Feb 25 (Reuters) - Aerospace startup Salient Motion said

on Wednesday it had secured its first production contract,

supplying Italian seat-maker Aviointeriors with systems that

move high-end business-class ​seats from upright to lie-flat

positions.

Founded by ‌former employees of defense contractor Anduril, the

Torrance, California-based company aims to shorten ⁠the time

needed to design, certify and deliver complex parts ⁠by reusing

software and hardware building blocks across ‌products.

The contract is ‌modest - covering actuator systems for a few

hundred seats to be installed ​by two airlines on narrowbody

Airbus ‌and Boeing ( BA ) jets from late 2026 or early 2027, Chief

Executive Vishaal Mali told Reuters in an ​interview.

But it marks a ​start toward ‌the company's goal of becoming a

major supplier on the next new aircraft from Boeing ( BA ) and

Airbus, he said.

Salient ⁠Motion identified seat actuators as an entry point ⁠into

the supply chain, Mali said. The systems are complex, dominated

by a small group of suppliers, and increasingly important as

airlines rely on higher-revenue premium seating.

Airlines are expected to need ⁠more ‌than eight million seats

over the next decade, ‌a business worth $52 billion over 10

years, according to a ⁠study by Tronos Aviation Consultancy and

AeroDynamic Advisory.

Salient Motion has raised $16 million from investors

including Cantos Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. It also began

collaborating with Boeing Ventures, the aerospace giant's

investment arm, last year.

In 2023, Salient Motion was sued by Anduril, which accused its

founders of ​stealing trade secrets. The two companies reached a

settlement in 2024.

Alongside the Aviointeriors contract, Salient Motion also has

components on military ​drones in development, Mali ‌said.