Press Release: State aid: Commission approves UK £113.7 million R&D aid to Short Brothers for development of composite wings

The European Commission approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a repayable cash advance of £113.7 million (€120.59 million 1 ) that the UK plans to give to Short Brothers PLC, a 100% subsidiary of Bombardier, for the development of composite wings for Bombardier's new CSeries aircraft. Bombardier Aerospace is relaunching the CSeries project, which develops a new family of commercial aircraft in the 110-130 seat range. The new composite wings are key components of this new aircraft, requiring the development of cutting-edge technologies. The proposed aid would have positive effects in terms of knowledge sharing with only a limited impact on competition. The Commission concluded that the aid was compatible with the EU Framework for state aid for Research, Development and Innovation.