South African aviation company Denel Saab Aerostructures (DSA) does not expect to suffer any immediate impact from the South African government’s cancellation of an order for eight Airbus Military A400M transport aircraft.

“DSA is the design authority for the two components for the A400M that we produce,” company CEO Lana Kinley told Engineering News Online on Thursday afternoon. “For Airbus to cancel our contracts, they would have to redesign and re-qualify these components.”

It is believed that, while the European company could certainly do this in the medium-term, it is unlikely to do so in the short-term, as this could make it difficult for Airbus to maintain its new delivery schedule.

DSA is currently responsible for the top shells for the centre fuselage section – these can be thought of as being equivalent to roof panels. The company is producing two top shells for each aircraft – one each in front and behind of the wing box, which joins the wing to the fuselage. It is also making the very large wing/fuselage fairings, manufactured mainly from composite materials but including aluminium parts. Each such fairing is 15 m long, 7 m wide, and nearly 3 m high. Denel is also contributing the ribs and spars for the tail fin, and centre wing box structural components.

“Entry into the A400M programme brought DSA up to a very high level in terms of aerostructures,” said Kinley. “DSA is now a different company from what it was before it entered the A400M project.”

DSA, part of the State-owned Denel defence industrial group, is one of two South African companies that are risk-sharing partners in the A400M programme.

The other is private-sector Aerosud, which has declined to comment on the issue until it has had time to assess the government’s decision, and the implications thereof.

Aerosud is mainly responsible for secondary structures on the A400M. These are – nose fuselage linings, cargo hold linings, and cockpit linings, but the company is also making the cockpit rigid bulkhead, the wing tips, and the nose fuselage galleys. The wing tips are quite important because they will contain elements of the aircraft’s defence aids subsystem.