Boeing has announced that a formal agreement was signed with key Japanese partners for significant work on the new 777X airplane.
The agreement between Boeing, Japan Aircraft Industries (JAI) and Japan Aircraft Development Corporation (JADC) confirmed last year’s announcement of the deal to provide approximately 21% of the structure components for the 777X.
According to Boeing’s official announcement, the components covered in the agreement include fuselage sections; center wing sections; pressure bulkhead; main landing gear wells; passenger, cargo and main landing gear doors; wing components and wing-body fairings.
JAI is made up of key players Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fuji Heavy Industries, ShinMaywa Industries and NIPPI Corporation. JADC is a consortium of Japanese Aircraft Industries for the development of the commercial airplanes.
Kiyotaka Ichimaru, senior managing director of JADC, outlined the corporation’s long history of involvement with Boeing in the official announcement.
“We Japanese aerospace manufacturers first began working with Boeing on the 747SP.
“In the ensuing 50 years we have collaborated on every Boeing commercial airplane program and built a relationship that goes beyond that of a mere supplier,” said Kiyotaka Ichimaru.
In the announcement, Boeing confirmed purchasing more than $5 billion of goods and services in Japan in 2014 and expects that figure to increase to approximately $36bn between 2014 and 2020.
The Boeing 777X range, dubbed as the largest and most efficient twin-engine commercial plane in the world, includes the larger 777-9X and the smaller but longer-range 777-8X. Both the 777-8X and the 777-9X feature a 71.8 meter in-flight wingspan that folds when grounded.
Production is set to begin in 2017 and delivery is expected for 2020. According to Boeing, the 777X program already has 306 orders.
