JOHN REIS, ADVANTECH

The U.S. military is constantly in search of technology that will lead to improving military capabilities while minimizing the risk to the warfighter. The COM-HPC standard promises to increase the functionality of edge computing and usher in new applications that will forever change the way military operations are conducted. There exist multiple opportunities as well as some challenges related to the adoption of COM-HPC for military use.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

Aero Norway has built its reputation as an exclusive CFM56 engine provider, priding themselves on high standards, EGT margins, Competitive turnaround times and long-term client partnerships. The company also says they try to “harness the special characteristics of strength, focus and independence that embody the Norwegian way of life.” We spoke to CEO Glenford Marston to see how this specialist shop is doing amidst the pandemic and what advice he may have to offer others trying to survive this unusual time.

CHIP DOWNING, RTI

As the costs of creating advanced avionics software continue to increase and program funding continues to be constrained, a new business and acquisition approach along with a new technology foundation needs to be adopted to maintain competitiveness with near-peer adversaries; in short, everything must change. To meet this challenge, the government and defense/aerospace industry have joined forces to create the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE), which redefines the landscape for developing, procuring, integrating, and maintaining next-generation military avionics platforms.

LISA DAIGLE, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

The U.S. Air Force officially accepted the first F-15EX fighter aircraft from manufacturer Boeing on March 10. The new fighter jet is a two-seater that sports fly-by-wire flight controls, digital cockpit displays, and advanced avionics systems that will include the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System, an electronic warfare (EW) upgrade also being placed into the F-15E Strike Eagle models.

BENJAMIN BROSGOL, ADACORE

The FACE [Future Airborne Capability Environment] approach to reducing life cycle costs for the military is based on reusing software components across different platforms and airborne systems. The FACE Technical Standard addresses this issue through a reference architecture and data model, well-defined interfaces, and widely used underlying industry standards (IDL, Posix, ARINC-653).

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

The company Research Frontiers developed light-control technology that enables any window, sunroof or skylight to control the transmission of light by electrically aligning nanoparticles in the film. The product is being used in aircraft and business jets like those from Textron, Honda and Epic and can be installed as an aftermarket modification. Aviation Maintenance spoke to the company’s vice president of Aerospace Products, Mike LaPointe to learn about the product and how it came to be.

WILL KEEGAN, LYNX SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES

As a testament to the celebrated success of FACE (Future Airborne Capability Environment), mandatory conformance requirements for mission-system software have flowed down for nearly every applicable military program since the publication of FACE 2.0. But even as FACE informs and guides all aspects of software design for tactical mission systems (communications, flight control, flight map and planning, cockpit displays, etc.), the world of vehicle control harbors reservations about FACE adoption.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Green Hills Software announced that the INTEGRITY-178 tuMP multicore real-time operating system (RTOS) is the first operating system to be part of a multicore certification to RCTA/DO-178C and CAST-32A. According to the company, the certification is part of a Technical Standing Order (TSO) authorization for CMC Electronics’ PU-3000 Avionics Computer, and the TSO submission included evidence of meeting all CAST-32A requirements for multicore processors.

JOHN MCHALE, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Officials from Ametek announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abaco Systems, Inc., a provider of mission-critical embedded computing systems for electronic warfare, radar, avionics, communications, and other military applications from Veritas Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.35 billion.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

DDC-I, supplier of software and professional services for mission- and safety-critical applications, announced that its Deos safety-critical DO-178 real-time operating system has been selected by Bell Textron, Inc. for use in a Data Concentrator Unit (DCU) that will fly aboard the Bell 360 Invictus as part of the U.S. Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Competitive Prototype program.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

AeroVironment, Inc., company specializing in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), announced that the U.S. Army exercised the second of three options under the sole source Flight Control Systems (FCS) domain of the Army’s multi-year small UAS contract. The value of the contract option is $20,979,905 and includes avionics and data link upgrade packages to modify radio frequencies employed by the Army’s existing fleet of Raven tactical UAS.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

CP Technologies announced it has teamed with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. to design and manufacture the Portable Aircraft Control Station (PACS) for the U.S. Air Force.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Pipistrel has selected Honeywell's next-generation Attitude Heading Reference System and Air Data Module for its Nuuva V300 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The technologies provide navigation and motion-sensing data and will work in tandem with Honeywell's Compact Fly-By-Wire system onboard the aircraft.

EMMA HELFRICH, TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Alion Science and Technology a $77 million task order with a 60-month period of performance to provide aircraft and weapons systems research and development (R&D) for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO).