Quickstep continues expansion with key aerospace contracts, development grant

Aerospace composite business Quickstep Holdings (ASX: QHL) has confirmed orders for the production of aircraft components under long-term agreements with US contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, as well as Australian engineering firm Marand.

The multi-year orders are believed to be an indicator of forecast global demand for F-35 fighter jets and C-130 military transport aircraft.

Overall demand for F-35 components until the financial year 2027 is expected to be approximately 8% lower than the average demand over the current financial year.

Consistent margins

Quickstep said a streamlined operating model would aim to ensure program margins remain consistent despite the change in demand.

“As the F-35 approaches the midpoint of its initial volume buildout, [we] have been working closely with our customers to establish production schedules that meet their demand profiles,” the company said.

“We will be running a ‘level-loaded’ production schedule, which will see consistent production volumes from now through to financial year 2027.”

C-130 demand

Quickstep’s next contract period for C-130 components begins midway through the 2025 financial year and extends to 2029.

The demand profile during that period will see 20 ship sets of components supplied each year.

All demand requirements are expected to be finalised through purchase orders before the end of July.

Drone order

Last week, Quickstep announced it had received a $430,000 follow-on order for 20 Volanti all-electric, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

This adds to a previous $1.35 million order for 40 of the same drones, booked in March and delivered earlier this month.

Quickstep and its partners have also received a request from an undisclosed foreign military customer to conduct overseas trials of the aircraft in the same build configuration.

Space grant

Quickstep has finalised a $925,000 space grant from the commonwealth Department of Science, Industry & Resources (DSIR) under the “Moon to Mars” initiative, designed to grow the nation’s space sector.

The grant is part of an overall $1.3m development program and will fund the acquisition of a large-scale computer numerical control router/3D printer for use in rapid prototyping and the low-rate initial production of complex composite structures in the domestic and international space segments.

It will also support Quickstep’s patented AeroQure advanced composites manufacturing process for use in emerging space applications and drones.

The new equipment will be installed at Quickstep’s expanded engineering and production facility in Victoria.

The company is moving into new premises at the same location and expects a threefold increase in floor space will enable increased production volumes.