Messier-Bugatti-Dowty–part of Safran Group (Hall 4 Innovation Zone Stand A7), which is providing the landing gear for the Airbus A350–has signed a contract with Japan’s Kobe Steel to supply the French company with titanium forgings for the main landing gear of the Airbus A350 XWB.

The parts will be manufactured by Kobe Steel and its group company, Japan Aeroforge, a joint venture Kobe Steel established with Hitachi Metals and several minor shareholders. Japan Aeroforge’s 50,000-ton hydraulic forging press is one of the largest in the world. Through the agreement with Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, Kobe Steel will be Japan’s first supplier of large titanium forged parts.

The A350 XWB, the in-development Airbus twinjet, is expected to enter service in Q4 of this year. The 824 orders for the jet, which Airbus had logged by the end of February, include 31 A350s for Japan Airlines Co., Ltd (JAL), with options for an additional 25 of the medium capacity, long-range jets. Deliveries to JAL are expected to begin in 2019.

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, based in Velizy, France, is a major provider of aircraft landing and braking systems. It partners with 30 commercial, military and business aircraft OEMs. The 24,000 aircraft equipped with landing gear made by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty make more than 40,000 landings every day.