Aerospace Stainless Steel
Aerospace Stainless Steel for High-Performance Applications
Stainless steel is a core material in modern aerospace and defense. It combines high strength, toughness, fatigue resistance, and excellent corrosion resistance, with reliable performance at elevated temperatures. This makes aerospace stainless steels ideal for landing gear components, actuators, engine and exhaust parts, structural fittings, fasteners, and other critical hardware that cannot fail in service.
At Fighter Jet Metals, we supply a wide range of aerospace stainless steel grades in round bar, flat bar, plate, and sheet. All material is sourced and processed for high-integrity applications and can be certified to AMS, MIL, and major OEM specifications for flight-critical programs.
Aerospace Stainless Steel Product Forms We Supply
We stock and source stainless steel in the main aerospace product forms so you can match the right geometry to your machining and fabrication requirements.
Stainless steel round bar is used for machined parts, pins, shafts, and fasteners where strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance are essential. Fighter Jet Metals supplies aerospace stainless steel round bar in diameters from approximately 0.125″ (3.175 mm) up to 6.75″ (171.45 mm), depending on grade and specification.
Stainless steel flat bar is ideal for structural fittings, brackets, and precision-machined components that require a rectangular profile. It is available in a variety of thicknesses and widths and can be cut to length to reduce machining time and material waste. For specific sizes and tolerances, customers typically request a quote with their print or CAD model.
Stainless steel plate is used for high-load structural parts, hog-outs, and components requiring substantial section thickness. Typical stainless plate thickness ranges from about 0.1875″ up to 6.50″, with saw-cut or water-jet cut-to-size options available.
Stainless steel sheet is widely used for formed parts, ducting, heat shields, firewalls, fairings, and enclosures. Aerospace stainless steel sheet thickness generally ranges from 0.002″ up to 0.150″, with coil or flat sheet options depending on the grade and application.
Aerospace Stainless Steel Grades Available
Precipitation Hardening Stainless Steel
For components that require both high strength and corrosion resistance, precipitation-hardening stainless steels are a standard choice in aerospace. Fighter Jet Metals supplies PH grades such as PH13-8Mo, 15-5 PH, and 17-4 PH for parts like structural fittings, shafts, gears, and high-strength fasteners. These alloys can be heat treated to achieve specific property levels while maintaining good toughness and dimensional stability.
High Heat Resistant Stainless Steels
Some aerospace environments require stainless steels that retain strength and resist oxidation at elevated temperatures. Grades such as A286, AM 355, and Jethete M152 are used in engine components, hot-section hardware, exhaust systems, and high-temperature fasteners. These alloys offer a balance of creep resistance, fatigue performance, and corrosion resistance in demanding thermal conditions.
Maraging Stainless Steels
Maraging stainless grades like Maraging C250, C300, and C350 provide very high strength with good toughness and dimensional stability after aging. They are used in highly loaded aerospace components, tooling, and critical hardware where traditional steels would either be too brittle or too prone to distortion.
Custom Stainless Steels
Custom 450, Custom 455, and Custom 465 are proprietary high-strength stainless steels designed for aerospace and defense applications that demand maximum performance from a stainless alloy. These grades offer very high strength levels with good toughness and corrosion resistance, making them suitable for structural parts, fasteners, and mechanical components in advanced airframe and engine systems.
300 Series Stainless Steel Grades
Austenitic 300-series stainless steels are widely used where corrosion resistance, formability, and weldability are more important than very high strength. Fighter Jet Metals supplies grades such as 301, 302, 303, 304 / 304H / 304L, 316 / 316L, 321, and 347 for applications including exhaust components, clamps, brackets, formed sheet parts, ducting, and hardware exposed to harsh environments.
400 Series Stainless Steel Grades
400-series stainless steels provide higher hardness and strength than many austenitic grades while still delivering useful corrosion resistance. Aerospace applications include pump and valve components, shafts, bearing parts, and hardware where wear resistance is important. Fighter Jet Metals offers grades such as 410, 416, 420, 422, 431, 440A, and 440C in appropriate product forms.
Nitronic Stainless Steels
Nitronic stainless steels deliver an attractive combination of strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance, often outperforming conventional 300-series grades. Nitronic 40, Nitronic 50, and Nitronic 60 are used in aerospace and marine components, fasteners, shafts, and structural parts where galling resistance and long-term durability are essential.
Certified to AMS, MIL, and OEM Specifications
Aerospace programs demand strict adherence to recognized standards and OEM material specifications. Fighter Jet Metals can supply stainless steel and other aerospace alloys to AMS, MIL, and major company specs, including Boeing, Gulfstream, Cessna, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation, and Pratt & Whitney.
All material is delivered with full certification, lot traceability, and documentation to support the quality and compliance requirements of aerospace and defense programs.