STAFF at major Isle of Wight employer GKN Aerospace are celebrating its second major Airbus military contract win, this one worth at least £86m.

The deal to make wing sections for the A400M, planned to be the workhorse of a number of European armies, brings GKN's involvement with each aircraft to more than £530,000.

In March, GKN celebrated winning the advanced composite wing spar contract for the A400M.

The Ministry of Defence has ordered 25 of the aircraft, which are scheduled to enter service in 2011.

Similar to a Hercules, the A400M is a heavy lifting aircraft capable of carrying vehicles and soldiers as well as food aid and supplies.

GKN has won prime contractor status on the high-profile project, supplying both metal and composite wing trailing edge subassemblies for the A400M.

The majority of the work will take place with the A400M spar design and manufacturing work at the new GKN Aerospace facility at Osborne. This will be sited alongside the company's new Composite Research Centre, due to open in spring 2005, creating a composites 'centre of excellence' on the Island, where GKN employs around 700 people.

This new contract continues GKN Aerospace's track record as a successful strategic supplier for Airbus on the A330/A340, A380 and now A400M programmes.

Jeff Armitage, GKN's Cowes site director, said: "These are important contract wins for the business because they clearly demonstrate our position as a committed strategic supplier, with the confidence of the airframe primes to deliver on pioneering new aircraft programmes.

"They also reinforce our technology lead in composites.

"The main wing spar contract, announced in March, represents the first application of carbon composite materials for major primary structures on the wing of a large transport aircraft."

GKN Aerospace is the aerospace operation of GKN plc.