Hexcel is a leader in the Defense & Space market, primarily in the manufacture of advanced composites used in commercial helicopters and in military aircraft.
Hexcel is the most integrated composite solutions provider in the industry experienced at all stages in the composites chain
Programs & Applications
Focuses on key-performance-driven market segments Aircraft, Helicopters, UAVs, Launchers, Missiles and Space
We are currently qualified to supply materials to a broad range of more than 100 helicopter, military aircraft and space programs.
Key programs include the F-35 (joint strike fighter or JSF), Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion, V-22 (Osprey) tilt rotor aircraft, UH60M Blackhawk, AH-64 Apache, A400M military transport, European Fighter Aircraft (Typhoon), F/A-18E/F (Hornet), Rafale fighter jet, and MH90 Enforcer. Space applications for advanced composites include solid rocket booster cases, fairings and payload doors for launch vehicles, and buss and solar arrays for military and commercial satellites.
Hexcel also is a leader in producing advanced composites for helicopter blades. Numerous new helicopter programs in development, as well as upgrade or retrofit programs, have an increased reliance on composite materials products such as carbon fiber, prepregs, and honeycomb core to improve blade performance.
Defense Aircraft
Defense & Space
Defense Aircraft
The defense market has historically been an innovator in the use of, and source of significant demand for, adhesives and composites and Hexcel is currently qualified to supply materials to a broad range of more than 100 military aircraft and rotorcraft programs. These programs include the F-35 Jet Fighter, F/A-18E/F Hornet, Dassault Rafale, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Hexcel also supplies composite materials for the Airbus A400M, Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, Lockheed C130, and Embraer KC-390 military transport aircraft.
All composite structures on the Eurofighter Typhoon, including wings, front fuselage, and tail section, are built with Hexcel’s HexPly® 8552 epoxy prepreg. Together with Hexcel’s advanced Bismaleimide (BMI) system that is used for high temperature components and HexWeb® honeycomb used in the sandwich structures, Hexcel’s total contribution per aircraft is over a ton of composite material.
Hexcel’s prepregs, out-of-autoclave products, reinforcements and honeycombs are also suitable for the manufacture of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs).
HexTow® IM7 is the leading carbon fiber in the defense market. HexTow® HM63 high modulus carbon fiber (in UD or woven format) offers superior stiffness for UAV applications.
Typical Products for Jets
Radar Transparent Radome: Epoxy or BMI prepreg or RTM resins and woven preforms made of glass or quartz
Leading Edge Devices: Epoxy carbon and glass prepregs
Fin Fairings: Epoxy glass and carbon prepregs
Wing Skins and Ribs: Epoxy carbon and glass prepregs
Fin Tip: Epoxy/quartz prepregs
Rudder: Epoxy carbon prepreg
Fin: Epoxy carbon/glass prepreg
Flying Control Surfaces: Epoxy carbon and glass prepregs. Honeycomb core material and HexBond™ adhesives
Helicopters
Defense & Space
Helicopters
Helicopter design is forging ahead with composites to achieve cleaner, quieter, and safer rotorcraft. The Airbus H160, Leonardo AW189, and Bell 525 are the latest civil helicopters to implement Hexcel’s composite materials to achieve higher efficiencies and advanced capabilities. Both the Eurocopter EC175 and the Sikorsky S-76D medium twin-engine helicopters are made with all-composite main rotor blades. The UH-60M Blackhawk integrates a full composite wide-chord rotorblade and more powerful engine which demonstrates an impressive extra 500 pounds of lift. The composite intensive V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor has been successfully demonstrated in service. Hexcel is a proud supplier to these and other programs, with a wide range of materials including: carbon fiber, reinforcements, epoxy prepregs, and honeycomb engineered core.
Engine/body fairings/access panels: Glass, carbon and aramid prepregs with epoxy and BMI resins
Fuselage: Carbon and glass prepregs, honeycomb
Main and cargo doors: Carbon and glass epoxy prepreg, honeycomb and HexBond® adhesive
Horizontal stabilizers: Glass, carbon and aramid prepregs
Fuselage panels: Carbon and glass epoxy prepreg, honeycomb and HexBond® adhesive
Beyond Materials
Innovative blade production concepts from Hexcel’s Engineered Products group have resulted in contract wins to produce sub-assemblies and even a complete main rotor blade for the Sikorsky S-76D™.
Launching satellites into space creates the ultimate performance challenge for composite materials. In addition to the crucial weight savings, the materials also have to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations. The performance requirements can be accommodated by Hexcel’s wide range of matrix systems.
Fairings: Carbon prepregs. Aluminum honeycomb and adhesives.
External Payload Carrier Assembly: Carbon prepregs, aluminum honeycombs, and adhesives.
Heat Shield: Carbon prepreg/high temperature resistant glass fabric
Rocket Boosters: Carbon fiber and prepregs
Satellites
The unique environment of outer space places rigorous demands on the materials used for construction of military and commercial satellites. Severe temperature changes can cause ordinary materials to warp, expand, or contract depending on temperature; however, satellites are subject to relatively little risk from collision damage.
HexPly® M18 is used widely in Europe and is a 180°C (350°F) curing epoxy system operating at temperatures up to 170°C (340°F) and with 30 days outlife at room temperature.The system provides outstanding low moisture absorption and high strain to failure. Combinations of M18 resins with ultra-high modulus PAN-based HexTow®HM63 (UD or very light-weight PrimeTex® fabrics) provide improved dimensional stability and structural performance for demanding applications.
The HexPly® 954 familyof 350° F-curing toughened cyanate resin prepregs is selected by designers and fabricators of space hardware for the low moisture absorption that improves dimensional stability and outgassing performance when compared to epoxies. Inherent toughness and micro-cracking resistance, high temperature dry and wetservice, lower dielectric constants, and better radiation resistance are other performance advantages for space, radium, and structural applications.Combinations of 954 resins with ultra-high modulus pitch-and PAN-based graphite fibers provide improved dimensional stability and structural performance for demanding NASA applications.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Defense & Space
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones (generally used to describe small systems), and unmanned aerial system (UAS) (often used more frequently by military organizations) have been developed and used for many years. UAVs can carry cargo and/or sensors and can be used for commercial and military applications.
Composite materials have long been an integral part of the structural design of these UAVs. Hexcel’s lightweight materials create lighter, more-efficient vehicles that can cover longer ranges carrying greater payloads for extended periods of time. Composite structures made from Hexcel materials have been a part of military aviation and space operations for decades, and they perform very well under extremely harsh environmental and thermal loading. Today, almost all UAV structures are made from carbon fiber composites.
Hexcel offers an extensive line of carbon fiber solutions, including a range of HexTow® high modulus and high strength carbon fibers, which offer exceptional stiffness-to-weight performance critical for UAV structural applications. These fibers are part of an extensive line of materials including epoxy matrix materials for standard autoclave cure, out-of-autoclave cure, quick cure, and infusion that are offered in woven fabric, unidirectional sheet, and tape form. Thermoplastic matrix systems are available that offer many processing, manufacturing, and repair advantages. Higher temperature matrix systems such as Bismaleimides (BMIs) are also available for higher temperature applications.
Hexcel’s advanced materials can contribute to the electromagnetic properties of UAV systems. Since these systems are unmanned, they require efficient and reliable communication with ground stations or other UAVs through wireless or satellite communications. Hexcel materials can be tuned to absorb certain electromagnetic frequencies and pass other frequencies. They are used for radomes that protect the transmit and receive antennas, and the radome materials and structure can be engineered to allow for efficient communication while blocking out signals that are coming from other sources.
Authorized Distributors
Hexcel has designated Coast-Line International and Heatcon Composite Systems as authorized distributors for materials for the UAV market.
