Branches of the U.S. armed forces and their contractors continue to seek alternatives to autoclave cure in the manufacture of composite parts and assemblies used in military aerospace applications. The primary reason is that autoclaves involve high cost, both in terms of acquisition and operation. But secondarily, there are currently too few autoclaves available to new military programs because many of the autoclave-equipped composite fabricators that could serve them are already committed to existing aircraft programs, such as the Boeing 787 and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Further, the need for composites has never been greater as military engineers press on in their efforts to lightweight aircraft hardware.
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