18-month lead times and trim in 2025 delivery targets reflect severe titanium supply bottlenecks
Aircraft Landing Gear Market 2025 to 2032: Supply Constraints, Backlog Economics and the Titanium Shock →Geopolitical sanctions targeting Russian titanium sponge suppliers forced major landing gear Tier-1s to qualify alternative suppliers in Japan and Kazakhstan. These substitution pathways require 18-month qualification lead times and contribute to titanium forgings costing roughly four times more than structural steel. The severe forging and component lead-time bottlenecks trimmed Airbus's 2025 output target by 10 aircraft, directly disrupting assembly schedules for widebody and narrowbody programs.
Establish dual-sourcing agreements for aerospace-grade titanium forgings
Qualifying alternative mills and suppliers in non-sanctioned jurisdictions mitigates supply shock risks and minimizes single-point dependency during 18-month re-qualification windows.