Aernnova to acquire GE Aviation's Hamble aerostructures unit

Aernnova signs a deal to take over GE Aviation's Hamble site in the UK, its first operating base in Britain. The deal brings about 700 employees, the A350 XWB wing fixed trailing-edge program and roughly $200 million in additional yearly revenue.

By SamPublished November 12, 2026Updated November 12, 20262 min read

Hamble has operated for more than eight decades and has a workforce of about 700. It supplies large civil and military aircraft structures built from composites, metallics, acrylics and hybrid combinations.

Among its work is the wing fixed trailing edge (WFTE) of the Airbus A350 XWB, a package of more than 3,000 deliverable components. The assembly combines metallic and composite wing systems and carries provisions for the moving surfaces: flaps, ailerons and spoilers.

On the regional turboprop De Havilland Dash 8 Q400, Hamble builds the entire engine nacelle. Cockpit windscreens and canopies for the T-45 Goshawk and the BAE Systems Hawk trainers also come from the site. Hamble holds Customer Delegated Design Authority (CDDA) on major programs, so it can carry out design modifications and upgrades itself, and like Aernnova it takes part in Clean Sky 2.

Specific assets at GE Aviation’s Suzhou facility in China are part of the transaction; they will continue supplying parts to Hamble for the A320 and A350 XWB programs. Airbus, the largest customer of the facility, supports the purchase. Iñaki López Gandásegui, Aernnova’s Chairman and CEO, describes the deal as another step in the group’s growth strategy.

Why it matters

Aernnova gains its first UK base, in a country that ranks among the largest aerospace and defense markets worldwide. Hamble handles large components and complex structures, which adds to a portfolio of wings, fuselage sections and stabilizers and extends the group’s Tier 1 role on multiple civil and military programs.

Aernnova already lists the A350 XWB wing fixed trailing-edge design among its programs, with GE Aviation as the customer. On the A350 XWB it also makes composite elevators and the main landing gear bay bulkhead. Its new-aviation list includes the Lilium Pegasus wing and canard, the Boom Overture wing and the Radia WindRunner wing and pylons (see the WindRunner partnership).

The group takes part in more than 30 airplane models and lists 23 locations in seven countries, a footprint that Hamble extends to the UK.

Products in this article