Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Aerospace and defence and Aluminium

Aluminium alloys still make up much of an aircraft, about half of a Boeing 777's structure, but carbon composites are about half of the newer 787, so lighter lithium-bearing alloys and certified supply of high-strength grades decide aluminium's place in aerospace.

Aerospace and defence (industry) and Aluminium (commodity): 4 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Industry input

Physical flow · Strong · Aluminium to aerospace and defence

High-strength aluminium alloys form the fuselage and wings of most single-aisle airliners and many military aircraft, and the tanks of launchers; the site rates aluminium 5 of 5 on criticality for alloy suppliers and airframers.

  • 5 of 5 criticality for alloy suppliers and commercial airframers
  • 4 aerospace enterprise types that depend on aluminium
  • 50% aluminium share of the Boeing 777 structure

Single-aisle jets such as the A320 and 737 have metallic wings. Aerospace uses high-strength hard alloys of the 2xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx series, and satellite and launch companies rate aluminium 4 of 5 for tanks.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Specialty alloy, casting and forging suppliers: airframe alloys (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Commercial airframers: fuselage (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Satellite and launch companies: tanks (criticality 4 of 5)
  • Aerostructure and subsystem suppliers: airframe parts (criticality 3 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; CompositesWorld; Constellium; Hindalco Industries

2. Composites replace aluminium

Substitution · Medium · Carbon composites displace aluminium in wide-body airframes

Carbon fibre composites save weight, so newer long-range jets such as the Boeing 787 use them for about half of their structure.

  • 50% composites share of Boeing 787 structural weight
  • 12% aluminium share of the 787
  • 50% aluminium share of the earlier 777

The 787 even uses more titanium (15%) than aluminium (12%). Aluminium keeps the single-aisle wing for now and holds an edge at end of life, since composites are harder to recycle.

Sources: CompositesWorld; Constellium

3. Aluminium-lithium alloys

Physical flow · Medium · Lithium additions keep aluminium competitive

Lithium is the lightest metal, so adding it makes aluminium both lighter and stiffer, letting metal airframes narrow the weight gap with composites.

  • about 0.08 g/cm³ density cut per 1% lithium added
  • about 3 GPa stiffness gain per 1% lithium
  • about 5% lower density of Constellium Airware 2076 wing stringers

Studies reviewed by Total Materia found that cutting alloy density by 7 to 10% would give cost-effective weight savings. Constellium is developing aluminium-lithium wing products such as these stringers for future single-aisle wings, the market where aluminium competes most directly with composite designs.

Sources: Total Materia; Constellium

4. Import reliance for aerospace grades

Shared risk · High in India · India's aerospace makers depend on imported specialty alloys

Aerospace grades need certified melting, casting and testing, so India's public-sector aircraft makers have relied on imports for specialty alloys.

In 2017 state-controlled firms such as HAL were reported to import their entire specialty alloy needs. Hindalco-Almex Aerospace now makes 2xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx series hard alloy billets, slabs and extrusions for missiles, launch vehicles, satellites and aircraft, giving a domestic source to qualify on more programmes.

Sources: Hindalco Industries; AlCircle

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Aerospace aluminium is a premium niche where certified 2xxx and 7xxx plate, extrusion and forging capacity matters more than primary metal tonnage.
  2. Composite airframes cut aluminium sharply, from 50% of the 777's structure to 12% of the 787's, so single-aisle wing design choices are the key swing for demand.
  3. Aluminium-lithium alloys, some about 5% lower in density, are aluminium's main defence against composites.

What to track

  • Airbus and Boeing single-aisle production rates: Drive aerospace plate and extrusion demand (Monthly · company delivery data)
  • Material choices for the next single-aisle wing: A composite wing would cut aluminium per aircraft (As announced · Airbus and Boeing)
  • Aerospace plate shipments and pricing: Show how tight certified capacity is (Quarterly · producer results)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. For defence self-reliance, domestic supply of certified aerospace alloys matters more than primary aluminium output.
  2. Hindalco-Almex Aerospace gives India a source of 2xxx and 7xxx hard alloys; qualifying it on more HAL, ISRO and DRDO programmes cuts import reliance.
  3. Metal airframes are easier to recycle than composites, a point for end-of-life and circularity rules.

What to track

  • Imports of aluminium alloy plate, sheet and extrusions: Show how far domestic grades replace imports (Monthly · Ministry of Commerce trade data)
  • Qualification of Indian alloy suppliers on defence and space programmes: More qualified sources reduce supply risk (As announced · ministries and companies)

India

Hindalco-Almex Aerospace makes aerospace and defence hard alloys in the 2xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx series for missiles, launch vehicles, satellites and aircraft, while public-sector makers such as HAL were reported in 2017 to import all their specialty alloy needs.

Sources

  1. Aerospace and defence: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. Boeing sets pace for composite usage in large civil aircraft, CompositesWorld
  3. Aluminum-lithium alloys: part two, Total Materia
  4. Wing of the future (Light Metal Age, June 2025), Constellium (2025)
  5. Defence, Hindalco Industries
  6. Indian aluminium sector to fly high, powered by aerospace and defence demand, AlCircle (2017)