AN aerospace firm has secured record deals worth more than $12billion which will safeguard hundreds of East Lancashire jobs for over 10 years.

Rolls Royce has signed several contracts at the Paris Air Show to supply engines to airline carriers, key components of which will be made in Barnoldswick.

Among the orders are Rolls Royce's biggest ever civil deal worth $5.6billion with Qatar Airlines, and an agreement with US Airways, worth $1.8billion.

The contracts, which also mark the introduction of Rolls Royce into the Latin America and Russian markets, are the latest boost to East Lancashire manufacturing.

MB Aerospace, on the Heasandford Industrial Estate, Burnley, on Monday agreed extensions worth £40million with Rolls Royce to supply parts to its engines.

The latest deals will see the 1,000 workers employed at Barnoldswick produce fan blades for Rolls Royce's range of Trent engines and its V5200 engine.

Martin Johnson, spokesman for Rolls Royce said: "The Barnoldswick facility is the centre for production excellence and these large fan blades is what Barnoldswick specialises in.

"It is a very vital part of the manufacturing process which is very high tech and cannot be replicated elsewhere in the company.

"It has been a record breaking run of orders for the Trent engines and we would expect more orders.

"The engines will be for delivery two to three years down the line.

"The aircraft for Qatar will not start to be delivered until 2013 and that order will take about seven years to work through the delivery system.

"The orders that we have been winning can be seen as long term security for facilities like Barnoldswick."

The Qatar Airlines deal will see Rolls Royce's Trent engines power 80 of the company's new Airbus jets as well as offering an aftercare package.

Rolls Royce will also supply the engines to 22 US Airways planes.

The other contracts are: a $1.2billion deal to power and service 17 of Memphis-based Intrepid Aviation Group's jets; supply and service engines for up to 30 of Colombia-based Avianca's planes worth $1.1billion; long-haul low cost airline Air Asia X buying engines and servicing costing $1billion for its new fleet of 15 planes; Russian carrier Aeroflot signing a $600million engine and servicing deal for 10 of its planes;

powering up to 30 International Lease Finance Corporation planes in a deal worth $320million;

supplying China Eastern Airlines with V520 engines for 30 planes worth $260million;

a $180million contract to supply engines to 20 of China's Hainan Airlines planes;

powering and servicing two planes belonging to UK low-cost airline Flyglobespan worth $100million.