for our young company,” said Randy Smith, chief operating officer of Global Aeronautica.  “We are proud to be an integral part of the assembly process that Boeing has created for the 787 program.”    

The 787 mid-fuselage includes section 43, a forward fuselage section (made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries); section 11/45 (the center wheel well and center wing box made by KHI and Fuji Heavy Industries and joined at FHI); and sections 44 and 46, the center fuselage (made by Alenia Aeronautica).

Global Aeronautica’s work on the first 787 mid-fuselage officially began on Jan. 15, when Boeing delivered the KHI and FHI sections from Nagoya, Japan to North Charleston. It was Boeing’s first-ever delivery cycle using the large cargo freighter called the Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400. Sections 44 and 46 followed in March from Alenia Aeronautica’s facility in Grottaglie, Italy. 

The one-piece sections, made primarily of composites, measure from 23 feet to 33 feet long and 19 feet in diameter and will contain passenger seating, cargo hold, avionics bay, central fuel tank and fuel management systems as well as environmental control systems. Global Aeronautica’s integration entails the joining of the fuselage sections and the installation and testing of the associated elements.

The 334,000-square-foot Global Aeronautica integration facility was built on a 240-acre site adjacent to Charleston International Airport and includes 252,000 square feet of manufacturing floor. In addition, the site will include a 54,000-square-foot surface finishes building.
Program launch for the 787 Dreamliner occurred in April 2004 with a record order from All-Nippon Airways for 50 aircraft. Since then, Boeing has won more than 560 orders from 44 customers. The order pace is the fastest for any commercial airplane in history.

Production activities on the 787 began in 2006. First flight is expected in 2007, with certification, delivery and entry into service in 2008.

About Global Aeronautica
Global Aeronautica is a 50/50 joint venture of Alenia North America, Inc. — a Finmeccanica company, and Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc.  Global Aeronautica will assemble, integrate, test and apply surface finishes to more than 60 percent of the 787 fuselage prior to shipment to Boeing’s final assembly facility in Everett, Wash.

About Alenia North America
Alenia North America’s (www.aleniana.com) mission is to further expand the industrial and commercial presence of the Alenia Group in North America.  The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica and part of the Finmeccanica group of companies.  Alenia North America Inc. is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Seattle, Washington; Long Beach, California; and Fort Worth, Texas.  Alenia North America - Canada, a subsidiary wholly owned by Alenia North America, has offices in Ottawa, Canada.  In addition to Global Aeronautica, Alenia North America is also a shareholder in a joint venture with L-3Communications Integrated Systems called Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS).  GMAS is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama and is a center of excellence to support the C-27J Spartan tactical multi-role airlifter in North America.

About Vought
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (www.voughtaircraft.com) is one of the world's largest independent suppliers of aerostructures. Headquartered in Dallas, the company designs and manufactures major airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft. Vought has annual sales of approximately $1.6 billion and about 5,900 employees in nine U.S. locations.