KEYPORT, Wash., 24 May 2013. U.S. Navy avionics experts needed 100 spare DC-DC converter power supplies for the aircraft flight control systems of the Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion long-range maritime patrol aircraft and the Sikorsky H-53 heavy-lift helicopter. They are recommending a solution from Pico Electronics Inc. in Pelham, N.Y.

GENEVA, Switzerland, 23 May 2013. VistaJet International and Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI) have agreed to a record-setting enrollment of 50 Bombardier Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft onto JSSI's Platinum Engine and APU hourly cost maintenance programs. The long-term agreement is valued at over $205 million based on JSSI 2013 list prices. The aircraft are part of VistaJet's largest order in aviation history placed in November 2012.

MEXICO CITY, 23 May 2013. Aeromexico, Mexico's global airline, becomes the first national airline in the country to operate the Embraer 175, with its addition of three of the modern planes to its aircraft fleet.

PALMDALE, Calif., 22 May 2013. The MQ-4C Triton unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft platform, operated by Northrop Grumman and U.S. Navy personnel on the ground in Palmdale, Calif., achieved its first flight.

PALMDALE, Calif., 22 May 2013. Together with the manned Boeing P-8A Poseidon, the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is expected to be a major part of the military's surveillance strategy for the Asia-Pacific region.

PALMDALE, Calif., 22 May 2013. A single Rolls-Royce AE 3007 engine powers the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, unmanned aircraft built by a Northrop Grumman-lead team.

RAVENNA, Ohio, 22 May 2013. Saint-Gobain Aerospace will supply nose radomes for the new PC-24 business jet built by Pilatus, of Stans, Switzerland.

GENEVA, 22 May 2013. Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. engineers sought an avionics suite for the company’s new Pilatus PC-24 Twin Jet. They found theirsolution at Honeywell (NYSE:HON), selecting a combination of components from Primus Epic and Primus Apex to provide the core functionality, safety, and display content for the Pilatus Advanced Cockpit Environment (ACE), designed specifically for the PC-24.

MESA, Ariz., 20 May 2013. EyeTech Digital Systems provided eye tracking hardware, software, and engineering integration support for Thales In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity’s touch-free entertainment system, which won the 2013 Crystal Cabin Award for Passenger Comfort Systems.

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 19 May 2013. U.S. Navy avionics radio communications experts needed electronic radios and related equipment for a variety of aircraft. They found their solution from Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., 19 May 2013. U.S. Army helicopter avionics experts needed a multi-sensor payload for the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. They found their solution from FLIR Systems Inc. in Wilsonville, Ore.

PORTLAND, Ore., 18 May 2013. U.S. Coast Guard officials sought a forward-looking infrared (FLIR), electro-optical sensor system for its fleet of Sikorsky H-60 Jayhawk and Eurocopter H-65 Dolphin rotorcraft, which have already been modernized with upgraded avionics suites from Rockwell Collins and other industry firms.

HERNDON, Va., 18 May 2013. Officials at the U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center plans to transform a prototype CN235 aircraft into an HC-144A maintenance training unit, based on the Airbus Military CN235 tactical airlifter.

CANOGA PARK, Calif., 17 May 2013. The X-51A WaveRider hypersonic vehicle achieved the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight--flying full duration and achieving both mission success and aviation history on May 1.

By Chip Downing, Senior Director of Aerospace & Defense, Wind River

ALAMEDA, Calif., 16 May 2013. The Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned aircraft achieved a catapult launch from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush carrier, the first of its kind in aviation history. This marks a very proud day for Wind River knowing that the VxWorks real-time operating system is a key technology for this aircraft, developed as part of the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., 16 May 2013. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Navy made carrier-capable unmanned aircraft history by catapulting the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

BOHEMIA, N.Y., 16 May 2013. ITT Exelis (NYSE:XLS) won a contract by Raytheon U.K. and the Canadian Department of National Defence to deliver anti-jam GPS antenna arrays for several Canadian airborne military platforms.

LONDON, 16 May 2013. The global commercial aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) market will reach a value of $49.2 billion in 2013 in response to growing demand for maintenance services to handle the global fleet of commercial aircraft, predict Visiongain analysts.

WASHINGTON, 15 May 2013. Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory flew their fuel-cell-powered Ion Tiger unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for 48 hours and 1 minute, 16-18 April, by using liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel in a new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system.

WASHINGTON, 15 May 2013. NASA officials extended its interim contract with MEI Technologies Inc. of Houston for electrical systems engineering services.

WASHINGTON, 15 May 2013. J.P. Donovan Construction Inc. of Rockledge, Fla., won a NASA contract to modify the mobile launcher designed to enable the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket to send humans to an asteroid, Mars and other new destinations in the solar system.

ISTANBUL, 14 May 2013. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX), won a contract to provide two VIP S-92 helicopters to the Turkish National Police (TNP) for service to the Turkish Prime Ministry.       

ASHBURN, Va., 14 May 2013. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) engineers have updated the Lockheed Martin Flight Services (LMFS) automation system and Pilot Web Portal to make general aviation safer and more convenient, at no cost to pilots.

ENDICOTT, N.Y., 13 May 2013. BAE Systems and EMTEQ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the IntelliCabinintegrated cabin management system for commercial aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and airline interiors modifications markets.

CLIFTON, N.J., 13 May 2013. ITT Exelis (NYSE:XLS) won a $9.4 million contract from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas, to supply the Continuous Wave Illuminator (CWI) subsystem for the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

WEBB CITY, Mo., 12 May 2013. Alpha Air Center, a fixed-base operator (FBO) at Joplin Regional Airport (KJL) in Webb City, Mo., is scheduled to complete a 5,000-square-foot executive terminal this summer, airport officials say.

WARWICK, R.I., 12 May 2013. Northstar Aviation, a fixed-base operator at Green Airport (PVD) in Warwick, R.I., has finished a new, state-of-the-art executive terminal.

SURAT, India, 11 May 2013. A mechanical engineer working on aerospace applications has written to Avionics Intelligence for advice on online training for automotive and aviation design and analysis training.

LIBERTY LAKE, Wash., 11 May 2013. Engineers at Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace (KDA) in Kongsberg, Norway, needed a thermal management solution for its Joint Strike Missile (JSM) design. They found their solution at the Parker Aerospace business segment of Parker Hannifin Corp. (NYSE:PH) in Liberty Lake, Wash.