The UK Government will provide a investment of up to £340m repayable to Airbus for the development of the A350 XWB.

The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of three large civil aircraft ranging in capacity from 270-350 passengers.

The programme will make use of advanced composite materials in the construction of the wing and other parts of the aircraft, making the A350XWB lighter and reducing CO2 emissions by about 15%.

The investment will enable Airbus to strengthen its position as a wing, landing gear and fuel integration systems technologies provider and ensure the UK plays an important role in the development of the A350 XWB.

The support is partially drawn from the UK Government’s £750m Strategic Investment Fund.

The A350 XWB programme is being supported by four partner nations, UK, France, Germany and Spain.

Recently, France announced €1.4bn in support and Germany have proposed €1.1bn in-principle support at for the A350 XWB programme.