Airbus's UK wing technology programme has moved to flight testing while A320-family rates climb. What that means for measurement and automation in the supply chain.
The UK designs every Airbus commercial wing, and the next single-aisle wing will have to be built faster than any before it. Airbus's Wing of Tomorrow programme is where much of that manufacturing and assembly technology is being proven, and it has moved into a new phase in 2026.
Wing of Tomorrow is a technology programme led from Airbus's UK sites at Filton and Broughton. It has produced three full-scale, 17-metre ground demonstrators and evaluated more than 100 new manufacturing and assembly technologies. Since 2014 it has received £227 million through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme [1].
The three demonstrators each had a different job. The first tested structure and materials, the second tested systems installation, and the third, a run-at-rate demonstrator, tested industrial capability and automation to work out how wings could be built at the speed and scale required [2]. Airbus completed assembly of all three by mid-2026 [3].
In July 2026 Airbus began flight testing wing technology from the programme. Wing extensions assembled at the Wing Technology Development Centre in Filton are being flown on an A321neo, with instrumentation to measure aerodynamic performance, structural behaviour and handling [1]. The ATI describes the programme as bringing together high-rate composite structures, automated assembly, digital manufacturing and new build approaches intended to cut cost, complexity and cycle time [4].
Airbus is increasing A320-family production towards 75 aircraft a month and is bringing its former A380 wing factory at Broughton back into use for A321 wings. ADS notes that this creates opportunities for UK suppliers across tooling, automation, inspection, metrology and engineering services [5].