ROCKFORD, IL—Woodward Inc., a manufacturer of pumps, valves, actuators and other aerospace components, will invest more than $200 million to build a new assembly plant here, creating 660 jobs over the next five years.

PLATTSBURGH, NY—Bombardier Transportation will move forward with a $25 million expansion of its assembly plant here.

WICHITA, KS—Airbus plans to double the $12 billion it now spends with U.S. suppliers amid strong airplane sales, explaining that the company has a backlog that is “disturbingly healthy.”

DUNCAN, SC—Stäubli has developed a new robot that can quickly and accurately mill carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer and other composite materials.

CHICAGO—Boeing has received orders for 94 passenger jets worth $8.4 billion from two Asian airlines.

Composites come of age, resulting in more and better fasteners and increased productivity.

The men and women representing Team USA in this year’s Summer Olympics may have been born, raised and trained in America, but as for their stylish Ralph Lauren uniforms, those were made entirely in China.

Part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, the Juno Mission began Aug. 5, 2011, with the launching of United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL. A solar-powered spacecraft released from the rocket will travel more than 1.9 billion miles over the next four years to reach Jupiter in 2016.

Defense contractors are demanding customers, especially when it comes to parts made of composite materials.

BROUGHTON, UK—Airbus admits the slow pace of automated wing-drilling on the A350-900 will delay the jetliner’s maiden flight.