General Interest

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 22 Feb. 2012. U.S. Navy aviation officials are asking helicopter designers at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Conn., to overhaul and update two VH-3D and one VH-60N executive helicopters, which are part of the Navy's VIP helicopter fleet used to transport the president and vice president of the United States, as well as other high-ranking dignitaries. Sikorsky will do the helicopter overhaul work under terms of a $20.5 million contract modification awarded Tuesday.

MONKS FERRY, U.K., 22 Feb 2012. LDRA, a provider of standards compliance, automated software verification, source code analysis, and test tools, has launched LDRA Certification Services (LCS) to help customers develop certification-ready products. The LCS team includes Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Engineering Representatives (DERs) and safety engineering experts, and is aligned with product development and verification specialists who use the LDRA tool suite and other tools to address critical project requirements at high design-assurance levels.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., 22 Feb. 2012. GE Intelligent Platforms in Charlottesville, Va., is introducing an enhanced version of the ICS-8580 rugged high definition video compression Express Mezzanine Card (XMC) module for video applications in aerospace and defense systems. The XMC helps users capture, transmit, and store high quality moving images at high speed with low latency and with minimal consumption of bandwidth or disk space, GE officials say.

NASHUA, N.H., 20 Feb. 2012. Airbus and Cassidian, two key EADS group companies and major players in the airframer and avionics technologies industry that aim to strengthen their authority within the European and global aerospace and avionics market, are participating in Avionics Europe, the premier conference and exhibition dedicated to the commercial and defense avionics industry, held in Munich, Germany, on 21 and 22 March 2012. Under the theme “Common Sky: Operating in One Air Space,” the Avionics Europe 2012 conference will focus on the current and future cockpit avionics and technologies for commercial, civil, and military aircraft and design approaches to grow air traffic in the most safe and efficient ways possible.

WASHINGTON, 20 Feb. 2012. The U.S. Air Force's plan to upgrade the Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy cargo jet with new avionics and new engines is among the top defense systems upgrades and technology-insertion priorities for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) 2013 budget request submitted to Congress last week. The Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy project is part of the $14.44 billion that DOD officials plan to spend for systems upgrades and technology insertion next year, according to DOD budget documents.

SINGAPORE, 20 Feb. 2012. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, now traveling through the Asia-Pacific region in the third segment of its worldwide Dream Tour, sports the Brake Control and Antiskid System from Crane Aerospace & Electronics in Lynnwood, Wa. Crane’s Brake Control and Monitoring System on the 787 combines the company’s brake control and antiskid technologies, SmartStem wireless tire pressure sensing, and brake temperature monitoring into a single system.

SINGAPORE, 17 Feb. 2012. BOC Aviation executives have selected Rockwell Collins avionics, including the company’s WXR-2100 MultiScan Threat Detection System and GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver (MMR), to serve as the baseline for up to 30 new Airbus A320 aircraft, deliveries of which begin this year. The chosen Rockwell Collins baseline avionics package also includes Automatic Direction Finder, Distance Measuring Equipment, High Speed Data Radio, a Very High Frequency Transceiver, and Omnidirectional Radio.

MONROVIA, Calif., 16 Feb. 2012. AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) won a $4,167,777 order from the U.S. Air Force for operational Switchblade loitering munition systems and services, engineering services, and operator training. AeroVironment will work with munition subcontractor ATK (NYSE:ATK) to produce and deliver the systems. 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., 15 Feb. 2012. Goodrich Corp. (NYSE:GR), a member of the industry team building the Sikorsky Aircraft S-97 Raider next-generation helicopter scheduled for U.S. military evaluation in 2014, will deliver high-speed flexible couplings, an advanced tail propulser drive shaft system, a SmartProbe air data system, and a lightweight, efficient LED lighting system. These avionics systems and components will be developed and produced by Goodrich teams in Rome, N.Y., Burnsville, Minn., and Oldsmar, Fla.

ARLINGTON, Va., 14 Feb. 2012. President Obama has signed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act 2012—with funding and provisions for granting military, commercial, and privately-owned greater access to U.S. airspace and air traffic management systems modernization—into law.

SINGAPORE, 14 Feb. 2012. Officials from Rockwell Collins and ICBC Leasing in China took part in a ceremony at the 2012 Singapore Airshow whereby ICBC will acquire and use as a baseline a suite of Rockwell Collins communication, navigation, and surveillance avionics for up to 42 new Airbus A320 aircraft, the deliveries of which will begin in the coming months.

DALLAS, 13 Feb. 2012. Eurocopter announced its newest helicopter and latest addition to the company’s lightweight single-engine product line, the EC130 T2, designed to offer comfort, operational performance, and versatility. The EC130 T2, revealed during a curtain-dropping, well-attended ceremony at Heli-Expo 2012, already boasts seven launch customers for the rotary-wing aircraft with a total of 105 bookings.

DALLAS, 13 Feb. 2012. Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE:TXT), unveiled what is being dubbed the first super-medium helicopter. In a spectacular display that had half the exhibit floor at a stand-still crowded with eagerly awaiting show attendees, the company revealed the Bell 525 Relentless. The Bell 525 R is the result of years of work on a project previously referred to as Magellan.

EDWARDS AFB, Calif., 11 Feb. 2012. The Integrated Test Force Team at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) received and installed the first properly packed parachute head box assembly for the ejection seat onboard the AF-1, an F-35 Lightning II aircraft. AF-1 resumed flying after the F-35 head box assembly, from Martin Baker Aircraft Corp., was installed.

TOULOUSE, France, 10 Feb. 2012. An Airbus A320 test aircraft flew from Toulouse to Copenhagen and Stockholm in what company executives are calling the world’s first flight using four-dimensional optimized and upgraded air traffic management (ATM) technology. The test flight is part of the Initial-4D (I-4D) project, intended to reduce fuel burn and C02 emissions, reduce the environmental impact per flight by ten percent, and decrease delays for shorter, smoother flights. It is also expected to help not only improve the existing European system, which is reaching its capacity limit, but also transform today’s air traffic management system.

SEATTLE, 10 Feb. 2012. The Boeing Company in Seattle revealed a team of suppliers that will provide key components for the U.S. Air Force's KC-46A tanker. The aircraft manufacturer won a U.S. Air Force contract valued at more than $30 billion last year.

FAIRMONT, W.Va., 9 Feb. 2012. Galaxy Global Corp. of Fairmont, W. Va., won from NASA officials a contract to provide support to the NASA Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Software Assurance Tools (SWAT) Group at the NASA IV&V Facility in Fairmont, W.Va. Galaxy Global staff are contracted to provide management, continuous improvement, expert training, and engineering services for the Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools employed in the NASA IV&V Program.

NEW YORK, 9 Feb. 2012. PwC analysts—having released “Mission Control,” a quarterly analysis of activity in the global mil/aero sector—anticipate that a high production rate ramp-up may be needed across much of the aerospace and defense sector in 2012 and beyond. “Managing risk in the supply chain will likely become more important in commercial aerospace where the industry operating model has pushed much of the design and manufacturing work to suppliers, often in the form of risk sharing partnerships,” says a PwC spokesperson.

OTTAWA, Ontario, 8 Feb. 2012. Plaintree Systems Inc. (CNSX:NPT) has acquired the business and assets of Summit Tool Corp. of Pocono Summit, Pa. Officials at Summit Aerospace USA Inc., Plaintree’s U.S. subsidiary, will operate the business, which is expected to help position the aerospace division in the high-value engine component sector.