Marshall/Slingsby linkup is a good composites fit
Many of the invited guests who witnessed the unveiling of the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle at BAE Systems’s Warton plant last week won’t have

Many of the invited guests who witnessed the unveiling of the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle at BAE Systems’s Warton plant last week won’t have
realized the important role of a small company based in the Yorkshire moors. Marshall Slingsby Advanced Composites has produced airframe structures for all of BAE’s unmanned developments in the last decade. The company is also making low-cost composite parts for seven other aerospace majors.

The Slingsby name goes back 80 years. The UK company manufactured sailplanes followed by the T76 Firefly primary trainer at rural Kirkbymoorside. It was owned, in turn, by Vickers, ML Aviation and Cobham until a management buyout in 2006. Then, last year, Slingsby became the first-ever acquisition by privately held Marshall Aerospace (Hall 4 Stand A11).