Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

GKN Aerospace’s growth path for the next five years hinges on its ability to extract the maximum reward from its design capabilities for aircraft engines and aerostructures, rather than simply getting paid as a manufacturer. That, explained CEO Peter Dilnot in a media briefing ahead of the Paris Air Show, comes down to picking winning programs and maximizing the amount of intellectual property it contributes to these, yielding long-term paybacks through risk- and revenue-sharing partnerships (RRSPs) as these winners make it to market.
In the race to provide power for the next generation of single-aisle airliners, GKN is involved with the leading contenders: CFM International’s open rotor Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program, Rolls-Royce’s UltraFan concept, and the next generation of Pratt &amp; Whitney’s Geared Turbofan (GTF). The group already has 19 engine RRSPs in its portfolio, which collectively represent more than 40 years of what it characterizes as “aftermarket entitlement.”
For RISE, it is the design partner for the Open Fan demonstrator engine for which it is now producing components. It is also contributing to the Pratt &amp; Whitney-led <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-07-22/preliminary-design-complete-switch-hybrid-electric">Switch program</a>&nbsp;(short for “sustainable water-injecting turbofan comprising hybrid-electrics”) for the next generation GTF.
According to GKN, its position in the engines RRSP aftermarket means it now has a stake in around 70% of global flight hours. In-service support now accounts for more than 50% of all engine revenues, three-quarters of which are from the civil sector.
“We’re reshaping the business to add the most value around design rather than manufacturing, and we’re on track to double profits over a three-year period,” explained Dilnot. This is based on investing a defined percentage of a program’s value over multiple years and then, once that program is cash-positive, benefiting from the rolling entitlement to cash flows generated from it.
In the wake of what Dilnot referred to as “the dismemberment” of rival tier one OEM Spirit Aerosystems (which is being taken over by Boeing, with rival Airbus keeping some parts of the business), GKN lays claim to being the largest aerostructures business in the world. Much of its design-based work is with Airbus programs, and it also makes significant contributions to several business jets.
Another aspect of GKN’s strategy is local manufacturing to support airframers. It is the only aerostructures company that currently has a joint venture with Comac in China, where it is working on the preliminary design review for the wing of the new C929 airliner, as well as making empennage parts and wiring for the existing C919 model.
<h2>Hedging Bets on Trump Tariffs</h2>
In view of the aerospace and defense sectors’ ongoing anxiety over <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2025-04-17/gkn-aerospace-scrambles-absorb-impact-us-tariffs">U.S. tariffs</a>&nbsp;on former partners that the Trump administration now targets as adversarial nations, GKN’s engineering and manufacturing position in the U.S. is significant. The company has not ruled out expanding its investment in the country based on an ongoing review of the impact of tariffs.
A prime example of GKN’s investment in U.S. long-term programs is the canopy it developed for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter. Its intellectual property is mainly in the coating, which the company says delivers the program’s requirements for visibility, durability, and signature (in terms of radar cross section and infrared).
GKN and Lockheed Martin are now building a $150 million canopy manufacturing facility in Garden Grove, California, to support a 10-year contract for the F-35. In San Diego, GKN has added a new repair facility with the capacity to work on 54,000 engine fan blades each year, and advanced repair solutions are now being introduced to recover efficiency lost through erosion and tip damage.
The company, which for the past four years has been part of the Melrose Industries group, is also investing in new additive manufacturing technology for engines and has delivered what it said is the largest all-additive technology demonstrator for CFM’s RISE program. It also has an additive-based fan case mount ring in serial production for Pratt &amp; Whitney. Objectives from this approach include reducing emissions and materials waste from the production process, as well as cutting production lead times from nine months to four weeks.
Among the other technology IP bets GKN is placing are contributions to sixth-generation fighter programs on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft that will form part of defense forces in the 2030s. It is also invested in developing new airliner wings, mainly for Airbus, as well as hydrogen propulsion systems, and is partnered with eVTOL aircraft developers including Vertical Aerospace, Joby, and Supernal.
“However, we are turning away a lot of opportunities,” Dilnot concluded. “We ask ourselves, is it core, is it high volume, and have we got the capability?”

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