Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has announced the Welsh Assembly Government's largest ever investment in research and development with a £7.5m contribution to a £103m Airbus-led programme to revolutionise aircraft wing technology.

For Wales, the Next Generation Composite Wing (NGCW) collaborative programme will ensure that the Airbus wing manufacturing plant at Broughton, which employs nearly 7,000 people, will remain a world leader and at the cutting edge of wing design and manufacturing.

The Broughton facility is the company's Centre of Excellence for Wing Assembly and Equipping. World-class skills have been developed across a wide range of technology-driven manufacturing disciplines. Both the workforce and the facility have expanded dramatically in recent years with substantial investments in equipment and tools as new aircraft models are added and production increased.

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Welsh Assembly Government support for the Composite Wing research - approximately 15% of the overall external funding sought by the programme - will help to ensure that Broughton remains the Centre of Excellence for assembling wings for the next generation of passenger aircraft.

Announcing the investment, Ieuan Wyn Jones said: "This vital research and technology programme will give the world-class Broughton plant the skills and knowledge to remain at the forefront of aircraft wing design and manufacture, and will put it in a strong position to win key contracts in the future.

"As part of our involvement, Airbus will be making a major contribution to the Assembly Government's strategy for technology learning and training across Wales, and will also support our work to develop Welsh supply chain companies."

(CD/JM)