A Reusable Hypersonic Baltic Responses The Coming Revolution Propulsion System to Russian Threat RICH MEDIA in Cockpit Connectivity EXCLUSIVE
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609AWBIFC.indd 1 9/16/2016 3:19:41 PM September 26-October 9, 2016 Contents Volume 178 Number 20
Winner 2016 AVIATIONWEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY Boeing
Digital Extras Tap this icon in articles in the digital edition of AW&St for exclusive features.
7 Feedback 8 Who’s Where 10-11 First Take 12 Going Concerns 13 Up Front 14 Inside Business Aviation 15 Airline Intel 16 Leading Edge 18 In Orbit 19 Washington Outlook 55 Classifed Boeing-Saab’s T-X ofering is a production-ready trainer 56 Contact Us that hews closely to the U.S. Air Force’s threshold 57 Aerospace Calendar 32 requirements for the new program.
DEFENSE TECHNOLOGy COMMERCIAL AVIATION 28 China clamps down on airline 20 Japan plans high-tech Combat 25 University coalition models and Support Unmanned Aircraft to licensing, dissatisfed with tests drone collisions with aircraft increasing industry fragmentation fy with its F-35s within 20 years and people to assess risks 28 Boeing says both the 737-10X— 22 Bell Helicopters pegs its future with simpler design—and “new to a range of advanced tiltrotors 50 midsize airplane” are feasible with simpler, cheaper design SPACE 24 U.S. Air Force seeks a stealthy, 30 Launch service provider CEOs armed next-gen tanker, maybe discuss opportunities, challenges with blended or fying-wing design after SpaceX August pad accident
32 Boeing-Saab team unveils LOW-COST CARRIERS purpose-built T-X contender and 37 AirAsia’s problem in China may turn out to be that its partner reveals two production-ready would not be an airline aircraft 38 Asian low-cost widebody operators 34 Baltic states work together to expand networks in region, add bolster defense capabilities in services to European desinations face of Russian agression AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING 40 NASA considers fve confgurations ON THE COVER for planned ultra-efcient subsonic Dzyne Technologies’ Ascent blended wing-body small airliner is one of transport demonstrators fve concepts being considered for future X-planes as NASA looks beyond established large-aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Lockheed Martin 42 Dzyne Technologies unveils proposal for ideas on future ultra-efcient subsonic transports (page 42). Concept for a blended wing body business image: Dzyne Technologies/Brendan Kennel. Also in this issue: Chasing jet and “super-regional” airliner breakthroughs in hypersonic propulsion (page 46), Baltic states’ military buildup (page 34), new advances in cockpit connectivity (page 50) and 44 Boeing control tests target short- Japan’s plans to feld unmanned aircraft for air combat and ballistic takeof blended wing body that missile defense (page 20). Aviation Week publishes a digital edition every could lead to military application week. Read it at AviationWeek.com/awst and on our app.
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CONNECTEDCONNECTED AEROSPACE:AEROSPACE: CONNECTEDCONNECTED AEROSPACE:AEROSPACE: SPACE COCKPIT CONNECTIVITY 45 SpaceX launch pad explosion sets 50 Airlines tap networks in new ways back Iridium’s new satellite system for weather and avionics data to that will relay ADS-B signals Mobile. Online. improve safety and ef ciency REUSABLE LAUNCH Updated Daily. TECHNOLOGY 52 Satellite fl eet operators old 46 Reaction Engines aims at fi ghter- and new see rising growth in Free to subscribers. Get new content daily and read the weekly digital edition aeronautic, maritime broadband of Aviation Week online or in our app. 34 53 Small avionics company is fast DESKTOP/LAPTOP becoming a powerhouse to supply Go to AviationWeek.com/awst aircraft connectivity backbone APPLE APP Go to the Apple App Store, search VIEWPOINT for “Aviation Week” and download the Aviation Week & Space Technology 58 Too many aerospace executives still app to your iPad or iPhone. use the traditional technology lens ANDROID APP to develop and improve products Go to Google Play, search for “Aviation Week” and download the Aviation Week jet-size engine for its innovative 25 & Space Technology app for your reusable hypersonic propulsion Android phone or tablet. LOGIN 48 NASA-industry testing demonstrates Tap on any locked article to get to the ULA Vulcan fi rst-stage engine login screen OR on the menu icon in the recovery and reuse technology upper right corner of the app screen (image with three parallel lines) and tap 49 Blue Origin’s New Glenn space “Login.” Log in using the email address launcher will come in two versions, associated with your subscription. have reusable fi rst-stage engines Forgot Password? Tap the “forgot password” link on the login screen 44 and follow the reset instructions emailed to you (this password may not be the same as your digital edition password). Customer Service If you don’t have a registered email or password, or are having problems with the download or login, contact our customer care team for assistance: Toll-free (North America) 800-525-5003 Outside North America (+1) 847-763-9147
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The AerospaceDefenseChain Conference will focus 3388 on key components affecting our industry, and future programs as we seek to balance changing customer demands, global market conditions, macroeconomic 2nd Annual challenges and A&D industry consolidation. Emphasis CONNECTEDCONNECTED AEROSPACE:AEROSPACE: CONNECTEDCONNECTED AEROSPACE:AEROSPACE: will be on forecasts and pursuing sustainable growth SPACE COCKPIT CONNECTIVITY AerospaceDefenseChain opportunities and new initiatives. 45 SpaceX launch pad explosion sets 50 Airlines tap networks in new ways back Iridium’s new satellite system Conference for weather and avionics data to Key Issues in the A&D Industry that will relay ADS-B signals Mobile. Online. improve safety and ef ciency • Budgets & Policies co-located with the Aviation Week Network Program • Programs & Market Trends REUSABLE LAUNCH Updated Daily. Excellence Symposium & Awards taking place October 26 • Innovation & Technology TECHNOLOGY 52 Satellite fl eet operators old 46 Reaction Engines aims at fi ghter- and new see rising growth in Free to subscribers. Get new content The Supply Chain View daily and read the weekly digital edition aeronautic, maritime broadband • Forecast & Planning of Aviation Week online or in our app. • Consolidation: M&A 34 • Strategic Sourcing: Productivity 53 Small avionics company is fast DESKTOP/LAPTOP becoming a powerhouse to supply Go to AviationWeek.com/awst The Conference is supported by decision leaders within aircraft connectivity backbone APPLE APP equipment manufacturers and suppliers that support Go to the Apple App Store, search the supply chain for the defense industry, program VIEWPOINT for “Aviation Week” and download the managers, business and corporate development and Aviation Week & Space Technology marketing executives, market analysts, investment 58 Too many aerospace executives still app to your iPad or iPhone. bankers and f nancial institutions. use the traditional technology lens ANDROID APP to develop and improve products Go to Google Play, search for “Aviation October 27 - 28, 2016 SPONSORSHIP: Week” and download the Aviation Week Omni Scottsdale Resort Our conference promotional and collaboration jet-size engine for its innovative 25 & Space Technology app for your opportunities position your company as an industry leader and enable you to reach qualif ed buyers reusable hypersonic propulsion Android phone or tablet. &Spa at Montelucia with purchasing power. Solution providers are able LOGIN Scottsdale, AZ to develop strategic partnerships and customer 48 NASA-industry testing demonstrates Tap on any locked article to get to the relationships with global industry professionals, leading ULA Vulcan fi rst-stage engine login screen OR on the menu icon in the to sales being closed at an accelerated rate and recovery and reuse technology upper right corner of the app screen increased exposure within the core communities at all (image with three parallel lines) and tap times during the event lifecycle. 49 Blue Origin’s New Glenn space “Login.” Log in using the email address #AWNADC launcher will come in two versions, associated with your subscription. have reusable fi rst-stage engines Forgot Password? Tap the “forgot password” link on the login screen Co-located Program Excellence 44 and follow the reset instructions emailed Best Practices Symposium and to you (this password may not be the same Register as your digital edition password). Awards Banquet and learn more at Aviation Week will host its annual Program Customer Service If you don’t have speednews.com/aerospace-defense-chain Excellence Symposium and Awards Banquet a registered email or password, or are Produced by October 26, at the Omni in Scottsdale, Arizona. having problems with the download or login, contact our customer care The full day of programming includes: team for assistance: • Aviation Week Network’s Program Toll-free (North America) Excellence Best Practices Symposium 800-525-5003 • The annual Program Excellence Banquet, Outside North America recognizing the industry’s top commercial, (+1) 847-763-9147 space, and defense programs
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AW_09_26_2016_p03-04.indd 4 9/22/16 6:01 PM 609AWB5.indd 1 9/20/2016 3:24:50 PM Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo Executive Editor James R. Asker Managing Editors Jen DiMascio, Jens Flottau, Graham Warwick Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell Art Director Lisa Caputo Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria Defense, space anD security Editors Jen DiMascio (Managing Editor), Jeferson Morris (Associate Managing Editor), Michael Bruno (Senior Business Editor), James Drew, Frank Morring, Jr., Tony Osborne, Lara Seligman civil aviation/Maintenance, repair anD overhaul Editors Jens Flottau (Managing Editor), Madhu Unnikrishnan (Associate Managing Editor), Sean Broderick, Cathy Buyck, John Croft, Jen Deglmann, Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Kristin Majcher, Molly McMillin, Guy Norris, Bradley Perrett, Jessica Salerno, CANCUN, Adrian Schofeld, Lee Ann Shay (Chief Editor, MRO) Chief Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George For individual e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and more, MEXICO go to AviationWeek.com/editors eDitorial offices 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 Bureaus aucklanD 53 Staincross St., Green Bay, Auckland 0604, New Zealand Phone: +64 (27) 578-7544 Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld CANCUN, MEXICO | January 25–26, 2017 Beijing D-1601, A6 Jianguo Menwai Ave., Chaoyang, Beijing 100022, China Phone: +86 (186) 0002-4422 Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett Brussels Rue de L’Aqueduc 134, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Phone: +32 (2) 648-7774 JOIN AVIATION WEEK NETWORK Bureau Chief Cathy Buyck chicago 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2300, Chicago, Ill. 60611 Phone: +1 (312) 840-8445 in Cancun for the Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay frankfurt Am Muehlberg 39, 61348 Bad Homburg, Germany Phone: +69 (69) 2999-2718 Fax: +49 (6172) 671-9791 2017 MRO Bureau Chief Jens Flottau lonDon 50 Broadway London SW1H0RG, England Phone: +44 (207) 152-4521 Latin America Conference. Bureau Chief Tony Osborne los angeles 10 Whitewood Way, Irvine, Calif. 92612 Phone: +1 (949) 387-7253 Bureau Chief Guy Norris lyon 3 rue Katia Kraft, 69740 Genas, France Phone: +33 4 78 90 92 69 Register now! Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois Moscow Box 127, Moscow, 119048, Russia Phone: +7 (495) 626-5356; Fax: +7 (495) 933-0297 mrolatinamerica.aviationweek.com. Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin new Delhi Flat #223, Samachar Apartments, Mayur Vihar—Phase-1 (ext.), New Delhi 110091, India Phone: +91 (98) 1154-7145 Contributing Editor Jay Menon san francisco Airlines- ask us about our VIP program 1546 McKinnon Ave. San Francisco, Calif. 94124 call +1.646.257.4830 or Phone: +1 (415) 314-9056 Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan [email protected] washington 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Suite 600 Arlington, Va. 22209 Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 Bureau Chief James R. Asker wichita 1500 N. Willow Lane, 400+ Wichita, Kansas 67208 20+ Phone +1 (316) 993-3929 Commercial, Bureau Chief Molly McMillin Regional and Art Department Scott Marshall, Colin Throm Copy Editors Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie, Charter Airline and Registered Arturo Mora, Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon 35+ Production Editor Bridget Horan Leasing Organizations Countries Represented Attendees Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries penton David Kieselstein Chief Executive Ofcer Nicola Allais Chief Financial Ofcer/Executive Vice President Andrew Schmolka Senior Vice President & General Counsel REGISTER NOW! Warren N. Bimblick Group President mrolatinamerica.aviationweek.com Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network
6 AVIAtION WEEk & SPACE tEChNOlOGy/SEPtEMBEr 26-OCtOBEr 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p06.indd 6 9/20/16 4:58 PM Feedback Address letters to the Executive Editor, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, Va. Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo Forward Thinking Called For sued policies that will ensure its own 22209 or send via email to: Executive Editor James R. Asker [email protected] Managing Editors Jen DiMascio, Jens Flottau, Graham Warwick In a recent In Orbit commentary displacement by another. We have. Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell Letters may be edited for length and clarity; Art Director Lisa Caputo (Aug. 29-Sept. 11, p. 18) Julie Van Kleek, And if continued, by the middle of a verifiable address and daytime telephone Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria vice president of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s the century, they will. number are required. Defense, space anD security (AJR) advanced space and launch Guy Wroble Editors Jen DiMascio (Managing Editor), DenVeR, COLORADO Jeferson Morris (Associate Managing Editor), business unit, commented about the results from several thousand instru- Michael Bruno (Senior Business Editor), James Drew, AR-1 engine, clearly illustrating the mented runs at up to 10g on Mayo’s Frank Morring, Jr., Tony Osborne, Lara Seligman company’s “legacy” mindset. human centrifuge. The visitors replied civil aviation/Maintenance, repair anD overhaul Editors Jens Flottau (Managing Editor), Madhu Well. I say reaching the “next level of that a more upright seat would reduce Unnikrishnan (Associate Managing Editor), Sean Broderick, Cathy Buyck, John Croft, Jen Deglmann, high technology” is not what’s impor- the number of eligible pilots due to Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Kristin Majcher, tant and “things that were developed canopy spacing constraints. Molly McMillin, Guy Norris, Bradley Perrett, Jessica Salerno, CANCUN, Adrian Schofeld, Lee Ann Shay (Chief Editor, MRO) decades ago” don’t necessarily consti- Wood predicted that one or more Chief Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George tute a negative feature. Producing an student pilots would be lost to “fight For individual e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and more, engine that gets the job done reliably at into terrain” (fIT) every year the f-16 MEXICO go to AviationWeek.com/editors the right price is what matters. was in service. eDitorial offices 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 SpaceX has shown this with the The problem is apparently fnally Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 “low-tech” Merlin 1 series of engines. Japanese Defense Ministry being addressed via new automation Bureaus AJR is counting on cost-plus procure- overlays in the f-16 software load. aucklanD ment and a good story for its “high- On AviationWeek.com: Wood, who died in 2009, would be 53 Staincross St., Green Bay, Auckland 0604, New Zealand Phone: +64 (27) 578-7544 tech” AR-1. ULA isn’t buying it because Jonblus wonders: pleased by the positive outcome from Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld CANCUN, MEXICO | January 25–26, 2017 Beijing they see the new way business needs . . . if the recent reports of an An-225 automation but not surprised by the D-1601, A6 Jianguo Menwai Ave., Chaoyang, Beijing 100022, China to be done. If AJR doesn’t adapt, it will agreement could be a source for en- loss of human life over decades. Phone: +86 (186) 0002-4422 Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett disappear. gine technology for this project? Barry Gilbert Brussels Mike Schriber ROCheSTeR, MInneSOTA Rue de L’Aqueduc 134, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Phone: +32 (2) 648-7774 SAn DIegO, CALIfORnIA Waldobobbi replies: JOIN AVIATION WEEK NETWORK Bureau Chief Cathy Buyck FoCuS MiSplaCed? chicago Antonov An-225 engine is, say most 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2300, Chicago, Ill. 60611 ShorTSighTed on F-35? engine experts, a reverse-engineered Michael Bruno’s commentary (Aug. Phone: +1 (312) 840-8445 in Cancun for the Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay As a retired Royal Canadian Air Cf6-6 but on a three-shaft archi- 15-28, p. 12) concludes there is now an frankfurt force fghter pilot, I read with great tecture. China has failed to acquire emphasis on program execution, and Am Muehlberg 39, 61348 Bad Homburg, Germany Phone: +69 (69) 2999-2718 Fax: +49 (6172) 671-9791 interest “Oh, Canada” (July 18-31, p. 46), Western engine technology, even via it is driving the focus of manufactur- 2017 MRO Bureau Chief Jens Flottau which highlights succinctly the very clandestine eforts. ing entities. But large companies lonDon 50 Broadway London SW1H0RG, England points our new prime minister, Justin with complex programs always have Phone: +44 (207) 152-4521 Latin America Conference. Bureau Chief Tony Osborne Trudeau, was unable to understand QuestionMark reminds: program execution as a driving force. los angeles when, seeking election, he stated that Most reports coming out of China are he cites the Airbus A400M and Boe- 10 Whitewood Way, Irvine, Calif. 92612 Phone: +1 (949) 387-7253 he would terminate the f-35 purchase. state propaganda. ing KC-46 programs to bolster his Bureau Chief Guy Norris It was beyond his ken that doing so point. Program execution is hardly an lyon 3 rue Katia Kraft, 69740 Genas, France would wipe out countless high-tech Spectre49 opines: emerging risk, but the failure to prop- Phone: +33 4 78 90 92 69 jobs and establish Canada as an unre- I would not discount this one. erly identify and manage engineering Register now! Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois Moscow liable partner. Recently, he has stated issues relevant to these programs is. Box 127, Moscow, 119048, Russia Phone: +7 (495) 626-5356; Fax: +7 (495) 933-0297 that the f-35 “does not work.” F-16s and Fit evenTS The KC-46 and A400M have been mrolatinamerica.aviationweek.com. Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin Beware who you elect. There is a misnomer in “Collision rife with engineering issues. however, new Delhi Flat #223, Samachar Apartments, Martin Abbott Course” (Aug. 29-Sept. 11, p. 33) that those are not an execution issue. As Mayur Vihar—Phase-1 (ext.), New Delhi 110091, India Phone: +91 (98) 1154-7145 SCOTTSDALe, ARIzOnA reads: “During the maneuvering, a Bruno properly indicates, production is Contributing Editor Jay Menon student pilot in a single-seat aircraft where the money is made and cash fow san francisco Airlines- ask us about our VIP program 1546 McKinnon Ave. a Shared driving ForCe blacked out and . . . descending rapidly is generated. Boeing and Airbus have San Francisco, Calif. 94124 “Sino-Bomber” (Sept. 12-25, p. 24) toward terrain. . . ..” This error in ter- successfully accelerated delivery rates call +1.646.257.4830 or Phone: +1 (415) 314-9056 Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan states that China, in developing a minology has persisted for decades. for their popular models. The focus on [email protected] washington 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Suite 600 new long-range bomber, is seeking “to “Blackout” is temporary dimming or execution is not new; it is ongoing. Arlington, Va. 22209 project force beyond ranges necessary loss of vision but not “loss of con- Bryan F. Pepin-Donat Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 Bureau Chief James R. Asker for immediate national defense.” Is sciousness” (g-LOC). When g forces KenneWICK, WAShIngTOn wichita this not the very same reason the U.S. are relaxed following blackout, vision 1500 N. Willow Lane, 400+ Wichita, Kansas 67208 is developing the B-21 Long-Range returns instantly. In a g-LOC event, 20+ Phone +1 (316) 993-3929 Bureau Chief Strike bomber? And is this not what post-relaxation of g forces, the pilot is Commercial, Molly McMillin Corrections: Art Department Scott Marshall, Colin Throm all great powers do? severely incapacitated for up to 30 sec. Regional and Copy Editors Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie, for the past 35 years, the policy of In 1970, U.S. Air force senior staf A table accompanying “Catch and Charter Airline and Registered Arturo Mora, Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon 35+ Production Editor Bridget Horan incorporating China into the world visited the Mayo Clinic to discuss with Release” (Aug. 29-Sept. 11, p. 57) mis- Leasing Organizations Countries Represented Attendees Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries economy has produced, on a purchas- the father of the g-suit, Dr. earl Wood, stated the percentage of engineers penton ing power-parity basis, a nation with the positioning of the ejection seat in who retired in 2016: It is 2.0%. David Kieselstein Chief Executive Ofcer Nicola Allais Chief Financial Ofcer/Executive Vice President the largest economy in the world. We the then-Yf-16. Wood warned that the In “flight hardware” (Sept. 12-25, Andrew Schmolka Senior Vice President & General Counsel have enabled the Dragon to become proposed tilt-back angle of the seat p. 36), the metric ton capability of the REGISTER NOW! Warren N. Bimblick Group President rich; now the Dragon will grow strong. would increase likelihood of g-LOC Block 1B vs. Block 1 launch vehicles Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network never in the history of the world events, proposing instead a more was incorrect. It is 105 metric tons, up mrolatinamerica.aviationweek.com has the dominant power actively pur- upright position, based on decades of from 70.
6 AVIAtION WEEk & SPACE tEChNOlOGy/SEPtEMBEr 26-OCtOBEr 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst aviationweek.com/awst AviAtiOn Week & SpAce technOlOgy/September 26-OctOber 9, 2016 7
AW_09_26_2016_p06.indd 6 9/20/16 4:58 PM AW_09_26_2016_p07.indd 7 9/22/16 1:46 PM Who’s Where To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the olls-Royce has appointed Simon 2011, was Air Berlin’s deputy Charles R. Davis Aviation Week Intelligence Network RKirby chief operating ofcer. He chief fnancial ofcer. at AviationWeek.com/awin For has been chief executive of HS2 Noreen Kabra has become information on ordering, telephone Ltd., which oversaw delivery of the AAR’s vice president-interna- U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or UK’s new high-speed rail network, Eu- tional business development +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. rope’s largest infrastructure project. for the defense-OEM after- American Airlines Group Inc. has market including direct sales named Robert Isom president. He has to foreign militaries. Kabra portation group, counseling on been chief operating ofcer. Isom suc- was head of Rockwell Collins’s Mark Leaity regulatory matters, civil and ceeds J. Scott Kirby, who is leaving. Intertrade military distribu- criminal litigation, internal and Emirates has named Christoph tion business. governmental investigations, Mueller as chief digital and innova- Kelly Murphy (see photo) compliance issues and cyber- tion ofcer. He was CEO of Malaysia has been named director security. Thomson has been Airlines. of communications/editor- general counsel of the U.S. Polaris Industries Inc. has hired John in-chief of Emerald Media’s Transporatation Department M. Olson as Polaris Defense vice pres- bimonthly magazine Women and FAA chief counsel. ident/general manager. Olson, who had in Aviation. She produced The Aerospace Corp. has ap- been vice president-space systems at Regional Horizons, the of- Dimitri Courtelis pointed Wayne Goodman (see Sierra Nevada Corp., brings extensive fcial publication of the U.S. photo) executive vice presi- U.S. government experience including Regional Airline Association, dent, succeeding David Gorney, 12 years at the Pentagon. and, most recently, supported who is retiring. Goodman was Marko Enderlein has been named the Flight Safety Foundation’s Milsatcom general manager, president of Telair International GmbH. AeroSafety World. responsible for high-frequency He succeeds Axel Hauner, who is re- Frances Williams has been satellite communication sys- tiring. Enderlein was CFO of the Air- appointed to promote Emerald tems support for the U.S. Air bus subsidiary Satair Group. Media’s Single-Engine Turbo- Force Space and Missile Sys- Kelly Murphy L-3 Communications has appointed prop Operators Conference tems Center. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles and Fly-In. Bombardier Commercial R. Davis (see photo) senior vice VZM Management Services Aircraft has named Francois president-strategy in the Aerospace has hired Andreas Reichert. Cognard vice president-sales Systems Division, a newly created Reichert, who was chief oper- for Southeast Asia and Aus- position. Davis was president/CEO of ating ofcer at Haitec Aircraft tralasia. He was Dubai-based Seabury Global Aerospace and Defense Maintenance GmbH and direc- head of sales for Airbus for the Consulting. He has more than 30 years tor of maintenance in Dussel- Middle East and North Africa. of aerospace and defense experience. dorf, Germany, for Air Berlin. Katie Thomson Swedish Space Corp. AJW Group has named Henry He has 30 years of aviation (SSC) has appointed Kevin Game chief strategy ofcer. He was experience in maintenance, Mortensen (see photo) vice CEO of Bland Group Holdings Ltd. training and operations. president-international mar- and has held executive positions in Aviation analytics company keting for all business units. both international fnance and opera- OAG has named Mark Clark- He was director of marketing tional aviation. son executive vice president- and business development for TenCate, a producer of textiles, product management, heading SSC Satellite Management composites and systems for space the company’s schedules and Services Americas. and aerospace, has appointed Frank analytics portfolios. He was Wayne Goodman Tigerair Singapore has named Spaan as chief fnancial ofcer. vice president at Airport Cynthia Dammerer of Austra- AeroMobil has hired Mark Leaity Strategy and Marketing. lia-based Dammerer-Nicholas (see photo) as chief engineer-struc- The National Defense Indus- PR and Marketing to handle tures. Leaity’s composite-materials trial Association has appointed media relations for Scoot and experience includes developing aero- Alexander Frank Zemek vice Tigerair, which will merge un- space applications for manufacturers president-policy. He was an in- der umbrella Budget Aviation such as BAE Military Aircraft, Airbus, telligence ofcer with the Na- Holdings of Singapore. Bombardier Aerospace and Rolls- tional Geospatial-Intelligence Kevin Mortensen Global aviation services Royce Aero Engines. Agency and a legislative fellow group Air Partner plc has Air Berlin has appointed Dimitri with the U.S. Senate Committee on selected Richard Jackson as an inde- Courtelis (see photo) as chief fnan- Homeland Security and Government pendent nonexecutive director, serv- cial ofcer, succeeding Arnd Schwi- Afairs. ing on the audit and risk committee. erholz, who is leaving to become chief Katie Thomson (see photo) has Jackson had been group director of fnancial ofcer of Flixbus. Courtelis, joined Morrison and Foerster as part- consumer protection at the UK’s Civil who joined parent Etihad Airways in ner. She will chair the law frm’s trans- Aviation Authority for 16 years. c
8 AvIATION WEEK & SpACE TECHNOLOGy/SEpTEMbER 26-OCTObER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p08.indd 8 9/20/16 11:24 AM Who’s Where To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and SUPERIORITY THROUGH PERFORMANCE photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the olls-Royce has appointed Simon 2011, was Air Berlin’s deputy Charles R. Davis Aviation Week Intelligence Network RKirby chief operating ofcer. He chief fnancial ofcer. at AviationWeek.com/awin For has been chief executive of HS2 Noreen Kabra has become information on ordering, telephone ATEC HPW3000 Ltd., which oversaw delivery of the AAR’s vice president-interna- U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or UK’s new high-speed rail network, Eu- tional business development +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. rope’s largest infrastructure project. for the defense-OEM after- American Airlines Group Inc. has market including direct sales named Robert Isom president. He has to foreign militaries. Kabra portation group, counseling on been chief operating ofcer. Isom suc- was head of Rockwell Collins’s Mark Leaity regulatory matters, civil and ceeds J. Scott Kirby, who is leaving. Intertrade military distribu- criminal litigation, internal and Emirates has named Christoph tion business. governmental investigations, Mueller as chief digital and innova- Kelly Murphy (see photo) compliance issues and cyber- tion ofcer. He was CEO of Malaysia has been named director security. Thomson has been Airlines. of communications/editor- general counsel of the U.S. Polaris Industries Inc. has hired John in-chief of Emerald Media’s Transporatation Department M. Olson as Polaris Defense vice pres- bimonthly magazine Women and FAA chief counsel. ident/general manager. Olson, who had in Aviation. She produced The Aerospace Corp. has ap- been vice president-space systems at Regional Horizons, the of- Dimitri Courtelis pointed Wayne Goodman (see Sierra Nevada Corp., brings extensive fcial publication of the U.S. photo) executive vice presi- U.S. government experience including Regional Airline Association, dent, succeeding David Gorney, 12 years at the Pentagon. and, most recently, supported who is retiring. Goodman was Marko Enderlein has been named the Flight Safety Foundation’s Milsatcom general manager, president of Telair International GmbH. AeroSafety World. responsible for high-frequency He succeeds Axel Hauner, who is re- Frances Williams has been satellite communication sys- tiring. Enderlein was CFO of the Air- appointed to promote Emerald tems support for the U.S. Air bus subsidiary Satair Group. Media’s Single-Engine Turbo- Force Space and Missile Sys- Kelly Murphy L-3 Communications has appointed prop Operators Conference tems Center. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles and Fly-In. Bombardier Commercial R. Davis (see photo) senior vice VZM Management Services Aircraft has named Francois president-strategy in the Aerospace has hired Andreas Reichert. Cognard vice president-sales Systems Division, a newly created Reichert, who was chief oper- for Southeast Asia and Aus- position. Davis was president/CEO of ating ofcer at Haitec Aircraft tralasia. He was Dubai-based Seabury Global Aerospace and Defense Maintenance GmbH and direc- head of sales for Airbus for the Consulting. He has more than 30 years tor of maintenance in Dussel- Middle East and North Africa. of aerospace and defense experience. dorf, Germany, for Air Berlin. Katie Thomson Swedish Space Corp. AJW Group has named Henry He has 30 years of aviation (SSC) has appointed Kevin Game chief strategy ofcer. He was experience in maintenance, Mortensen (see photo) vice CEO of Bland Group Holdings Ltd. training and operations. president-international mar- and has held executive positions in Aviation analytics company keting for all business units. both international fnance and opera- OAG has named Mark Clark- He was director of marketing tional aviation. son executive vice president- and business development for TenCate, a producer of textiles, product management, heading SSC Satellite Management ATEC’S HPW3000 DUAL-SPOOL ENGINE DELIVERS THE composites and systems for space the company’s schedules and Services Americas. and aerospace, has appointed Frank analytics portfolios. He was Wayne Goodman Tigerair Singapore has named PERFORMANCE OUR WARFIGHTERS DESERVE AND THE VALUE Spaan as chief fnancial ofcer. vice president at Airport Cynthia Dammerer of Austra- AeroMobil has hired Mark Leaity Strategy and Marketing. lia-based Dammerer-Nicholas OUR TAXPAYERS DEMAND. fiBfifilfivfifiagfifigfitwfifififitatfifigfitufibfififi- (see photo) as chief engineer-struc- The National Defense Indus- PR and Marketing to handle tures. Leaity’s composite-materials trial Association has appointed media relations for Scoot and fififipfifissfififiassfifiblfifisfififistfiadfififfijustfifififififithfifiHPW3000fi experience includes developing aero- Alexander Frank Zemek vice Tigerair, which will merge un- dfilfivfifisfibfittfififidfipfifidabfilfitfififigfifiatfifififufilfififfififififififififififififififi space applications for manufacturers president-policy. He was an in- der umbrella Budget Aviation such as BAE Military Aircraft, Airbus, telligence ofcer with the Na- Holdings of Singapore. Lfiafifififififififiat pfiwfififitfifigfifiwfiafidfilfiwfififififistfifivfififithfifilfiffifififfithfifififigfifififi Bombardier Aerospace and Rolls- tional Geospatial-Intelligence Kevin Mortensen Global aviation services Royce Aero Engines. Agency and a legislative fellow group Air Partner plc has DualSpoolRules.com fififipafifidfitfifisfifiglfi-spfifilfidfisfigfisfifiufifififitlfififififiusfi.fi Air Berlin has appointed Dimitri with the U.S. Senate Committee on selected Richard Jackson as an inde- Courtelis (see photo) as chief fnan- Homeland Security and Government pendent nonexecutive director, serv- cial ofcer, succeeding Arnd Schwi- Afairs. ing on the audit and risk committee. erholz, who is leaving to become chief Katie Thomson (see photo) has Jackson had been group director of consumer protection at the UK’s Civil fnancial ofcer of Flixbus. Courtelis, joined Morrison and Foerster as part- A JOINT VENTURE OF PROUD MAKERS who joined parent Etihad Airways in ner. She will chair the law frm’s trans- Aviation Authority for 16 years. c ADVANCED TURBINE ENGINE AND OF THE DUAL SPOOL COMPANY HPW3000 8 AvIATION WEEK & SpACE TECHNOLOGy/SEpTEMbER 26-OCTObER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p08.indd 8 9/20/16 11:24 AM 609AWB9.indd 1 9/16/2016 3:24:40 PM First Take
buyers for the Mi-8 replacement frst fown in 2003. With increased weight and altitude capability, the military Mi- 38-2 is expected to be ready in 2018.
czech manufacturer Aero vodo- chody has restarted limited produc- tion of the L-159 Advanced Light Com- bat Aircraft, the frst time it has built a complete aircraft in 15 years. A single two-seat L-159 for Iraq will pave the way for production of the new L-39NG, to be available by the end of 2018.
Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov is bell Helicopter reportedly severing ties with Rus- DEFENSE sian operators in a move that could hit NATO airlift. Antonov Airlines will bell helicopter has unveiled the more on the production line. Due to a discontinue its Ruslan International An- v-247 vigilant tiltrotor it is propos- supplier error, the insulation crumbles 124-operating joint venture with Russia’s ing for an emerging U.S. Marine Corps in fuel and can block fow. Volga-Dnepr and withdraw from NATO’s requirement for a ship-based expedi- Strategic Airlift Interim Solution. tionary endurance unmanned aircraft. Japan will feld unmanned aircraft With an 11-hr. time on station at 450- for air combat and ballistic-missile COMMERCIAL AVIATION nm radius with a 600-lb. payload, the defense in the 2030s, according to a de- V-247 could be ready for production by fense ministry technology-development 2023, says Bell (page 22). road map. The “unmanned wingman” will fy ahead of manned fghters to northrop grumman’s b-21 long- locate targets, launch weapons and range Strike bomber has been saturate enemy defenses (page 20). named the Raider, to honor the Doolit- tle Raiders who bombed Tokyo in 1942. boeing is disputing the Danish The U.S. Air Force plans a minimum government’s recommendation of the of 100 aircraft, which will be manned F-35 to replace its F-16 fghters, submit- initially, with unmanned capability a ting a legal challenge to the defense future option yet to be exercised. ministry. Boeing alleges the recommen- dation to buy 27 F-35s was based on “incomplete and possibly fawed data.”
the DragonFire consortium led by european missile manufacturer MBDA will demonstrate a high-power Airport WebcAms/tWitter laser weapon for the UK Defense Min- the uncontained failure of the left- istry under a £30 million ($39 million) side cFm international cFm56-7 en- contract. The system will be tested gine on an Aug. 27 Southwest Airlines against representative targets in land Boeing 737-700 fight was likely initi- boeing and maritime environments in 2019. ated by a fan blade that broke of due boeing rolled out its clean-sheet to metal fatigue, says the U.S. National contender for the U.S. Air Force t-X Transportation Safety Board. advanced pilot trainer competition in St. Louis on Sept. 13. With partner china’s comac will not meet its Saab, two prototypes of the single-en- stated target of fying the c919 gine, twin-tail aircraft have been built, airliner this year, according to industry powered by an afterburning General sources. The company says a 2017 frst Electric F404 (page 32). fight is possible; industry sources say it is likely around April 2017, which im- mbDA lockheed martin and the program plies a delay in the undisclosed target ofce moved quickly to fx faulty russia’s defense ministry has ap- for frst delivery, which was 2019. cooling-line insulation in wing tanks proved the requirements for a mili- that grounded 15 U.S. Air Force and tary version of the Mi-38 after Russian the civil Aviation Administration of Norwegian F-35As and afected 42 Helicopters failed to fnd commercial china (cAAc) has formally tightened
10 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p10-11.indd 10 9/22/16 5:28 PM First Take For the latest, go to AviationWeek.com
QUOTEDQUOTED buyers for the Mi-8 replacement frst rules on setting up airlines just months ‘There are no fown in 2003. With increased weight after it made an unannounced decision and altitude capability, the military Mi- to suspend authorizations. Approvals laws of physics 38-2 is expected to be ready in 2018. were granted for 20 new airlines in against this.’ 2011–15, the CAAC says (page 28). czech manufacturer Aero vodo- —Blue Origin founder chody has restarted Two Chinese airlines have dropped limited produc- Jef Bezos, on his goal tion of the L-159 Advanced Light Com- plans to buy 11 Boeing 787s, switch- of lowering the cost of bat Aircraft, the frst time it has built a ing to 737 MAXs because of govern- getting into space from complete aircraft in 15 years. A single ment pressure, industry sources say. thousands of dollars per two-seat L-159 for Iraq will pave the The economic-planning National pound to tens of dollars. way for production of the new L-39NG, Development and Reform Commis- to be available by the end of 2018. sion opposed Ruili and Donghai Air- lines’ intended moves into widebody Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov is aircraft. bell Helicopter reportedly severing ties with Rus- DEFENSE sian operators in a move that could JetBlue Airlines is to buy more hit NATO airlift. Antonov Airlines will than 33 million gal. of renewable jet ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES BLUE ORIGIN bell helicopter has unveiled the more on the production line. Due to a discontinue its Ruslan International An- fuel over 10 years from SG Preston. v-247 vigilant tiltrotor it is propos- supplier error, the insulation crumbles 124-operating joint venture with Russia’s Lufthansa will purchase up to 40 mil- NASA faces delays to all three of DIED ing for an emerging U.S. Marine Corps in fuel and can block fow. Volga-Dnepr and withdraw from NATO’s lion gal. of alcohol-to-jet fuel over fi ve the next non-Russian resupply requirement for a ship-based expedi- Strategic Airlift Interim Solution. years from Gevo, and Virgin Atlantic missions to the International Space Sam Iacobellis, who led production of tionary endurance unmanned aircraft. Japan will feld unmanned aircraft and LanzaTech have produced enough Station. Return to fl ight of Orbital 100 Rockwell B-1As over six years af- With an 11-hr. time on station at 450- for air combat and ballistic-missile COMMERCIAL AVIATION fuel from industrial waste gas to sup- ATK’s Antares has slipped to October ter the bomber was rescued from can- nm radius with a 600-lb. payload, the defense in the 2030s, according to a de- port testing on a 2017 demo fl ight . and the planned Oct. 1 launch of Ja- cellation by President Ronald Reagan, V-247 could be ready for production by fense ministry technology-development pan’s H-2 Transfer Vehicle has been has died at age 87 following a stroke. 2023, says Bell (page 22). road map. The “unmanned wingman” The U.S. government has granted delayed; SpaceX aims to fl y its Fal- He joined North American Aviation will fy ahead of manned fghters to Airbus and Boeing licenses to export con 9 in November, after the Sept. 1 as an engineer in 1952 and retired in northrop grumman’s b-21 long- locate targets, launch weapons and commercial aircraft to Iran. Iran Air launch-pad accident, but the planned 1995 as executive vice president and range Strike bomber has been saturate enemy defenses (page 20). has signed agreements for 118 Airbus November cargo launch remains deputy chairman for major programs named the Raider, to honor the Doolit- A320s, A330s, A350s and A380s and uncertain. at Rockwell International. tle Raiders who bombed Tokyo in 1942. boeing is disputing the Danish 109 Boeing 737s and 777s (page 19). The U.S. Air Force plans a minimum government’s recommendation of the 38 YEARS AGO of 100 aircraft, which will be manned F-35 to replace its F-16 fghters, submit- SPACE IN AVIATION WEEK initially, with unmanned capability a ting a legal challenge to the defense future option yet to be exercised. ministry. Boeing alleges the recommen- China launched dation to buy 27 F-35s was based on its second orbital Our Sept. 25, 1978, cover “incomplete and possibly fawed data.” laboratory, Tian- featured the rollout of the U.S. gong 2, on Sept. 15 Navy/Marine Corps F/A-18 at the the DragonFire consortium led by as a step torward european missile manufacturer assembling a space McDonnell Douglas (now Boe- MBDA will demonstrate a high-power Airport WebcAms/tWitter station around the ing) military aircraft plant in St. laser weapon for the UK Defense Min- the uncontained failure of the left- end of the decade. Louis. Developed to replace the istry under a £30 million ($39 million) side cFm international cFm56-7 en- A manned mis- McDonnell Douglas F-4 fighter contract. The system will be tested gine on an Aug. 27 Southwest Airlines sion, Shenzhou 11, and Vought A-7 attack aircraft, against representative targets in land Boeing 737-700 fight was likely initi- will follow to dock boeing and maritime environments in 2019. ated by a fan blade that broke of due with the laboratory, the Hornet was the first tacti- boeing rolled out its clean-sheet to metal fatigue, says the U.S. National three years after cal aircraft designed to perform contender for the U.S. Air Force t-X Transportation Safety Board. CCTV China last sent both air-to-air and air-to-ground advanced pilot trainer competition people into space. missions. It made its first flight in St. Louis on Sept. 13. With partner china’s comac will not meet its on Nov. 18, 1978, and entered Saab, two prototypes of the single-en- stated target of fying the c919 First fl ight of Blue Origin’s New service on schedule at the start gine, twin-tail aircraft have been built, airliner this year, according to industry Glenn human-rated orbital launch powered by an afterburning General sources. The company says a 2017 frst vehicle with a reusable fi rst stage is of 1983. The upgraded E and F Electric F404 (page 32). fight is possible; industry sources say due from Cape Canaveral by decade’s Super Hornet variants entered it is likely around April 2017, which im- end. Two versions are planned: an service in 1999, followed by the mbDA Read our original coverage of the lockheed martin and the program plies a delay in the undisclosed target all-hydrocarbon two-stage vehicle Boeing/Northrop Grumman EA- ofce moved quickly to fx faulty russia’s defense ministry has ap- for launches to low Earth orbit and F/A-18 rollout in the Sept. 18 and Sept. 25, for frst delivery, which was 2019. 18G Growler electronic warfare cooling-line insulation in wing tanks proved the requirements for a mili- a version with cryogenic third stage 1978, issues of Aviation Week at: that grounded 15 U.S. Air Force and tary version of the Mi-38 after Russian the civil Aviation Administration of for missions to the Moon and beyond derivative in 2008. archive.aviationweek.com Norwegian F-35As and afected 42 Helicopters failed to fnd commercial china (cAAc) has formally tightened (page 49).
10 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 11
AW_09_26_2016_p10-11.indd 10 9/22/16 5:28 PM AW_09_26_2016_p10-11.indd 11 9/22/16 5:28 PM Going Concerns By Michael Bruno Michael Bruno is Senior Business Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/GoingConcerns [email protected]
COMMENTARY Looking ahead, the advanced component development and proto- types account (6.4) is even bigger than Anemic Arsenal the SDD (6.5) account, because it is the right place to put limited dollars Both the U.S. military and defense primes frst, Kendall says. But it also means there is relatively less money in the could be hit by a dearth of big research fve-year budget plan to take what demonstration eforts do exist and o to most aerospace and defense events in the U.S. lately make them into programs, let alone Gand you hear growing concerns about the bow wave of to produce them and put them in the hands of combat personnel. acquisition bills that will sweep over the Pentagon like a fscal “It’s good to have options,” Kendall tsunami in the next decade. says. “It’s better to have actual future 50 investments.” 2.0 What is more, it is not just the gov- 2.0 Pentagon R&D Budget Obligations by Stage 2.1 ernment that could be challenged by 40 the lack of options. Industry—at least 15.4 1.6 Operational Systems 12.5 Development (6.7) the legacy prime defense contractors, 11.0 30 8.8 1.5 System Development Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop 1.5 & Demonstration (6.5) 6.0 6.5 Grumman, Raytheon and General 6.0 7.0 1.1 Advanced Component 5.7 5.2 Development & Prototypes (6.4) Dynamics—eventually could be in for 20 harder times as well. 11.0 8.6 7.5 4.4 4.6 4.3 Advanced Technology 7.9 4.2 Development (6.3) “When you look at the big fve over- 5.8 5.4 all, they’re doing OK; they’re holding 10 3.8 Applied Research (6.2) 7.6 8.5 9.2 7.8 their market share,” says Andrew Constant 2015 U.S. Dollars in Billions 6.4 6.4 5.8 Basic Research (6.1) Hunter, director of the Defense- 5.4 5.7 5.1 4.8 3.9 3.7 3.1 0 Industrial Initiatives Group and a 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Source: CSIS analysis of federal data senior fellow at the CSIS. “But what’s underneath that is that they are losing But ofcials and executives might In retrospect, it was the reverse. —dramatically losing—market share also want to focus on the drought of In its new report, briefed to report- in R&D contracts.” new defense projects on the horizon. ers Sept. 12, the CSIS says the two The CSIS says within past defense Increasingly, attention is turning to a main drivers of the massive budget budgets, the share of R&D contract looming dip in potential new weapons declines in the latter two stages of obligations going to the big fve has and systems. R&D were the cancellation of large fallen to 33% in 2015 from 57% in 2009. According to a September report by programs such as the Army’s erstwhile That is largely as a result of the the Center for Strategic and Interna- Future Combat Systems, as well as the aforementioned six-year dip in the tional Studies (CSIS) think tank, two maturation of major programs from Pentagon’s developmental pipeline. Defense Department budget categories research phase to production. At the same time, “there has been a for mid-to-late-stage R&D saw cuts At the same time, there was a marked surge in the share of R&D of two-thirds or more between 2009 dearth of new development pro- contracts going to small vendors,” and 2015. They are advanced technol- grams for major weapons systems states the CSIS. Their share rose ogy development (budget line 6.3) and to replace those that have graduated to 17% in 2015 from 10% in 2009. In system development and demonstra- into production or been canceled. “As the end, however, everyone is eating tion (SDD, 6.5). Meanwhile, funding for a result, the Defense Department is from a smaller budget pie than be- early-stage basic research (6.1) also has facing a six-year trough in its devel- fore—53% less in 2015 than in 2009. seen a signifcant decline but has been opment pipeline for major weapons Thus everyone still has something relatively preserved when compared to systems,” the CSIS reports. to complain about. Analysts and of- the overall decreases in R&D. Pentagon acquisition czar Frank cials, meanwhile, also are left wonder- That fips the script on what was Kendall has been saying the same ing what it will mean. conventional wisdom after the onset thing all year, when he spoke at the “We’re not crying tears here for of federal budget cuts called seques- CSIS in Washington in May and again the big fve, by the way,” Hunter says. tration that started in 2013. That in September at the ComDef 2016 “But we just think it’s notable what’s led many analysts and observers conference nearby. “What I think is the happened in the industrial base. to expect that within R&D budget real problem in the department, the There’s a massive disinvestment from lines, seed-corn research would be thing the next administration is going the big, traditional defense-contract- sacrifced disproportionately while to have to wrestle with, is resources,” ing R&D enterprise that has been later-stage eforts would be preserved. Kendall warned in September. there for many decades.” c
12 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p12.indd 12 9/21/16 1:10 PM Going Concerns By Michael Bruno Up Front By Richard Aboulafa Michael Bruno is Contributing columnist Senior Business Editor Richard Aboulafa is Join the conversation at: vice president of analysis AviationWeek.com/GoingConcerns at Teal Group. He is [email protected] based in Washington.
COMMENTARY Looking ahead, the advanced COMMENTARY analyst Ron Epstein, there is a close component development and proto- correlation between high-end busi- types account (6.4) is even bigger than ness jet demand and oil prices. Even Anemic Arsenal the SDD (6.5) account, because it is Bear Markets as other segments collapsed, high-end the right place to put limited dollars business jet demand rose after the Both the U.S. military and defense primes frst, Kendall says. But it also means Why business aircraft and civil rotorcraft 2008 meltdown, in line with oil prices. there is relatively less money in the It is now falling in line with oil. could be hit by a dearth of big research fve-year budget plan to take what face a cloudy future These high-end business jets demonstration eforts do exist and beneft from resource-extraction o to most aerospace and defense events in the U.S. lately make them into programs, let alone usiness aircraft and civil rotorcraft have much in common. company orders but, more important, Gand you hear growing concerns about the bow wave of to produce them and put them in the B resource-rich countries are a key hands of combat personnel. Both markets were transformed by unprecedented growth component of demand, particularly acquisition bills that will sweep over the Pentagon like a fscal “It’s good to have options,” Kendall waves in the early 2000s, and both have spent the last eight in the Middle East and Russia. These tsunami in the next decade. says. “It’s better to have actual future years seeking renewed growth, with no success. economies, and the high-net-worth- 50 investments.” individual wealth in these countries, 2.0 What is more, it is not just the gov- But most of all, have been afected by low oil prices, 2.0 Pentagon R&D Budget Obligations by Stage Global Deliveries by Value 2.1 ernment that could be challenged by these two markets $30 too. Meanwhile, the ongoing anticor- 40 the lack of options. Industry—at least are now falling, ruption campaign in China has hurt 15.4 1.6 Operational Systems 25 12.5 Development (6.7) the legacy prime defense contractors, largely due to the demand from the only BRIC (Brazil, 11.0 20 30 8.8 1.5 System Development Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop decline in energy Russia, India, China) country where 1.5 & Demonstration (6.5) 6.0 6.5 Grumman, Raytheon and General prices and other 15 demand had been holding up. 6.0 7.0 1.1 Advanced Component 5.7 5.2 Development & Prototypes (6.4) Dynamics—eventually could be in for factors. Given the 10 We don’t know when the market will 20 harder times as well. volatile nature fnd a deliveries foor. Last year, the 11.0 8.6 7.5 4.4 4.6 4.3 Advanced Technology 5 7.9 Development (6.3) 4.2 “When you look at the big fve over- of energy prices, Billions of 2016 U.S. Dollars three top-tier producers—Bombardier, 5.8 5.4 0 3.8 Applied Research (6.2) all, they’re doing OK; they’re holding forecasts for these Dassault and Gulfstream—reduced 10 7.6 8.5 9.2 7.8 their market share,” says Andrew aircraft markets 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016f 2016 output guidance signifcantly. Constant 2015 U.S. Dollars in Billions 6.4 6.4 5.8 Basic Research (6.1) Hunter, director of the Defense- have become much Bombardier Global series output is 5.4 5.7 5.1 4.8 3.9 3.7 3.1 Business Aircraft Civil Rotorcraft Source: The Teal Group 0 Industrial Initiatives Group and a less reliable. falling to about 50 this year, from 73 in 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Source: CSIS analysis of federal data senior fellow at the CSIS. “But what’s The transforma- 2015. The OEMs are now talking about underneath that is that they are losing tion of both segments took place in expensive models, primarily used by a market that is stabilizing, but many But ofcials and executives might In retrospect, it was the reverse. —dramatically losing—market share 2003-08, with growth rates seldom the oil and gas industry, is declining at indicators are still in troubling terri- also want to focus on the drought of In its new report, briefed to report- in R&D contracts.” seen in mature industries: business a much faster pace than the rest of the tory. And in August, Bombardier said new defense projects on the horizon. ers Sept. 12, the CSIS says the two The CSIS says within past defense aircraft grew at a 17.1% compound rotorcraft market. The recent history it would “pause” Global production in Increasingly, attention is turning to a main drivers of the massive budget budgets, the share of R&D contract annual growth rate (CAGR) by value, of the market reveals that this segment 2017 for an unspecifed period—prob- looming dip in potential new weapons declines in the latter two stages of obligations going to the big fve has while civil rotorcraft grew at an 18.2% was also primarily responsible for the ably about 20 days. This implies output and systems. R&D were the cancellation of large fallen to 33% in 2015 from 57% in 2009. CAGR. Both reached new peaks: busi- 2003-08 growth surge. will fall to the mid 40s. According to a September report by programs such as the Army’s erstwhile That is largely as a result of the ness aircraft hit $28.1 billion in deliver- The story is the same with business With civil rotorcraft and business jet the Center for Strategic and Interna- Future Combat Systems, as well as the aforementioned six-year dip in the ies in 2008 (in 2016 dollars), and civil jets, where the higher-priced large- demand linked to oil prices rather than tional Studies (CSIS) think tank, two maturation of major programs from Pentagon’s developmental pipeline. rotorcraft reached $6.6 billion. Both cabin segment has taken all the dam- the usual basket of economic indica- Defense Department budget categories research phase to production. At the same time, “there has been a markets had doubled in value over the age. Large-cabin deliveries in 2015 fell tors, we are in less well-known terri- for mid-to-late-stage R&D saw cuts At the same time, there was a marked surge in the share of R&D course of about fve years. 8.2% by value from 2014 (small- and tory. Of all the macroeconomic indica- of two-thirds or more between 2009 dearth of new development pro- contracts going to small vendors,” After that peak, both markets medium-cabin aircraft deliveries tors, oil and energy prices are easily and 2015. They are advanced technol- grams for major weapons systems states the CSIS. Their share rose defated, and neither has recovered actually increased). First-half 2016 the hardest to predict. Long-term GDP ogy development (budget line 6.3) and to replace those that have graduated to 17% in 2015 from 10% in 2009. In to their 2008 peak. Over the past 18 deliveries of all business jets fell 11% numbers, stock prices, high-net-worth system development and demonstra- into production or been canceled. “As the end, however, everyone is eating months, the parts of both markets by value from the frst half of 2015, ac- wealth creation and corporate profts tion (SDD, 6.5). Meanwhile, funding for a result, the Defense Department is from a smaller budget pie than be- that were still growing—large cabin cording to GAMA. Unit deliveries fell all have very long track records and early-stage basic research (6.1) also has facing a six-year trough in its devel- fore—53% less in 2015 than in 2009. jets and super medium twin helicop- just 4.5%, indicating that again it was a clear story of long-term growth. By seen a signifcant decline but has been opment pipeline for major weapons Thus everyone still has something ters—have been hit hard. the larger, more expensive jets that contrast, oil prices may stay at $43 per relatively preserved when compared to systems,” the CSIS reports. to complain about. Analysts and of- Last year, the civil rotor market led the decline. barrel or lower or may shoot back up the overall decreases in R&D. Pentagon acquisition czar Frank cials, meanwhile, also are left wonder- fell 10.6% to $5.3 billion in deliveries, Like the rotorcraft market, busi- above $100. Their cycles are unpredict- That fips the script on what was Kendall has been saying the same ing what it will mean. of from 2014’s $5.9 billion. General ness jet demand was once linked able. conventional wisdom after the onset thing all year, when he spoke at the “We’re not crying tears here for Aviation Manufacturers Association to a wide array of economic indica- For forecasting purposes, Teal of federal budget cuts called seques- CSIS in Washington in May and again the big fve, by the way,” Hunter says. (GAMA) frst-half 2016 delivery tors, especially equities markets and Group assumes the consensus view— tration that started in 2013. That in September at the ComDef 2016 “But we just think it’s notable what’s numbers indicate a turbine market corporate profts. Since 2008, these oil prices at $80-90 per barrel before led many analysts and observers conference nearby. “What I think is the happened in the industrial base. decline of 18.3% by unit from the frst links have broken down. Stock prices the end of the decade—is correct. But to expect that within R&D budget real problem in the department, the There’s a massive disinvestment from half of 2015. That’s a serious drop, but recovered and profts have set new in reality, the range of possibilities is lines, seed-corn research would be thing the next administration is going the big, traditional defense-contract- far worse, the market’s value sufered records, but most business jet seg- all over the map. And therefore, these sacrifced disproportionately while to have to wrestle with, is resources,” ing R&D enterprise that has been a massive 32.5% drop. This clearly ments stayed fat. But as documented two aircraft market segments face later-stage eforts would be preserved. Kendall warned in September. there for many decades.” c shows that the market for larger, more by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch much greater uncertainty. c
12 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 13
AW_09_26_2016_p12.indd 12 9/21/16 1:10 PM AW_09_26_2016_p13.indd 13 9/21/16 1:52 PM Inside Business Aviation By William Garvey William Garvey is Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation Join the conversation at: SENSEFLY SA AviationWeek.com/IBA [email protected]
COMMENTARY COMMENTARY cost $50,000, the commission reasoned the package would pay for itself after surveying 5-6 airports. And since the AirborneAirborne SurveyorSurveyor money would come out of the state’s Airport Inspection Fund, the service A tiny,tiny, wwingedinged ttoolool would be free to the airport owners. Needing the FAA’s blessing, the toto hhelpelp keepkeep airplanesairplanes outout ofof treestrees commission submitted its request to fl y its EBee around South Carolina’s n innovative state bureaucracy? A more oxymoronic combo airports in July 2015, and the “FAA A choked on it,” recalls James Stephens, is hard to imagine. And yet, it has delivered brilliantly. Twice. the commission’s executive director. Recognizing a need to assess land using a clinometer and 20/20 vision, Flying a drone in the approach areas use and respective ordinances near its determine whether anything pene- of public use airports was unprec- state’s 58 public airports— especially trates the slope. If so, that “controlling edented and ripe with woe. But to its 52 general aviation facilities—the obstacle” is reported to the FAA. The their credit, the feds worked it out. South Carolina Aeronautics Commis- method’s shortcoming is the inability With clear operational rules—NOTAM sion began doing so in 2011. to see similar obstacles behind the (Notice to Airmen) 48 hr. in advance, At the same time, the commission of ending tree, or note others in the line-of-sight control, daylight ops in was directed to establish land-use broad approach trapezoidal area. uncontrolled airspace only with pilot zones around airports. Once completed, Historically, the way to correct such and observer required and a 700-ft. an airport sponsor—typically a county data defi ciencies was to conduct an maximum altitude—the project got an or municipal government—would have aerial mapping survey. However, that initial green light last May. to notify the state when changes were service costs $8,000-10,000 per run- So far, six airports have been contemplated within a zone. The proj- way, involves a tedious authorization surveyed. Each survey fl ight lasts ect also involved production of detailed process and, once completed, can take less than 30 min., involves 200-250 airport maps (see below). weeks to reduce data into usable form. overlapping photos and covers all To accomplish that and facilitate the The commission staf had another approaches in 3-4 fl ights. Data can process for all involved, the commis- be processed overnight sion created the “Compatible Land and produce a variety Use Evaluation (CLUE) Tool” on its of visual presentations website. A ny airport can be viewed in that precisely show the detail using the Airport Layout Plan, obstacles—nearly always which includes every building and trees—penetrating the measurement, along with planned slope. “The picture is buildings and paved areas and land set worth a million words,” aside for future aviation and non-avia- says Stephens. tion development. The target precision is The site is interactive, so the spon- uncanny—within 4 in. hori- sor can insert a proposed building’s zontally and 6 in. vertically. height and location and immediately These visuals allow airport determine its compatibility. sponsors and nearby The free tool and process were SC AERONAUTICS landowners to see immedi- deemed so clever and useful that the idea: Let an unmanned aerial system, ately all the of enders rather than just National Association of State Avia- aka drone, do it. a single “controlling obstacle,” thereby tion Of cials (NASAO) gave CLUE T hey opted for the Swiss-made obviating the need to address the same its “Most Innovative State Program SenseFly EBee RTK (see photo). With problem year after year. Award” in 2014. But there’s more. a 37-in. wingspan, tiny pusher prop, The process is so successful that Concurrently, the FAA reviewed its battery power, programmable autopi- eight states have sent representatives obstacle clearance data for airports lot and a high-def camera, this 1.6-lb. to South Carolina to learn more . And countrywide and determined that tree snap-together, hand-launched, foam- other agencies within the state — from growth had penetrated the maximum construction aircraft can “produce forestry to law enforcement—are 20:1 approach slope areas stretching orthomosaics and 3-D models with interested in the EBee’s potential. out from the ends of many runways. As absolute accuracy” and absent any Meanwhile, in September, Stephens a result, the agency prohibited night “ground control points.” Translation: and his team briefed those gathered approaches to those airports. It’s a self-contained surveying wonder at NASAO’s annual convention on Typically, the approaches are sur- that can quickly produce amazingly the drone airport survey project . . . veyed by state safety inspectors who precise imagery and measurements. and returned home with the “Most stand 200 ft. from the runway end and, While it and its Arc GIS software Innovative” award for 2016. c
14 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p14.indd 14 9/15/16 6:46 PM Inside Business Aviation By William Garvey Airline Intel By Jens Flottau William Garvey is Editor-in-Chief Jens Flottau is Managing of Business & Commercial Aviation Editor for Civil Aviation Join the conversation at: Join the conversation at: SENSEFLY SA AviationWeek.com/IBA AviationWeek.com/AirlineIntel [email protected] Jens.fl [email protected]
COMMENTARY COMMENTARY cost $50,000, the commission reasoned been concerned about the overcapac- the package would pay for itself after ity that the widebody market is facing surveying 5-6 airports. And since the based on current orders . AirborneAirborne SurveyorSurveyor money would come out of the state’s To be fair, the A380 is not the only Airport Inspection Fund, the service long-haul aircraft that is not generating A tiny,tiny, wingedwinged tooltool would be free to the airport owners. many new orders; the entire market is Needing the FAA’s blessing, the slowing to a crawl . toto helphelp keepkeep aairplanesirplanes outout ofof treestrees commission submitted its request to Boeing has already announced a fl y its EBee around South Carolina’s cut in the 777 production rate ahead airports in July 2015, and the “FAA of the transition to the 777X and may n innovative state bureaucracy? A more oxymoronic combo JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET A choked on it,” recalls James Stephens, lower the output further if demand is hard to imagine. And yet, it has delivered brilliantly. Twice. the commission’s executive director. does not resume soon. The manufac- Recognizing a need to assess land using a clinometer and 20/20 vision, Flying a drone in the approach areas turer also is not going to increase 787 use and respective ordinances near its determine whether anything pene- of public use airports was unprec- production to 14 per month from 12. state’s 58 public airports— especially trates the slope. If so, that “controlling edented and ripe with woe. But to Boeing recently indicated that for the its 52 general aviation facilities—the obstacle” is reported to the FAA. The their credit, the feds worked it out. fi rst time it may end 747-8 production South Carolina Aeronautics Commis- method’s shortcoming is the inability With clear operational rules—NOTAM COMMENTARY if it does not see a reversal of that sion began doing so in 2011. to see similar obstacles behind the (Notice to Airmen) 48 hr. in advance, program’s fortunes . At the same time, the commission of ending tree, or note others in the line-of-sight control, daylight ops in The timing for a buoyant widebody was directed to establish land-use broad approach trapezoidal area. uncontrolled airspace only with pilot Painful Message market to stagnate could not be worse zones around airports. Once completed, Historically, the way to correct such and observer required and a 700-ft. for Airbus . A380 production is already an airport sponsor—typically a county data defi ciencies was to conduct an maximum altitude—the project got an being reduced to 12 aircraft a year in or municipal government—would have aerial mapping survey. However, that initial green light last May. Singapore Airlines’ decision to send back its 2018 for risk containment, but ultimate- to notify the state when changes were service costs $8,000-10,000 per run- So far, six airports have been fi rst A380 comes at a bad time for Airbus ly the European manufacturer needs contemplated within a zone. The proj- way, involves a tedious authorization surveyed. Each survey fl ight lasts the market to return. It cannot wait ect also involved production of detailed process and, once completed, can take less than 30 min., involves 200-250 ingapore Airlines’ opting not to extend the lease for its fi rst another fi ve years. airport maps (see below). weeks to reduce data into usable form. overlapping photos and covers all S But for new orders, Airbus is also To accomplish that and facilitate the The commission staf had another approaches in 3-4 fl ights. Data can Airbus A380 after only 10 years of fl ying has provoked some competing with the availability of process for all involved, the commis- be processed overnight heated debate . It is a facet-rich and complex move, but the bot- 11 used Malaysia Airlines and SIA sion created the “Compatible Land and produce a variety tom line remains: It is terrible news for Airbus and the lessors aircraft, some of which are only a few Use Evaluation (CLUE) Tool” on its of visual presentations years old. The capital expenditure website. A ny airport can be viewed in that precisely show the that own the aircraft. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has four other needed for the A380 is one of two detail using the Airport Layout Plan, obstacles—nearly always leased A380s which are coming up for possible contract exten- hurdles airlines must overcome when which includes every building and trees—penetrating the sion between now and April 2017 and are likely to be returned . buying such large aircraft. The other measurement, along with planned slope. “The picture is is the fear of being unable to fi ll all buildings and paved areas and land set worth a million words,” The fi rst few SIA A380s are of an duced terms based on the current and those seats. If one of these hurdles aside for future aviation and non-avia- says Stephens. early-build standard with some fl aws foreseeable market conditions. In short, becomes lower, some carriers such as tion development. The target precision is and extra weight; they are not as good the less-than-optimal build standard is British Airways or Iberia might give The site is interactive, so the spon- uncanny—within 4 in. hori- as aircraft that came of the production only a small part of the explanation. the A380 a try. But those possibilities sor can insert a proposed building’s zontally and 6 in. vertically. line later. One might therefore argue A bigger issue is simply that the air- will only represent a handful of air- height and location and immediately These visuals allow airport that it is a wise decision to replace line does not want to expand its A380 craft . It is dif cult to see how second- determine its compatibility. sponsors and nearby them with more mature and lighter fl eet beyond the 19 aircraft it now oper- ary airlines would want to broaden The free tool and process were SC AERONAUTICS landowners to see immedi- aircraft. So why all the excitement? ates and the fi ve more on fi rm order. In the A380 customer base. deemed so clever and useful that the idea: Let an unmanned aerial system, ately all the of enders rather than just Several reasons. While it is some- addition, there are reasons specifi c to Decisions such as the SIA return are National Association of State Avia- aka drone, do it. a single “controlling obstacle,” thereby what understandable that SIA would SIA and more general industry aspects particularly damaging to the airfram- tion Of cials (NASAO) gave CLUE T hey opted for the Swiss-made obviating the need to address the same want to get rid of the early aircraft, that are infl uencing the decision. SIA ers because of the signal they send to its “Most Innovative State Program SenseFly EBee RTK (see photo). With problem year after year. the airline will have to spend a sub- no longer plays the dominant role in other airlines. And SIA is not the fi rst Award” in 2014. But there’s more. a 37-in. wingspan, tiny pusher prop, The process is so successful that stantial amount of money before do- Asian long-haul travel . Other carriers to alter its A380 plans: Concurrently, the FAA reviewed its battery power, programmable autopi- eight states have sent representatives ing so in order to restore the aircraft are growing at its expense: Emirates, ■ Air France is not taking the fi nal obstacle clearance data for airports lot and a high-def camera, this 1.6-lb. to South Carolina to learn more . And to “full life” condition, according to Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways to two A380s it has on order. countrywide and determined that tree snap-together, hand-launched, foam- other agencies within the state — from the agreements with their owners. the northwest of its hub and the Chi- ■ Lufthansa has reduced its commit- growth had penetrated the maximum construction aircraft can “produce forestry to law enforcement—are Returning the aircraft essentially nese carriers to the north. The number ment by one aircraft. 20:1 approach slope areas stretching orthomosaics and 3-D models with interested in the EBee’s potential. to new condition in terms of systems, of routes on which even SIA can ■ Qantas Airways does not want to out from the ends of many runways. As absolute accuracy” and absent any Meanwhile, in September, Stephens engine maintenance and cabins will be operate an A380 profi tably is limited, take the eight in the backlog. a result, the agency prohibited night “ground control points.” Translation: and his team briefed those gathered a very expensive proposition—and the particularly if as many as 142 are fl ying ■ Virgin Atlantic does not want the approaches to those airports. It’s a self-contained surveying wonder at NASAO’s annual convention on fi rst of its kind for the global A380 fl eet. for a competitor. six it bought a decade and a half ago . Typically, the approaches are sur- that can quickly produce amazingly the drone airport survey project . . . The incentive not to fl y them further What is more, now is not the time The market is speaking, and it is veyed by state safety inspectors who precise imagery and measurements. and returned home with the “Most must be high, unless increasingly des- to add signifi cant long-haul capacity . sending a painful message: We are no stand 200 ft. from the runway end and, While it and its Arc GIS software Innovative” award for 2016. c perate lessors are willing to accept re- Analysts and industry observers have longer interested. c
14 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 15
AW_09_26_2016_p14.indd 14 9/15/16 6:46 PM AW_09_26_2016_p15.indd 15 9/20/16 4:06 PM Leading Edge By Graham Warwick Graham Warwick is Managing Editor for Technology Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/LE [email protected]
commentary Another is M-Shells, which aim to eliminate the weight and volume of batteries in electric aircraft by Weird Science developing multifunction structures that also store energy. The project is pursuing chemistry and materials for NASA’s rapid feasibility-demonstration project load-bearing structures that are also is beginning to produce results hybrid battery/supercapacitors. M-Shells is developing a sandwich structure in which the honeycomb be- n unmanned aircraft dropped from a balloon that can learn tween the carbon-fber face sheets is a Ato fy before it hits the ground; morphing airframes made battery, made from laminated ribbons from the structural equivalent of digital pixels; aircraft structures of highly conductive graphene elec- trodes and an ultralightweight aerogel that store energy . . . these were just some of the ideas on show at separator impregnated with electro- Glenn Research Center on Sept. 7-8, where an enthusiastic group lyte. In 2017, the project plans to fy a of NASA engineers—young and diverse, but with a scattering of small UAV with a third of its power coming from a battery that is part of grayhairs—gathered to showcase their progress under the agen- the airframe, likely the fuselage. cy’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project. Learn To Fly (L2F) is a CAS project that aims to combine real-time model- A key part of NASA’s ing of vehicle dynamics with learning restructured and control systems to emulate how birds refocused aeronautics learn to fy, reducing the time and cost research, CAS funds of taking a novel aircraft design from rapid, 2-3-year feasibil- concept to fight. ity demonstrations of L2F frst showed the idea by early-stage ideas from dropping a foam target drone from a in-house researchers. balloon. The simple aircraft developed With about $40 mil- a usable model of its dynamics 3-5 sec. lion a year to spend, after being released and went on to CAS has so far funded complete a turn and land. The “gradu- 15 subprojects in ation exercise,” at NASA Armstrong three annual selection in November, will involve an uncon- rounds. ventional design. The restructur- Graham WarWick/aW&ST Dropping the UAV, called Wood- ing focused research on six strategic First to graduate from CAS is the stock 1, from a balloon at 2,500 ft. thrusts, ranging from ultra-efcient X-57 distributed electric propulsion will provide more time, about 4 min., airliners to assured autonomy, for demonstrator, which involves the for the system to learn how to fy the which NASA has developed tech- Langley, Armstrong and Glenn cen- more complex aircraft, which has an nology road maps. “CAS is there to ters as well as ESAero, Joby Aviation, arbitrary confguration with multiple challenge them,” says Robert Pearce, Scaled Composites, Xperimental and fight control surfaces. deputy associate administrator for Electric Power Systems on the indus- CAS is an efort to break out of aeronautics. “We hope people are tak- try side. The X-57 is to fy by 2018. NASA’s process-oriented culture. ing risks and looking at really innova- Several of the projects have key “We want to show the rest of aero- tive ideas. Some will not work out, but tests coming up to prove or disprove nautics, and the agency, that we have it is about the idea of failing forward, their feasibility. One of these is Madcat, the in-house capability to do this. We of taking smart risks so we are always which brings together cellular materi- just have to unleash our innovative learning. Without taking risks, CAS als, digitized structures and morphing minds,” says Jaiwon Shin, associate will not be successful, and NASA aero- technology to produce a lightweight, administrator for aeronautics. nautics will not be successful.” reconfgurable airframe. CAS is bringing young engineers Projects must be multicenter and The project aims to test a tailless together with seasoned research- multidiscipline, and most have part- fying-wing unmanned aircraft with a ers. “The project has reinvigorated ners in academia and industry. If they morphing structure assembled from NASA’s in-house workforce,” says prove feasible, it is hoped the con- composite “volume cells,” or voxels Shin. “We emphasized from the begin- cepts and technologies will be picked (see photo)—the equivalent of digital- ning that we wanted our early career up by industry, a NASA aeronautics image pixels—that are light and stif folks to be working on this. We also program or another of the agency’s but can deform in a controlled way to asked our graybeards to mentor them. mission directorates. adapt wing shape. I think it is working out.” c
16 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p16.indd 16 9/22/16 12:37 PM Leading Edge By Graham Warwick Graham Warwick is Managing Editor for Technology Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/LE [email protected] Content Licensing for commentary Another is M-Shells, which aim to eliminate the weight and volume of batteries in electric aircraft by Every Marketing Strategy Weird Science developing multifunction structures that also store energy. The project is pursuing chemistry and materials for NASA’s rapid feasibility-demonstration project load-bearing structures that are also Logo Licensing | Reprints is beginning to produce results hybrid battery/supercapacitors. M-Shells is developing a sandwich structure in which the honeycomb be- Eprints | Plaques n unmanned aircraft dropped from a balloon that can learn tween the carbon-fber face sheets is a Ato fy before it hits the ground; morphing airframes made battery, made from laminated ribbons from the structural equivalent of digital pixels; aircraft structures of highly conductive graphene elec- trodes and an ultralightweight aerogel that store energy . . . these were just some of the ideas on show at separator impregnated with electro- Glenn Research Center on Sept. 7-8, where an enthusiastic group lyte. In 2017, the project plans to fy a of NASA engineers—young and diverse, but with a scattering of small UAV with a third of its power coming from a battery that is part of Leverage branded content from Aviation grayhairs—gathered to showcase their progress under the agen- the airframe, likely the fuselage. cy’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project. Learn To Fly (L2F) is a CAS project Week & Space Technology to create a more that aims to combine real-time model- A key part of NASA’s ing of vehicle dynamics with learning powerful and sophisticated statement about restructured and control systems to emulate how birds refocused aeronautics learn to fy, reducing the time and cost research, CAS funds of taking a novel aircraft design from your product, service, or company in your next rapid, 2-3-year feasibil- concept to fight. ity demonstrations of L2F frst showed the idea by marketing campaign. early-stage ideas from dropping a foam target drone from a in-house researchers. balloon. The simple aircraft developed With about $40 mil- a usable model of its dynamics 3-5 sec. lion a year to spend, after being released and went on to CAS has so far funded complete a turn and land. The “gradu- Mafffffffffffffffffffffffff 15 subprojects in ation exercise,” at NASA Armstrong three annual selection in November, will involve an uncon- • Outdoor • Direct Mail • Print Advertising rounds. ventional design. The restructur- Graham WarWick/aW&ST Dropping the UAV, called Wood- • Tradeshow/POP Displays ing focused research on six strategic First to graduate from CAS is the stock 1, from a balloon at 2,500 ft. thrusts, ranging from ultra-efcient X-57 distributed electric propulsion will provide more time, about 4 min., • Social Media • Radio & Television airliners to assured autonomy, for demonstrator, which involves the for the system to learn how to fy the which NASA has developed tech- Langley, Armstrong and Glenn cen- more complex aircraft, which has an nology road maps. “CAS is there to ters as well as ESAero, Joby Aviation, arbitrary confguration with multiple challenge them,” says Robert Pearce, Scaled Composites, Xperimental and fight control surfaces. deputy associate administrator for Electric Power Systems on the indus- CAS is an efort to break out of aeronautics. “We hope people are tak- try side. The X-57 is to fy by 2018. NASA’s process-oriented culture. ing risks and looking at really innova- Several of the projects have key “We want to show the rest of aero- tive ideas. Some will not work out, but tests coming up to prove or disprove nautics, and the agency, that we have it is about the idea of failing forward, their feasibility. One of these is Madcat, the in-house capability to do this. We of taking smart risks so we are always which brings together cellular materi- just have to unleash our innovative learning. Without taking risks, CAS als, digitized structures and morphing minds,” says Jaiwon Shin, associate will not be successful, and NASA aero- technology to produce a lightweight, administrator for aeronautics. nautics will not be successful.” reconfgurable airframe. CAS is bringing young engineers Contact Wright’s Media to learn more about customizing Projects must be multicenter and The project aims to test a tailless together with seasoned research- your acknowledgements and recognitions to enhance multidiscipline, and most have part- fying-wing unmanned aircraft with a ers. “The project has reinvigorated ners in academia and industry. If they morphing structure assembled from NASA’s in-house workforce,” says your marketing strategies: prove feasible, it is hoped the con- composite “volume cells,” or voxels Shin. “We emphasized from the begin- Tel: +1-877.652.5295 or visit our website at cepts and technologies will be picked (see photo)—the equivalent of digital- ning that we wanted our early career up by industry, a NASA aeronautics image pixels—that are light and stif folks to be working on this. We also www.wrightsmedia.com program or another of the agency’s but can deform in a controlled way to asked our graybeards to mentor them. mission directorates. adapt wing shape. I think it is working out.” c
16 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p16.indd 16 9/22/16 12:37 PM 609AWB17A.indd 1 9/16/2016 3:25:57 PM In Orbit By Frank Morring, Jr. Frank Morring, Jr. is Senior Space Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/InOrbit [email protected]
commentary East and famine in Africa have reached a point where Europe’s ISS funds might be viewed as better spent Selling Space on the immediate crisis. “Obviously the attention is very Germany weighs its lunar vision, much on solving the migration prob- lems,” says Ehrenfreund, who is sym- ‘New Space’ against age-old problems pathetic to the need but emphasizes— as do her counterparts—that cutting or Pascale Ehrenfreund, chair of the executive board of funds for space is a short-term fx F that impedes a longer-term solution. German Aerospace Center DLR, the glass is half full, not Droughts and other disasters that half empty. While European politicians struggle with the costly have traditionally triggered migration day-to-day problems besetting their continent, Ehrenfreund into Europe can be monitored from space, guiding international eforts and her colleagues at other European national space agencies to mitigate the local efects before are providing an astronautical counterpoint. residents begin to move. Cameras on the ISS and other LEO Like the world’s spacecraft already are tracking the other spacefaring growth of refugee camps in Syria and nations, they see op- elsewhere (see photos), which helps portunities for new European planners prepare. cooperation when “We try to convince the government the International how important solutions from space Space Station (ISS) are,” Ehrenfreund says. “We have di- reaches the end of saster management. We help govern- its orbital service life ment in cases of migration or routes and suggest ways of migration. You can do a lot with to mitigate even the Earth observation, satellite observa- most intractable of UrtheCast tion, in order to support the requests today’s woes with space assets. to Europeans and to other players, and needs of the government.” It is a work in progress. Europe says Ehrenfreund, who joined a panel DLR manages space and aeronau- hasn’t yet signed on to NASA’s push on international cooperation Sept. 15 at tics research for ESA, spending €1.1 for a “Journey to Mars” that bypasses the American Institute of Aeronautics billion ($1.22 billion) on space. Of that a return to the Moon’s surface after a and Astronautics “Space 2016” confer- amount, €800 million goes to ESA and shakedown period for deep-space hu- ence in Long Beach, California. “We €270 million toward the German na- man spacecraft in lunar orbit, and its are on the verge in Europe of building tional space program. Big-ticket items near-term human-spacefight policy an exploration program for the future, in the latter basket include the Sophia remains a question mark. and it will still need a consensus. How airborne observatory in conjunction Ehrenfreund’s predecessor at DLR, we integrate the ideas of Europe in with NASA, the new Franco-German Johann-Dietrich Woerner, proposed the NASA road map is an ongoing Merlin environmental satellite and a “lunar village” as the next step for process.” smaller projects such as a university- human exploration, possibly on the Parker’s near-term goal is to led study to determine how to navi- radio-silent lunar far side. Woerner is persuade science ministers from gate a probe in the vicinity of Saturn’s director general of the European Space ESA partner nations to fund the ISS icy moon, Enceladus. Agency (ESA) now, and the discus- beyond 2020. Jean-Jacques Dordain, The agency—and others in Europe— sions continue. Woerner’s predecessor at ESA, led are beginning to follow NASA’s lead in David Parker, ESA’s new director of the charge to fund the outpost in partnership with private companies on human spacefight and robotic explora- low Earth orbit (LEO) until the end the “New Space” model, hoping to use tion, has raised the possibility of a of its projected structural sound- the greater efciency of proft-driven European deep-space habitat in lunar ness in 2028. But while the other ISS organizations to stretch space funding orbit or at one of the Earth-Moon La- partners have agreed to maintain the and boost national economies. Ger- grangian points, which could meld with station at least until 2024, ESA has many’s Ministry of Economic Afairs NASA’s plans to test life support, radia- lagged in committing the necessary and Energy recently published a study tion protection and spacefight dynam- resources. A decision is expected in on the subject. ics in the lunar “proving ground.” But November. “You have to bring people together, an international outpost on the lunar NASA managers worry that fscal give incentives and create workshops surface remains on the table. pressures related to the onslaught to build up New Space in Europe,” says The Moon and Mars are important of refugees feeing war in the Middle Ehrenfreund. “It’s not like in the U.S.” c
18 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p18.indd 18 9/20/16 5:05 PM In Orbit By Frank Morring, Jr. Washington Outlook Edited by Jen DiMascio Frank Morring, Jr. is Jen DiMascio is Managing Senior Space Editor Editor for Defense and Space Join the conversation at: Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/InOrbit AviationWeek.com/WashingtonOutlook [email protected] [email protected] commentary East and famine in Africa have commEntary to one of the architects of airpower reached a point where Europe’s ISS during that confict. Operation Desert funds might be viewed as better spent Storm, as it was called by the Penta- Selling Space on the immediate crisis. Target FAA gon, was a 43-day buildup and war “Obviously the attention is very in late 1990 and early 1991. It relied Germany weighs its lunar vision, much on solving the migration prob- on airpower to ultimately cause the lems,” says Ehrenfreund, who is sym- Forces favoring ATC reform prepare collapse of the Iraqi military, says U.S. ‘New Space’ against age-old problems pathetic to the need but emphasizes— to woo election-year victors Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) David Dep- as do her counterparts—that cutting tula. An intense 3-4-week operation or Pascale Ehrenfreund, chair of the executive board of funds for space is a short-term fx in 2013 or 2014 could have prevented F that impedes a longer-term solution. hoever is elected in November can expect an earful from the refugee crisis or subsequent ter- German Aerospace Center DLR, the glass is half full, not Droughts and other disasters that Wproponents of removing air trafc control (ATC) from the rorist attacks across Europe and in half empty. While European politicians struggle with the costly have traditionally triggered migration FAA’s purview. The debate over ATC privatization is one reason the U.S., he maintains. Instead, the day-to-day problems besetting their continent, Ehrenfreund into Europe can be monitored from confict against the so-called Islamic space, guiding international eforts passage of an FAA policy bill has been stymied. Congress barely State is dragging on, in part because and her colleagues at other European national space agencies to mitigate the local efects before managed in July to pass a temporary extension of the safety the applicable lessons of the frst Gulf are providing an astronautical counterpoint. residents begin to move. agency’s authority to Sept. 30, 2017, so it is likely it will be up to War are not being applied. In Desert Cameras on the ISS and other LEO Storm, the war was commanded from Like the world’s spacecraft already are tracking the the next Congress to pass a multiyear FAA bill. the air. In this confict, targets are other spacefaring growth of refugee camps in Syria and approved by ground commanders, nations, they see op- elsewhere (see photos), which helps Advocates of an and the process of selecting a single portunities for new European planners prepare. ATC privatization This is a cause target can take up to two months. cooperation when “We try to convince the government provision champi- ‘ “Folks, that’s longer than the entirety the International how important solutions from space oned by Rep. Bill that is crying out of Desert Storm,” Deptula says, add- Space Station (ISS) are,” Ehrenfreund says. “We have di- Shuster (R-Pa.), G es ing that it allows the enemy time to reaches the end of saster management. We help govern- chairman of the iM a for leadership.’ regroup and entrench. He argues that its orbital service life ment in cases of migration or routes House Transporta- the Obama administration is weighing and suggest ways of migration. You can do a lot with tion Committee, too carefully the civilian cost of the to mitigate even the Earth observation, satellite observa- are regrouping —DOUG PARkER war. While the administration waits to most intractable of UrtheCast tion, in order to support the requests for battle. At an American Airlines CEO decide, more civilians than may have today’s woes with space assets. to Europeans and to other players, and needs of the government.” ATC reform sum- died in an airstrike are dying at the Donna McWillia M /Getty It is a work in progress. Europe says Ehrenfreund, who joined a panel DLR manages space and aeronau- mit convened in hands of terrorists. “We can’t conduct hasn’t yet signed on to NASA’s push on international cooperation Sept. 15 at tics research for ESA, spending €1.1 Washington this month by Airlines Gen. John Hyten, nominated to immaculate warfare,” he says. c for a “Journey to Mars” that bypasses the American Institute of Aeronautics billion ($1.22 billion) on space. Of that for America, the trade association become the next head of U.S. Stra- a return to the Moon’s surface after a and Astronautics “Space 2016” confer- amount, €800 million goes to ESA and for U.S. airlines, National Air Trafc tegic Command, believes Russia and Iran oK shakedown period for deep-space hu- ence in Long Beach, California. “We €270 million toward the German na- Controllers Association President China want to be able to “cripple” U.S. The U.S. government has issued man spacecraft in lunar orbit, and its are on the verge in Europe of building tional space program. Big-ticket items Paul Rinaldi lamented that the FAA’s operations in space. licenses that allow Boeing and Airbus near-term human-spacefight policy an exploration program for the future, in the latter basket include the Sophia equipment and technology lags its “I believe they are building those to sell civil aircraft to Iranian airlines. remains a question mark. and it will still need a consensus. How airborne observatory in conjunction counterparts in other nations. “You capabilities today,” Hyten testifed Iran Air has signed up for 118 jetliners Ehrenfreund’s predecessor at DLR, we integrate the ideas of Europe in with NASA, the new Franco-German have to shake your head,” he says. during his Sept. 20 confrmation hear- from Airbus and 109 from Boeing. The Johann-Dietrich Woerner, proposed the NASA road map is an ongoing Merlin environmental satellite and And American Airlines, which has ing. “They are building counterspace aircraft builders have been working a “lunar village” as the next step for process.” smaller projects such as a university- spent $3.9 million lobbying Congress capabilities to deny us those capabili- methodically all year to secure the human exploration, possibly on the Parker’s near-term goal is to led study to determine how to navi- this year, according to the Center for ties in confict.” Hyten, who currently Treasury Department licenses (Air- radio-silent lunar far side. Woerner is persuade science ministers from gate a probe in the vicinity of Saturn’s Responsive Politics, is preparing to leads Air Force Space Command, bus needs one because of U.S.-made director general of the European Space ESA partner nations to fund the ISS icy moon, Enceladus. woo a new crop of public ofcials. “In adds that the U.S. should be working components on its jets). The deals Agency (ESA) now, and the discus- beyond 2020. Jean-Jacques Dordain, The agency—and others in Europe— this distinguished audience are people faster to respond. Sen. John McCain were made possible by a landmark sions continue. Woerner’s predecessor at ESA, led are beginning to follow NASA’s lead in on both sides of the aisle who may be (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate 2015 agreement in which Tehran David Parker, ESA’s new director of the charge to fund the outpost in partnership with private companies on able to infuence the direction of the Armed Service Committee, is already agreed to curb its nuclear program. human spacefight and robotic explora- low Earth orbit (LEO) until the end the “New Space” model, hoping to use next administration,” says American planning a classifed briefng on the Airbus forecasts a need for 400-500 tion, has raised the possibility of a of its projected structural sound- the greater efciency of proft-driven CEO Doug Parker. “This is a cause topic. And the House Armed Services’ new commercial planes to replace European deep-space habitat in lunar ness in 2028. But while the other ISS organizations to stretch space funding that is crying out for leadership from strategic forces subcommittee will Iran’s existing, aging feet and meet orbit or at one of the Earth-Moon La- partners have agreed to maintain the and boost national economies. Ger- the White House and one that can be meet Sept. 27 to discuss national growing demand. But the sales still grangian points, which could meld with station at least until 2024, ESA has many’s Ministry of Economic Afairs a proud legacy of the next administra- security in space. c face political backlash in Washington. NASA’s plans to test life support, radia- lagged in committing the necessary and Energy recently published a study tion for decades to come.” c Several members of Congress remain tion protection and spacefight dynam- resources. A decision is expected in on the subject. slow Go fercely opposed to any commercial ics in the lunar “proving ground.” But November. “You have to bring people together, EyEs on spacE When it comes to U.S. military opera- deals with Iran, and Boeing’s transac- an international outpost on the lunar NASA managers worry that fscal give incentives and create workshops The vulnerability of U.S. military tions in Syria, the U.S. should employ tions could be hampered by a slew of surface remains on the table. pressures related to the onslaught to build up New Space in Europe,” says space programs is about to receive a strategy more like the one used remaining sanctions and U.S. fnancial The Moon and Mars are important of refugees feeing war in the Middle Ehrenfreund. “It’s not like in the U.S.” c plenty of attention from Congress. during the frst Iraq War, according restrictions on Tehran. c
18 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 aviationWeek.com/awst aviationweek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 19
AW_09_26_2016_p18.indd 18 9/20/16 5:05 PM AW_09_26_2016_p19.indd 19 9/22/16 12:55 PM DEFENSE Unmanned Wingmen Japan lays out a plan for pilotless combat aircraft to help fi ghters Bradley Perrett Beijing
Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense ATLA says resources will be directed toward the third ir-combat maneuvers will be far more category, for ballistic missile defense, and the fourth, for air challenging than strike missions for ar- combat, meaning that they have priority. tifi cial intelligence, so countries plan- The agency makes no mention of the BMD aircraft carrying A weapons. Instead, the type seems to be envisaged as a sensor ning autonomous warplanes are generally look- carrier, presumably using an infrared detector descended from ing at trying air-to-ground fi rst. the Airboss system that was tested in 2007. A simple concept design in ATLA’s road map document shows that it would be of But to many Japanese ears, unmanned strike sounds too a conventional confi guration for high-altitude, long-endurance o ensive—in both senses of the word. Probably for that rea- operation, with an extremely slender wing and what appears son, the country’s defense planners are proposing to leap di- to be a twin pusher propelle r-engine installation, similar to the rectly into air-to-air automation. Limiting the challenge, they Boeing Condor of the late 1980s. The sensor is shown in a turret propose high-performance robotic aircraft that would fl y as in the upper nose (see concept, page 21) . helpers for manned fi ghters; a pilot would issue commands. The ministry’s Technical Research and Development In- And at fi rst the aircraft, called Combat Support Unmanned stitute (TRDI) fi rst discussed the concept of the unmanned Aircraft or unmanned wingmen, would fl y ahead as sensor wingmen at least six years ago. It then conceived of such carriers, only later taking on the role of shooting. aircraft entering into service in the 2040s and working with This family will appear in the 2030s, according to a technol- a suitably upgraded version of the country’s proposed next ogy road map for pilotless aircraft published by the defense fi ghter, the F-3. The fi rst version of the F-3 is expected to enter ministry’s purchasing o ce, the Acquisition, Technology and service around 2030. Logistics Agency (ATLA). The ministry previously discussed ATLA now says Japan will “acquire high-autonomy tech- concepts for unmanned wingmen but has now advanced its nology to realize an unmanned wingman for manned air- plans. The road map will also include a ballistic-missile de- craft in 15 to 20 years.” Its drawings showed the F-3 as the fense (BMD) type that would go into service in the 2030s. manned aircraft. Entry into service before 2035 is probably The plan divides unmanned aircraft into fi ve types, includ- not intended, since the agency proposes that technology be ing the two simplest—small, portable ones and those that demonstrated in fi scal 2029-33. In that case, the F-3 would operate with line-of-sight communications—which Japan still get an upgrade for unmanned wingmen, but the modifi ed already has in service. A third category, which the country is version would appear sooner than was previously planned. still working on, are those that need relay communications by The fi rst type of unmanned wingman to appear would be satellite, such as types the U.S. has relied on for years, like the a sensor aircraft. ATLA’s concept drawing shows three fl ying General Atomics MQ-1 and MQ-9 and the Northrop Grumman ahead of a fi ghter with which they would have a data link. Q-4 in various versions . Then there are pilotless combat air- This is the concept that would be achieved in 15-20 years. craft and, lastly, aerostats and solar-powered airplanes, both More than 20 years from now, there would be a second for extremely long endurance. type—or perhaps a second version, using the same airframe
20 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p20-21.indd 20 9/23/16 11:31 AM DEFENSE
and navigating by waypoints to performing “basic air traf- Unmanned fi c maneuvers” and takeo s and landings. Later the fi ghter would be autonomously capable of basic maneuvers needed for maintaining a relative position with a fl ight leader—pre- sumably, a manned fi ghter. That looks like the level that the Wingmen Japanese unmanned wingman needs for the sensor role. For the next degree of di culty, Saab lists aerobatics, such as rolling and looping, and then tactical turns executed in Japan lays out a plan for pilotless relation to the fl ight leader. Last, and hardest, are maneu- vers for beyond-visual-range combat, such as cranking and combat aircraft to help fi ghters pumping. That is probably something like what the Japanese The Japanese defense ministry believe they need for an unmanned wingman that attacks the Bradley Perrett Beijing envisages unmanned wingmen enemy or attracts and dodges missiles. fi ring missiles, searching for Power and propulsion studies for the unmanned wingmen targets and luring and defeating are to begin in fi scal 2019. The technologies Japan must devel- missile attack. op are high agility, meta-materials (with properties not found in nature) for stealth, morphing structure and bistatic radar. With that radar technology, a transmitter is separate from the receiver, but the acquisition agency does not say which aircraft will do what. One possibility is that the sensor wing- man will transmit and the shooter wingman will receive. But it would also be possible for the manned fi ghter to be the silent receiver, or for it to transmit safely in the rear of the drones while they silently close in for the kill. and engine as the fi rst. It would fi re weapons. Also after 20 The F-3 is likely to have much greater range than the un- years, the sensor type or version would take on the role of a manned wingmen. The sensor drones could be of moderate Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense missile sponge. Since the sensor-carrying wingman would have size, however, so they could conceivably be carried near to the to cost much more than missiles fi red at it, and could not pos- combat zone and air launched. ATLA says that in 2011 Japan ATLA says resources will be directed toward the third sibly accept hits, ATLA must ex- completed development of a jet-powered reconnaissance drone ir-combat maneuvers will be far more category, for ballistic missile defense, and the fourth, for air pect it to routinely defeat attacks that can be launched in the air and then land on a runway. An challenging than strike missions for ar- combat, meaning that they have priority. in the sponge role, using maneuver F-15J can carry two, each weighing 750 kg (1,650 lb.). tifi cial intelligence, so countries plan- The agency makes no mention of the BMD aircraft carrying and electromagnetic countermeasures. A weapons. Instead, the type seems to be envisaged as a sensor ATLA shows two concept designs for ning autonomous warplanes are generally look- carrier, presumably using an infrared detector descended from the unmanned wingman in low-resolu- ing at trying air-to-ground fi rst. the Airboss system that was tested in 2007. A simple concept tion pictures that may or may not bear some re- design in ATLA’s road map document shows that it would be of semblance to what is eventually deployed. One has But to many Japanese ears, unmanned strike sounds too a conventional confi guration for high-altitude, long-endurance a broad body, blended into a stubby wing that has per- o ensive—in both senses of the word. Probably for that rea- operation, with an extremely slender wing and what appears haps 45-50 deg. of backward sweep on the leading edge and A Japanese unmanned son, the country’s defense planners are proposing to leap di- to be a twin pusher propelle r-engine installation, similar to the moderate forward sweep on the trailing edge (see concept, aircraft for detecting rectly into air-to-air automation. Limiting the challenge, they Boeing Condor of the late 1980s. The sensor is shown in a turret above) . The design is shown operating in all three roles. The ballistic missiles is propose high-performance robotic aircraft that would fl y as in the upper nose (see concept, page 21) . other concept design, with a longer, skinnier body, has about anticipated helpers for manned fi ghters; a pilot would issue commands. The ministry’s Technical Research and Development In- 60 deg. of sweep on the leading edge and a conventionally in the 2030s. And at fi rst the aircraft, called Combat Support Unmanned stitute (TRDI) fi rst discussed the concept of the unmanned aft-swept trailing edge. It looks fast, except it has the draggy Aircraft or unmanned wingmen, would fl y ahead as sensor wingmen at least six years ago. It then conceived of such and unstealthy feature of a large underslung pod extending carriers, only later taking on the role of shooting. aircraft entering into service in the 2040s and working with almost to the nose, presumably carrying a radar. This design This family will appear in the 2030s, according to a technol- a suitably upgraded version of the country’s proposed next is shown only as a sensor aircraft. ogy road map for pilotless aircraft published by the defense fi ghter, the F-3. The fi rst version of the F-3 is expected to enter The unmanned wingman would be under the control of ministry’s purchasing o ce, the Acquisition, Technology and service around 2030. the F-3 pilot but would devise its own tactical maneuvers, Source: Japanese Defense Ministry Logistics Agency (ATLA). The ministry previously discussed ATLA now says Japan will “acquire high-autonomy tech- reporting back its planned moves. That suggests that the pi- Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense concepts for unmanned wingmen but has now advanced its nology to realize an unmanned wingman for manned air- lot would give general instructions, such as where to search Alternatives would be to use infl ight-refueling—which could plans. The road map will also include a ballistic-missile de- craft in 15 to 20 years.” Its drawings showed the F-3 as the or what to attack, and the drone would work out how best be repeated often on each mission, since there would be no fense (BMD) type that would go into service in the 2030s. manned aircraft. Entry into service before 2035 is probably to execute them. It would do things that a piloted aircraft tired pilot aboard—or perhaps to accept that many unmanned The plan divides unmanned aircraft into fi ve types, includ- not intended, since the agency proposes that technology be could not, the agency says, probably meaning it would pull aircraft must be built to support frequent shuttling to and ing the two simplest—small, portable ones and those that demonstrated in fi scal 2029-33. In that case, the F-3 would maneuvers that a human could not withstand. That would from the combat zone where on-station time would be short. operate with line-of-sight communications—which Japan still get an upgrade for unmanned wingmen, but the modifi ed contribute to surviving enemy missile volleys. The latest concept for the F-3, devised in 2014, envisages a already has in service. A third category, which the country is version would appear sooner than was previously planned. The progression from only searching to attacking and fi ghter with great endurance and armament at the expense still working on, are those that need relay communications by The fi rst type of unmanned wingman to appear would be dodging is consistent with expectations outside Japan on of maneuverability. satellite, such as types the U.S. has relied on for years, like the a sensor aircraft. ATLA’s concept drawing shows three fl ying the likely evolution of artifi cial intelligence and its capacity The unmanned recon drone launched by an F-15 was a prod- General Atomics MQ-1 and MQ-9 and the Northrop Grumman ahead of a fi ghter with which they would have a data link. to choose maneuvers. uct of Fuji Heavy Industries, Japan’s specialist in unmanned Q-4 in various versions . Then there are pilotless combat air- This is the concept that would be achieved in 15-20 years. Saab, for example, has published a technology sequence aircraft. The company is presumably well placed to build the craft and, lastly, aerostats and solar-powered airplanes, both More than 20 years from now, there would be a second in which an optionally manned Gripen E/F would progress unmanned wingman, too, although rival Mitsubishi Heavy for extremely long endurance. type—or perhaps a second version, using the same airframe from the current capability of automatically holding altitude Industries is the national specialist in combat aircraft. c
20 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 21
AW_09_26_2016_p20-21.indd 20 9/23/16 11:31 AM AW_09_26_2016_p20-21.indd 21 9/23/16 11:31 AM Defense
With a 65-ft. wingspan, the 30,000-lb.-class unmanned V-247 is designed to operate from amphibious ships and destroyers.
Bell began preliminary design in re- sponse to the Marine Corps’ 2016 avi- ation master plan, which introduces the MUX (Marine Air-Ground Task Force UAS Expeditionary). The plan envisions the MUX as a Marine Corps/ Navy program, with a technology dem- onstration in 2018, early operational capability in 2024 and IOC in 2026. While a production V-280 would Rotary Rebirth need new high-power turboshafts in the class of GE’s Future Affordable Turbine Engine technology demon- Simpler, cheaper design breathes Bell Helicopter strator, the V-247 “does not need a new life into Bell’s tiltrotor franchise new engine,” he says. Powered by a single 5,000-6,000-shp engine, the UAS has an endurance exceeding 11 hr. and 450-nm-radius carrying a 600-lb. James Drew Amarillo, Texas, and Graham Warwick Washington payload. The V-247 can carry 13,000 lb. of fuel, sensors and weapons. n the depths of their challenges across the size range, he says. Despite a 65-ft. wingspan and 30-ft.- Icodeveloping the V-22 Osprey, Bell The 35,000-lb.-class V-280 is 65% dia. rotors, the aircraft is compatible Helicopter walked away from pro- of the way through assembly at Bell’s with Navy DDG destroyers. The blades ducing a civil tiltrotor, and Boeing Amarillo, Texas, plant. The General and outboard wing extensions fold in- from extending the partnership to fu- Electric T64-419 engines are to be ward and V-tail downward before the ture products. With the frst produc- installed by November, with rotors to wing pivots parallel to the fuselage, al- tion tiltrotor drawing praise from its start turning in April. The 280-kt. tilt- lowing the UAS to ft the ship’s hangar. operators, and a more afordable and rotor is expected to fy in the second Two folded V-247s would ft in the Boe- capable design in development, Bell is half of 2017. ing C-17 airlifter, Tobin says. again putting its full weight and future Bell is so confdent in its design that The Marine Corps’ master plan il- hopes behind the confguration. it wants a competitive fyof against the lustrates the MUX capability with In addition to assembling the V-280 Sikorsky/Boeing SB-1 Defant coaxial the Tern coaxial-rotor tailsitter ship- Valor medium tiltrotor that will fy in rigid-rotor compound helicopter, also based medium-altitude, long-endur- 2017 under the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi planned to fy in 2017 under the JMR ance UAS, which is being developed -Role (JMR) technology demonstra- demo. V-280 program manager Chris by Northrop Grumman for DARPA tion, Bell has unveiled the smaller V-247 Gehler says the aircraft will be mature and the Office of Naval Research. Vigilant tiltrotor, aimed at an emerging enough when fight tests end in 2019 to While the V-247 is larger, Tobin says U.S. Marine Corps requirement for a support a decision to launch engineer- the tiltrotor has a lower disk loading, ship-based expeditionary, endurance ing and manufacturing development reducing the fuel burned during verti- unmanned aircraft system (UAS). (EMD) in 2020. This would avoid the cal takeof and landing and extending The company has also proposed an 2021-24 technology-maturation phase endurance. unmanned tiltrotor for the Army’s Fu- planned by the Army ahead of a com- The UAS has an open systems ar- ture Vertical Lift (FVL) Capability Set petition for EMD. chitecture enabling “plug-and-play” 1, which calls for an armed scout rotor- The Army plans to begin an analy- payloads, says Tobin. Side bays can craft, and is looking at a large twin- or sis of alternatives for FLV-Medium, or house fuel, sonobuoys, lidar sensor quad-rotor design for FVL Capability Capability Set 3—to replace the utility or two Hellfre or Joint Air-to-Ground Set 5—a heavy cargo rotorcraft last UH-60 Black Hawk and attack AH-54 Missiles. An underfuselage bay can looked at with V-22 partner Boeing Apache —this October. The service’s carry a Mk. 50 torpedo, AIM-9X air- under the Quad TiltRotor project. current time line calls for initial opera- to-air missile, 360-deg. surveillance “The beauty of the tiltrotor is its tional capability (IOC) by early 2030. radar or fuel. scalability,” says Vince Tobin, vice Bell says the V-380 could be ready Having sold its Model 609 civil tilt- president for advanced tiltrotor sys- closer to 2025—an acceleration also rotor program to development partner tems. The downside, with the V-22, is supported by Sikorsky/Boeing. AgustaWestland (now Leonardo He- its complexity and cost, but Bell’s lat- Similarly, the 30,000-lb.-class un- licopters) in 2009, Bell is focused on est tiltrotors have a simplifed confgu- manned V-247 could be ready for military applications, but Tobin says ration and advanced composite struc- production in 2023 after a three- or the company always keeps an eye on ture that make them cost-competitive four-year EMD phase, Tobin says. the commercial market. c
22 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p22.indd 22 9/22/16 5:40 PM Defense
With a 65-ft. wingspan, the 30,000-lb.-class unmanned V-247 is designed to operate from amphibious ships and destroyers.
Bell began preliminary design in re- sponse to the Marine Corps’ 2016 avi- ation master plan, which introduces Picture yourself the MUX (Marine Air-Ground Task Force UAS Expeditionary). The plan a generation ahead. envisions the MUX as a Marine Corps/ Navy program, with a technology dem- onstration in 2018, early operational capability in 2024 and IOC in 2026. While a production V-280 would Rotary Rebirth need new high-power turboshafts in the class of GE’s Future Affordable Turbine Engine technology demon- Simpler, cheaper design breathes Bell Helicopter strator, the V-247 “does not need a new life into Bell’s tiltrotor franchise new engine,” he says. Powered by a single 5,000-6,000-shp engine, the UAS has an endurance exceeding 11 hr. and 450-nm-radius carrying a 600-lb. James Drew Amarillo, Texas, and Graham Warwick Washington payload. The V-247 can carry 13,000 lb. of fuel, sensors and weapons. n the depths of their challenges across the size range, he says. Despite a 65-ft. wingspan and 30-ft.- Icodeveloping the V-22 Osprey, Bell The 35,000-lb.-class V-280 is 65% dia. rotors, the aircraft is compatible Helicopter walked away from pro- of the way through assembly at Bell’s with Navy DDG destroyers. The blades ducing a civil tiltrotor, and Boeing Amarillo, Texas, plant. The General and outboard wing extensions fold in- from extending the partnership to fu- Electric T64-419 engines are to be ward and V-tail downward before the ture products. With the frst produc- installed by November, with rotors to wing pivots parallel to the fuselage, al- tion tiltrotor drawing praise from its start turning in April. The 280-kt. tilt- lowing the UAS to ft the ship’s hangar. operators, and a more afordable and rotor is expected to fy in the second Two folded V-247s would ft in the Boe- capable design in development, Bell is half of 2017. ing C-17 airlifter, Tobin says. again putting its full weight and future Bell is so confdent in its design that The Marine Corps’ master plan il- hopes behind the confguration. it wants a competitive fyof against the lustrates the MUX capability with In addition to assembling the V-280 Sikorsky/Boeing SB-1 Defant coaxial the Tern coaxial-rotor tailsitter ship- Valor medium tiltrotor that will fy in rigid-rotor compound helicopter, also based medium-altitude, long-endur- 2017 under the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi planned to fy in 2017 under the JMR ance UAS, which is being developed -Role (JMR) technology demonstra- demo. V-280 program manager Chris by Northrop Grumman for DARPA tion, Bell has unveiled the smaller V-247 Gehler says the aircraft will be mature and the Office of Naval Research. Vigilant tiltrotor, aimed at an emerging enough when fight tests end in 2019 to While the V-247 is larger, Tobin says U.S. Marine Corps requirement for a support a decision to launch engineer- the tiltrotor has a lower disk loading, ship-based expeditionary, endurance ing and manufacturing development reducing the fuel burned during verti- unmanned aircraft system (UAS). (EMD) in 2020. This would avoid the cal takeof and landing and extending The company has also proposed an 2021-24 technology-maturation phase endurance. unmanned tiltrotor for the Army’s Fu- planned by the Army ahead of a com- The UAS has an open systems ar- ture Vertical Lift (FVL) Capability Set petition for EMD. chitecture enabling “plug-and-play” 1, which calls for an armed scout rotor- The Army plans to begin an analy- payloads, says Tobin. Side bays can craft, and is looking at a large twin- or sis of alternatives for FLV-Medium, or house fuel, sonobuoys, lidar sensor quad-rotor design for FVL Capability Capability Set 3—to replace the utility or two Hellfre or Joint Air-to-Ground UH-60 Black Hawk and attack AH-54 Missiles. An underfuselage bay can Set 5—a heavy cargo rotorcraft last ® ™ looked at with V-22 partner Boeing Apache —this October. The service’s carry a Mk. 50 torpedo, AIM-9X air- Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan engines are now in commercial service. under the Quad TiltRotor project. current time line calls for initial opera- to-air missile, 360-deg. surveillance The PurePower GTF engine powers the new generation of airliners, and their new generation of “The beauty of the tiltrotor is its tional capability (IOC) by early 2030. radar or fuel. scalability,” says Vince Tobin, vice Bell says the V-380 could be ready Having sold its Model 609 civil tilt- passengers. More and more next-generation operators are adopting the cleaner, greener, quieter president for advanced tiltrotor sys- closer to 2025—an acceleration also rotor program to development partner tems. The downside, with the V-22, is supported by Sikorsky/Boeing. AgustaWestland (now Leonardo He- engine. Because that’s how their customers want to fly. Learn more at PurePowerEngines.com. its complexity and cost, but Bell’s lat- Similarly, the 30,000-lb.-class un- licopters) in 2009, Bell is focused on est tiltrotors have a simplifed confgu- manned V-247 could be ready for military applications, but Tobin says ration and advanced composite struc- production in 2023 after a three- or the company always keeps an eye on A United Technologies Company Connect with us ture that make them cost-competitive four-year EMD phase, Tobin says. the commercial market. c
22 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p22.indd 22 9/22/16 5:40 PM 609AWB23.indd 1 9/16/2016 3:28:18 PM DEFENSE
For a next-gen battlefi eld-survivable tanker, the Air Force may draw on Lockheed Martin’s concept for Speed Agile.
er, the Air Force may draw on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Speed Agile concept demonstration, a decade-long collaborative effort by AFRL, NASA, Boeing and Lockheed Martin to develop technology for a stealthy, short-takeoff-and-landing airlifter. Boeing and Lockheed’s Speed Agile designs featured stealthy shaping and embedded engines. Though Speed Agile began in 2002 to meet Air Force requirements for an ef cient, surviv- able airlifter able to deliver loads di- rectly to the battlefield, the program Stealthy ended in 2012 without transitioning to a development program.
LOCKHEED MARTIN The Air Force may also be look- Tankers? ing at Lockheed’s Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) and Boeing’s Blended Wing Body (BWB) concepts for a more fuel- The U.S. Air Force, with the KC-46 in production, ef cient next-generation airlifter. The looks ahead to battlefi eld-ready follow-ons HWB combines a blended wing and forebody for aerodynamic and struc- Lara Seligman Washington tural ef ciency with a conventional aft fuselage and tail; BWB is a triangular, s Russia and China develop so- forces’ ability to penetrate, leaving the tailless design that merges the vehicle’s Aphisticated weapons that can Pentagon struggling to tackle the new wing and body. Neither concept is spe- shoot down U.S. aircraft from anti-access, area-denied environment. cifi cally designed for stealth—features f arther away, Air Force leaders worry A stealthy, armed tanker might be such as embedded engines and aligned that their aerial refueling tankers, the part of the solution, Everhart says. edges are not apparent—but such an backbone of the joint force, are vulner- The tankers of the 2030s and ’40s will airframe would certainly be stealthier able to attack. need to be signifi cantly more survivable than today’s transport and tanker air- Gen. Carlton Everhart II, chief of because they may accompany the next craft and could later be modified to Air Mobility Command (AMC), thinks generation of fi ghters and bombers into reduce the radar cross section. about how to solve this problem every this new battlefi eld. In other words, a The Air Force’s long-stated strategy day. AMC is embarking on a new look at nonstealthy tanker could give away the for replacing its aging KC-10s and KC- the art of the possible for the next-gen- position of the stealthiest fi ghter jet. 135s begins with buying 179 Boeing KC- eration tanker fl eet, often referred to as “Now that you are getting near-peer 46A Pegasus aircraft, with delivery be- “KC-Z,” he tells Aviation Week. That fu- adversaries who have different tech- ginning in August 2017. The service had ture KC-Z may look very dif erent from nologies,” Everhart says, “and they have planned to pursue a KC-Y acquisition the large-bodied, commercially derived studied the way we fi ght, that is starting starting in 2024, followed by a KC-Z in tankers of today: They could be stealthy, to change our calculus of how we might 2036. However, Everhart says they are carry missile-shooting lasers, or even execute the next war.” now thinking about leapfrogging KC-Y fl y autonomously. The Air Force hosted an industry day for a next-generation KC-Z. Alterna- “What is on the cusp of ground- on the next-generation tanker concept tively, KC-Y could just be a modernized breaking technologies? That is what we and will continue discussions with in- KC-46—a KC-46B, per se . want on that airplane,” Everhart said dustry in order to solicit the best ideas, The KC-Z would likely come online Sept. 20 at the Air Force Association’s he says. The KC-Z study is expected to in the 2030-40 time frame, he says—af- annual air and space conference. “Is it kick of in about six months and to last ter the bow wave of modernization cur- stealthy? I don’t know. Is it large? I don’t about a year. rently facing the Air Force has passed. know. Is it medium, is it small, what is The general hopes to speak with “I look at the time lines, I look at the combat of oad?” major industry players about apply- the Air Force overall budget, and I The Air Force has spent the last 15 ing low-observable coatings, using a ask, ‘Where can I logically not put an years operating in the permissive skies blended, hybrid or fl ying-wing design undue burden on the Defense Depart- over Iraq and Afghanistan, with no real to reduce the tanker’s radar cross sec- ment, or an undue burden on the tax- need for radar-evading, armed tankers, tion, or even outfi tting the aircraft with payer?’ ” Everhart says. “[And] ‘where he says. But adversaries such as Rus- lasers to defeat incoming missiles. AMC is my next opportunity to introduce an sia and China are developing sophisti- is open to an autonomous or remotely acquisition program?’ That is the rea- cated surface-to-air missiles and anti- piloted tanker as well, he says. son we are looking at the 2035 time aircraft weapons designed to foil U.S. For a stealthy next-generation tank- frame.” c
24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p24.indd 24 9/22/16 5:38 PM DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY
For a next-gen battlefi eld-survivable tanker, the Air Force DJI’s Phantom was selected for col- may draw on Lockheed Martin’s concept for Speed Agile. Making lision testing because it is the most popular small quadcopter. er, the Air Force may draw on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) an Impact new UAS model comes out having to Speed Agile concept demonstration, DJI blast it against a real stabilizer. Even- a decade-long collaborative effort by FAA to receive results tually, we will be looking at engine AFRL, NASA, Boeing and Lockheed ingestion testing to confrm what we Martin to develop technology for a of initial small-UAS collision severity studies think will happen.” stealthy, short-takeoff-and-landing These initial studies are already airlifter. Boeing and Lockheed’s Speed Graham Warwick Washington driving follow-on research, including Agile designs featured stealthy shaping into collisions with rotorcraft and pri- and embedded engines. Though Speed .S. researchers are finging small unmanned aircraft vate aircraft that will share low-altitude airspace with small Agile began in 2002 to meet Air Force Usystems (UAS) and their components at aircraft struc- UAS. “Engine ingestion testing has everyone’s attention, but requirements for an ef cient, surviv- tures in a speedy efort to provide data on collision they are taking extra due diligence to make sure the models able airlifter able to deliver loads di- risks to help the FAA with future rulemaking. are right and everybody is on board when we get to the test- rectly to the battlefield, the program Results suggest people on the ground do not need to be ing,” Luxion says. “You don’t want to have to set up multiple Stealthy ended in 2012 without transitioning to very concerned about injuries from falling drones, but the high-bypass engines and keep fring things at them.” a development program. argument that a small UAS hitting a manned aircraft is Assure has been tasked by the FAA with identifying time LOCKHEED MARTIN The Air Force may also be look- equivalent to a birdstrike has not survived closer scrutiny. lines and potential industry partners for engine testing. “The Tankers? ing at Lockheed’s Hybrid Wing Body Begun in January, the research is being conducted by As- researchers have relationships [with manufacturers], and I (HWB) and Boeing’s Blended Wing sure (Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research am sure they are going to support us with engines and ex- The U.S. Air Force, with the KC-46 in production, Body (BWB) concepts for a more fuel- Excellence), the FAA’s UAS Center of Excellence led by pertise because they are interested, too,” Luxion says. ef cient next-generation airlifter. The Mississippi State University. Assure is an alliance of 15 core The report submitted will detail issues found during the looks ahead to battlefi eld-ready follow-ons HWB combines a blended wing and and eight afliate universities with more than 100 industry collision testing. Luxion expects the immediate question forebody for aerodynamic and struc- partners. from the FAA to be “What kind of mitigations can take Lara Seligman Washington tural ef ciency with a conventional aft Assure’s first place to improve a battery, say, so it has less of an impact?” fuselage and tail; BWB is a triangular, tasks from the The agency has already s Russia and China develop so- forces’ ability to penetrate, leaving the tailless design that merges the vehicle’s FAA include Collision research is part of a asked for white papers Aphisticated weapons that can Pentagon struggling to tackle the new wing and body. Neither concept is spe- two projects to layered approach to the threat and preproposals from shoot down U.S. aircraft from anti-access, area-denied environment. cifi cally designed for stealth—features assess collision of small UAS that includes Assure for follow-on re- f arther away, Air Force leaders worry A stealthy, armed tanker might be such as embedded engines and aligned severity: A3 for ways to safely bring them search into mitigations, that their aerial refueling tankers, the part of the solution, Everhart says. edges are not apparent—but such an air-to-air, led by down, such as this net launch- he says. backbone of the joint force, are vulner- The tankers of the 2030s and ’40s will airframe would certainly be stealthier Wichita State er that captures the drone. The A4 study is look- able to attack. need to be signifi cantly more survivable than today’s transport and tanker air- University; and ing at UAS hazards to Gen. Carlton Everhart II, chief of because they may accompany the next craft and could later be modified to A4 for air-to- people and property on the ground. “There has been a lot of Air Mobility Command (AMC), thinks generation of fi ghters and bombers into reduce the radar cross section. ground, led by research done on the interior, on what happens to an aircraft OpenWOrks engIneerIng about how to solve this problem every this new battlefi eld. In other words, a The Air Force’s long-stated strategy the University of passenger during an impact, but really nothing exterior,” day. AMC is embarking on a new look at nonstealthy tanker could give away the for replacing its aging KC-10s and KC- Alabama, Huntsville. Reports will be submitted by the end says Luxion. An initial look at existing research identifed the art of the possible for the next-gen- position of the stealthiest fi ghter jet. 135s begins with buying 179 Boeing KC- of September, and follow-on work is already planned, says gaps. eration tanker fl eet, often referred to as “Now that you are getting near-peer 46A Pegasus aircraft, with delivery be- associate director Stephen Luxion. “So, frst, they had to defne the characteristics of UAS, “KC-Z,” he tells Aviation Week. That fu- adversaries who have different tech- ginning in August 2017. The service had These initial studies are aimed at helping the FAA defne how do they fall and what terminal velocities do they reach?” ture KC-Z may look very dif erent from nologies,” Everhart says, “and they have planned to pursue a KC-Y acquisition waivers to its Part 107 Small UAS Rule, which took efect he says. “They are looking at head and thoracic lacerations, the large-bodied, commercially derived studied the way we fi ght, that is starting starting in 2024, followed by a KC-Z in on Aug. 29. Results will help the FAA delineate mitigations and what happens when a payload hits someone.” Initial tankers of today: They could be stealthy, to change our calculus of how we might 2036. However, Everhart says they are enabling operations outside the rule’s narrow limitations, studies are trying to defne levels of safety based on factors carry missile-shooting lasers, or even execute the next war.” now thinking about leapfrogging KC-Y such as fying over people or beyond visual line of sight. such as kinetic energy or kinetic energy density to fnd the fl y autonomously. The Air Force hosted an industry day for a next-generation KC-Z. Alterna- The air-to-air project is assessing the impact-damage risk best way to establish rules. “What is on the cusp of ground- on the next-generation tanker concept tively, KC-Y could just be a modernized to a Boeing 737-class narrowbody airliner and Learjet-class “There is a lot of debate right now on levels of safety. As breaking technologies? That is what we and will continue discussions with in- KC-46—a KC-46B, per se . small business jet from a collision with a small UAS below the [air-to-ground] research starts to come in, there have want on that airplane,” Everhart said dustry in order to solicit the best ideas, The KC-Z would likely come online 10,000 ft. and at 250 kt. The most prolifc small quadcopter, been some surprises—favorable ones—that there is not as Sept. 20 at the Air Force Association’s he says. The KC-Z study is expected to in the 2030-40 time frame, he says—af- DJI’s Phantom, and a generic fxed-wing UAS are used for much risk of damage as originally expected. This has raised annual air and space conference. “Is it kick of in about six months and to last ter the bow wave of modernization cur- these initial projects. more questions and research about why,” he says. stealthy? I don’t know. Is it large? I don’t about a year. rently facing the Air Force has passed. Detailed mathematical models have been developed of Detailed results of these initial collision studies are not yet know. Is it medium, is it small, what is The general hopes to speak with “I look at the time lines, I look at the UAS and the aircraft structures where collisions can available. The air-to-ground research, Luxion says, shows the combat of oad?” major industry players about apply- the Air Force overall budget, and I be expected—windshield, wing, horizontal and vertical sta- small UAS tend to futter as they fall; drag and friction reduce The Air Force has spent the last 15 ing low-observable coatings, using a ask, ‘Where can I logically not put an bilizer. The impact of UAS components—battery, motor the terminal velocity, so the risk is not as great as thought. years operating in the permissive skies blended, hybrid or fl ying-wing design undue burden on the Defense Depart- and payload camera—on these structures is then modeled. On air-to-air collisions, much will be determined by how over Iraq and Afghanistan, with no real to reduce the tanker’s radar cross sec- ment, or an undue burden on the tax- Collisions with complete UAS are also modeled, at diferent the FAA eventually defnes “safe”—whether it is based on the need for radar-evading, armed tankers, tion, or even outfi tting the aircraft with payer?’ ” Everhart says. “[And] ‘where impact angles and speeds, and compared with an equivalent pure kinetic energy of the impact or kinetic energy spread he says. But adversaries such as Rus- lasers to defeat incoming missiles. AMC is my next opportunity to introduce an birdstrike, Luxion says. over an area. “Any hope these things would act like a bird sia and China are developing sophisti- is open to an autonomous or remotely acquisition program?’ That is the rea- “We are then fring components and even the whole UAS when they hit something is not supported by the testing,” cated surface-to-air missiles and anti- piloted tanker as well, he says. son we are looking at the 2035 time against these structures to see if the results verify the mod- Luxion says. “We know the characteristics are diferent, and aircraft weapons designed to foil U.S. For a stealthy next-generation tank- frame.” c els,” he says. “The goal is to model this, versus every time a you cannot use birdstrikes as a model.” c
24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 25
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609AWB26_27.indd 3 9/16/2016 3:29:52 PM COMMERCIAL AVIATION Calling a Halt CAAC will severely restrict its authorizations for new airlines Ruili Airlines of Kunming is one of 20 airlines Bradley Perrett Beijing that the CAAC authorized in 2011-15.
rom full speed ahead to slamming on the brakes: The in which airlines are numerous, small, scattered and weak.” FCivil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has tight- Twenty airlines were approved in 2011-15, the CAAC notes. ened rules on setting up airlines, around fi ve months Toward the end of that planning period, the industry saw a after it suspended authorizations, unannounced. new carrier entering the market every month or two. Provin- Citing safety concerns, the agency says it will severely cial and city governments’ eagerness to have their own airlines restrict the number of new carriers it will authorize. It also was the key driver behind the proliferation. is limiting investors’ ability to use regional or cargo aviation This is not the fi rst time the CAAC has opposed industry BOEING companies to enter the trunkline passenger business. fragmentation. For the six years until 2013, it had an of cial Industry sources say the caution of new CAAC chief Feng ban on new airlines—though in practice it occasionally li- Zhenglin is likely a factor behind the policy, which the agency censed carriers that had government backing. is using to formally reverse its once-liberal approach to licens- Aviation Week reported the unannounced shift in stance ing carriers. The bureau set out its policy in a notifi cation that three months ago (AW&ST June 6-19, p. 26). No later than was sent to the industry on Aug. 29 and has been seen by Avia- April, the agency ceased taking applications for new airlines tion Week. “The CAAC will severely restrict airline establish- and even declined to move forward some that had been ac- ment,” it declares, dissatisfi ed with the industry’s increasing cepted. More recently, the CAAC has relaxed its position a fragmentation. It states that it wants to “avoid a situation little, deciding to license one or two more airlines this year.
commonality while still being suf cient- Sweet Spot ly dif erent to prevent potential canni- balization of the 737-9 market? Third, depending on the level of change, can Engine throttle push and limited stretch could the variant be brought to market in a timely and af ordable manner? Lastly, be key to faster-reaction Boeing 737-10X is the potential -10X market important enough to merit the disruption to the Gu y Norris Seattle and Los Angeles production system a new derivative might bring? he design space remains wide reduce research and development costs The decisions about the stretch also Topen for a potential second while maintaining greater commonality take place in the context of Boeing’s stretch of the 737 MAX family to with the 737-7, -8 and -9 MAX models, broader strategic goals of developing counter the Airbus A321neo, says Boe- Boeing is considering alternate options. a new middle-of-the-market airliner ing, but as assembly of the fi rst 737-9 The leading candidate now appears to (also known as new midsize airplane or nears, the manufacturer appears to be be a more straightforward -10X stretch NMA) class to fi ll the current capacity leaning toward a simpler, lower-risk with an uprated Leap 1B that could be gap between the 737 and 787. The timing derivative. available by 2019 or 2020. and cost implications of the 737-10X op- Earlier this year Boeing outlined The stretch concept is a “viable op- tions therefore could af ect development studies of a longer-fuselage MAX ver- tion and a potential opportunity in that of the NMA, as well as ongoing R&D sion dubbed the 737-10X that may be marketplace,” says Boeing President spending on the new large 777X twinjet. powered by a derivative of the larger- and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “We are Although the potential 200-plus diameter CFM Leap 1C developed for thinking through the business case on seating of a 737-10X would creep into the Comac C919. However, the concept that right now [and] talking to custom- the lower limits of the NMA market, requires a redesign of the main landing ers,” he said at Morgan Stanley’s fi nan- Boeing stresses that the larger mid- gear, which, added to the integration of cial investors conference on Sept. 16. size aircraft will be an-all new one to the bigger engine, would add both time Boeing’s product development and address an all-new market. Its studies and cost to the development. business-case debate over the revised are focusing on an aircraft family with When the company first acknowl- -10X concept boils down to four main initial seating of up to 270 seats and edged the plan earlier this year, the questions. First, if it launches any fur- range up to 5,000 nm. The aircraft initiative was targeted at entry into ther stretch variant at all, how much will have a sixth-generation compos- service around 2022 and development of a derivative will be enough to win ite wing and more electric systems. A costs of no more than $2 billion. Now, a share of the estimated 17% bigger- projected entry-into-service target of in order to bring entry into service for- capacity market? Second, will such a around 2025 is driven almost entirely ward by up to three years, as well as derivative maintain the value of family by the availability of new-generation
28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p28-29.indd 28 9/22/16 6:10 PM COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Calling a Halt The proliferation of airlines over the past few But neither that rule nor any other in the policy specifi cally years has resulted in increasingly conspicuous limits the creation of branch companies, which Chinese car- shortages of airspace and technicians, according to riers need to establish as they expand operations. So while CAAC will severely restrict its the CAAC policy notifi cation, referring to pilots as well no more than fi ve airlines will be able to call Beijing Capital other specialists. “This af ects fl ight safety, service quality and International Airport their home, others can continue to es- authorizations for new airlines punctuality,” it says. Another issue, not mentioned, may be the tablish subsidiaries and keep aircraft there. This means local Ruili Airlines of Kunming is one of 20 airlines CAAC’s ability to properly supervise the industry, since every governments still will be able to pay for expanded air services Bradley Perrett Beijing that the CAAC authorized in 2011-15. additional carrier demands more work by the regulator’s staf . at their typically underused airports; they just will not be able Feng, who lacks an aviation background, presumably wants to put their names on new airlines in doing so. rom full speed ahead to slamming on the brakes: The in which airlines are numerous, small, scattered and weak.” to proceed cautiously, as Communist of cials usually do when Some of China’s mainline passenger carriers have grown FCivil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has tight- Twenty airlines were approved in 2011-15, the CAAC notes. taking over a job, say industry sources. out of regional airlines or been converted from freight opera- ened rules on setting up airlines, around fi ve months Toward the end of that planning period, the industry saw a The country has 57 airlines—51 primarily for passengers tors. Further opportunities will now be limited. A regional after it suspended authorizations, unannounced. new carrier entering the market every month or two. Provin- and six for freight. “Research shows that the current airlines’ carrier will need 25 aircraft and to be fl ying at least 3,000 Citing safety concerns, the agency says it will severely cial and city governments’ eagerness to have their own airlines capacity growth can satisfy the growing travel demands of the hr. a month before it will be allowed to add mainline aircraft, restrict the number of new carriers it will authorize. It also was the key driver behind the proliferation. people,” the agency says, implying that no more are needed. according to the CAAC. Freight operators will need at least is limiting investors’ ability to use regional or cargo aviation This is not the fi rst time the CAAC has opposed industry BOEING One victim of the policy change may be AirAsia, which wants 20 aircraft and 2,400 hr. a month before taking on passenger companies to enter the trunkline passenger business. fragmentation. For the six years until 2013, it had an of cial to set up a Chinese af liate. business. Regional and freight aviation will continue to receive Industry sources say the caution of new CAAC chief Feng ban on new airlines—though in practice it occasionally li- In restricting market entry, the CAAC says it will strin- CAAC support, however. The agency views the two subsectors Zhenglin is likely a factor behind the policy, which the agency censed carriers that had government backing. gently assess proposed airlines’ use of limited capacity in as undeveloped. It is particularly keen to back airlines using is using to formally reverse its once-liberal approach to licens- Aviation Week reported the unannounced shift in stance the air and on the ground at their intended base airports. domestically made regional aircraft. ing carriers. The bureau set out its policy in a notifi cation that three months ago (AW&ST June 6-19, p. 26). No later than The qualifi cations of technical staf , such as fl ight crews, will In issuing the new policy, the CAAC has directed its region- was sent to the industry on Aug. 29 and has been seen by Avia- April, the agency ceased taking applications for new airlines come under heightened scrutiny. And the agency will limit the al of ces to reconsider applications for airline establishment tion Week. “The CAAC will severely restrict airline establish- and even declined to move forward some that had been ac- number of airlines home-based at each airport: a maximum that have not received fi nal approval. c ment,” it declares, dissatisfi ed with the industry’s increasing cepted. More recently, the CAAC has relaxed its position a of three at airports handling 10-30 million passengers a year, fragmentation. It states that it wants to “avoid a situation little, deciding to license one or two more airlines this year. four at those handling 30-50 million and fi ve at busier facilities. —Research by Ryan Wang
commonality while still being suf cient- 40,000-45,000-lb.-thrust engines. 737-9 and Possible 737-10X Concept Sweet Spot ly dif erent to prevent potential canni- “We can potentially do both,” says 180 seats (dual-class) balization of the 737-9 market? Third, Muilenburg, referring to the 737-10X 204 seats (single-class) depending on the level of change, can and NMA. “If you were to look at a Engine throttle push and limited stretch could the variant be brought to market in a stretched MAX airplane and additional timely and af ordable manner? Lastly, stretch, that could potentially be a 2019, be key to faster-reaction Boeing 737-10X is the potential -10X market important 2020 entry into service and a relatively 737-9 enough to merit the disruption to the minor development program. If you 137 ft. Gu y Norris Seattle and Los Angeles production system a new derivative were to look at a new middle-of-the- might bring? market airplane, it would be more of he design space remains wide reduce research and development costs The decisions about the stretch also a 2024, 2025 entry into service, so [it open for a potential second while maintaining greater commonality take place in the context of Boeing’s is] not something that is going to sig- T 192-198* seats (typical dual-class configuration) stretch of the 737 MAX family to with the 737-7, -8 and -9 MAX models, broader strategic goals of developing nifi cantly af ect the R&D profi le in the 226-232* seats (typical single-class configuration) counter the Airbus A321neo, says Boe- Boeing is considering alternate options. a new middle-of-the-market airliner near term,” he adds. Straddling the ing, but as assembly of the fi rst 737-9 The leading candidate now appears to (also known as new midsize airplane or 787-10 and 777X debuts, both initia- nears, the manufacturer appears to be be a more straightforward -10X stretch NMA) class to fi ll the current capacity tives “would feather in very nicely and leaning toward a simpler, lower-risk with an uprated Leap 1B that could be gap between the 737 and 787. The timing give us a nice, stable R&D profi le,” says 737-10X derivative. available by 2019 or 2020. and cost implications of the 737-10X op- Muilenburg. 143-144* ft. Earlier this year Boeing outlined The stretch concept is a “viable op- tions therefore could af ect development Boeing declines to discuss details *Not listed; Aviation Week & Space Technology estimate **Does not show 737-8 based 200-seatSources: MAX Boeing, 200 derivative AW&ST studies of a longer-fuselage MAX ver- tion and a potential opportunity in that of the NMA, as well as ongoing R&D of the latest 737-10X stretch study, sion dubbed the 737-10X that may be marketplace,” says Boeing President spending on the new large 777X twinjet. which, if approved for proposal to the key limitation will be maintaining Another, less obvious challenge fac- powered by a derivative of the larger- and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “We are Although the potential 200-plus board, faces inevitable compromises adequate ground clearance from tail- ing the -10X is the logistics involved in diameter CFM Leap 1C developed for thinking through the business case on seating of a 737-10X would creep into compared to other options with a big- strike. Assuming Boeing adopts a mod- transporting the larger fuselage from the Comac C919. However, the concept that right now [and] talking to custom- the lower limits of the NMA market, ger engine and taller gear. Aside from est stretch of just over 6 ft., similar to Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita to Boe- requires a redesign of the main landing ers,” he said at Morgan Stanley’s fi nan- Boeing stresses that the larger mid- challenges to rotation angle, perfor- the extension made recently to extend ing’s 737 production site in Renton, gear, which, added to the integration of cial investors conference on Sept. 16. size aircraft will be an-all new one to mance will be limited to the “thrust seating in the 737-7, this will likely re- Washington. The 737 fuselages are the bigger engine, would add both time Boeing’s product development and address an all-new market. Its studies bump” capability of the Leap B. Rated quire a simple landing gear modifi ca- transported by rail as one major as- and cost to the development. business-case debate over the revised are focusing on an aircraft family with at just over 29,000 lb. for takeof , the tion to move the rotation point slightly sembly, the longest of which for the When the company first acknowl- -10X concept boils down to four main initial seating of up to 270 seats and Leap 1B28 is expected to be capable aft. Even though Airbus offers high- 737-9/900 is more than 130 ft. long edged the plan earlier this year, the questions. First, if it launches any fur- range up to 5,000 nm. The aircraft of a “throttle push” to over 31,000 lb. density seating in the A321neo for 240 (without radome). To avoid the dis- initiative was targeted at entry into ther stretch variant at all, how much will have a sixth-generation compos- CFM has achieved this in the past. passengers, Boeing believes many car- ruption and cost involved in reassem- service around 2022 and development of a derivative will be enough to win ite wing and more electric systems. A Over the life of the 737 program, from riers will require fewer seats and that bling complete fuselages in Renton, costs of no more than $2 billion. Now, a share of the estimated 17% bigger- projected entry-into-service target of the CFM56-3B to the current CFM56- stretching the MAX to an additional the stretched aircraft may also require in order to bring entry into service for- capacity market? Second, will such a around 2025 is driven almost entirely 7BE, available thrust grew 24%. 12-18 seats would likely cover most of the redesign of rail cars and careful re- ward by up to three years, as well as derivative maintain the value of family by the availability of new-generation For fuselage length increases, the the market. measurement of trackside obstacles. c
28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 29
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reach 40% this year, according to Israel Talking Shop and Pysher. “Electric propulsion is an opportuni- Top space executives concur on ‘mutual backup,’ ty for the customer, as it reduces mass and cost,” Israel said. The in-design Ari- electric propulsion and manufacturing advances ane 6 rocket, which has factored in this evolution, will be more cost-efective, he Thierry Dubois Paris believes. “We will have the possibility to launch two small satellites or a small he jury is still out on how the re- tizes reliability, Israel said. On the other and medium one, no longer having to Tcent accident that destroyed a hand, it would be fair if insurance rates wait for [the combination of] a small SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will afect could take into account the proven re- and a big satellite,” he said, noting that the launch service industry. But in the liability of a launcher, he suggested. The large electric-propulsion satellites can near term, the accident is giving com- allusion to the recent accident left Shot- be expected. peting providers an opportunity to tout well unfazed, as she foresees insurance In Pysher’s view, the typical geosta- their relative strengths. In the longer rates will not be an issue for Falcon 9. tionary satellite in 2020 will be powered term, launch companies are looking to SpaceX is now aiming to launch in electrically. electric propulsion, an opening of the November. A Falcon rocket will not fy Several industry players, including U.S. market and 3-D printing as poten- until the company has pinpointed the an American, hoped for relaxation of
tial game-changers. SPACEX the U.S.’s International Arianespace is quick to promote Traffic in Arms Regula- its reliability: Its August launch was tions (ITAR), which aims its 73rd consecutive successful one. to prevent the transfer of And in announcing Blue Origin’s New sensitive technology to Glenn reusable launch vehicle, founder China. “It is a problem for Jef Bezos emphasized a methodical ap- us; we have good launchers proach to development. “Our mascot but cannot get to the mar- is the tortoise,” he stated. “We believe ket easily,” said Zhiheng Fu, ‘slow is smooth and smooth is fast.’ ” China Great Wall Industry Among the titans of the launch indus- Corp.’s vice president and try, a consensus is emerging on “mutual general manager. A satel- backup.” Such agreements allow a pro- lite with a U.S. component vider, in case of a delay, to redirect its may not be launched on a customer to a partner. “Launch service Long March rocket. providers have an obligation to help cus- China is among a hand- tomers have their satellites in orbit on ful of countries that have time; we all face challenges, and . . . there For the Dragon V2’s launch escape system, not benefited from an is an opportunity for us to work together SpaceX is using a 3-D-printed chamber in the ITAR relaxation in 2014. and still efectively compete,” Interna- SuperDraco engine. Additive-layer manufactur- SpaceX’s Shotwell and tional Launch Services (ILS) President ing, thanks to its reduced cost, is expected to Ko Ogasawara, Mitsubi- Kirk Pysher said Sept. 13 during a panel become widespread in spacecraft production. shi Heavy Industries’ vice discussion at Euroconsult’s World Sat- president and director for ellite Business Week annual executive cause of the explosion, Shotwell clari- space systems business development, meeting in Paris. SpaceX and ILS have fied, but “three months is the right also appear to favor further relaxation. a mutual backup agreement for a num- amount of time to fnd the problem and All three Western launch service pro- ber of satellites, according to Gwynne fx it,” she said. viders expect to see growing use of addi- Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief Asked about conducting other tests tive manufacturing (3-D printing). “On operating ofcer. Whether it will apply with a satellite onboard, she answered: Ariane 6, 3-D printing will be one of the to the recent Falcon 9 explosion is not “We don’t force anyone to do that. I do means to cut costs,” said Israel. Shot- clear, she added, as the company needs not want to speculate, I will not say well concurred, noting that “printers get further discussion with the customer. ‘never again’ but probably not the next better all the time” and the technique “Mutual backup makes sense, and few.” uses much less material. She warned, . . . we are ready to trigger discussions The frst fight of a Falcon Heavy is however, that metal from a conventional with our dear competitors,” Ariane- being rescheduled to 2017. “It depends machining process is stronger. space Chairman and CEO Stephane on the results of the investigation into Robert Cleave, Lockheed Martin Israel said. Compatibility with two dif- the anomaly; it has no impact on the Commercial Launch Services vice pres- ferent launchers can be designed into a rocket but on which pad we will launch ident for advanced programs, pointed satellite, an ofcial at a satellite opera- from,” Shotwell explained. out that 3-D printing is already playing tor confrms. The ofcial fnds it hard, Launch service providers are gear- a substantial role on the planned Vulcan however, to imagine mutual backup as ing up for electric propulsion becoming launcher. ILS is not using 3-D printing part of a contract with the customer. widespread. Arianespace calculated and is not planning to do so, even for Quality has a cost, and there are lim- that one-third of the satellites launched a launcher on the drawing board, said its to Arianespace’s pricing as it priori- last year were electric or hybrid. It will Pysher. c
30 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p30.indd 30 9/22/16 12:27 PM SPACE reach 40% this year, according to Israel Conference October 18-20, 2016 Talking Shop and Pysher. “Electric propulsion is an opportuni- Exhibition October 19-20, 2016 Top space executives concur on ‘mutual backup,’ ty for the customer, as it reduces mass and cost,” Israel said. The in-design Ari- The RAI electric propulsion and manufacturing advances ane 6 rocket, which has factored in this evolution, will be more cost-efective, he Amsterdam, The Netherlands Thierry Dubois Paris believes. “We will have the possibility to launch two small satellites or a small he jury is still out on how the re- tizes reliability, Israel said. On the other and medium one, no longer having to MRO Europe brings together industry leaders, buyers, and solution Tcent accident that destroyed a hand, it would be fair if insurance rates wait for [the combination of] a small providers to develop the market and create partnerships. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will afect could take into account the proven re- and a big satellite,” he said, noting that the launch service industry. But in the liability of a launcher, he suggested. The large electric-propulsion satellites can near term, the accident is giving com- allusion to the recent accident left Shot- be expected. Make sure you don’t miss our compelling and dynamic featured panelists and speakers. peting providers an opportunity to tout well unfazed, as she foresees insurance In Pysher’s view, the typical geosta- Each presenter brings new ideas and strategies to help sustain and grow your MRO their relative strengths. In the longer rates will not be an issue for Falcon 9. tionary satellite in 2020 will be powered operations. Speakers include: term, launch companies are looking to SpaceX is now aiming to launch in electrically. electric propulsion, an opening of the November. A Falcon rocket will not fy Several industry players, including U.S. market and 3-D printing as poten- until the company has pinpointed the an American, hoped for relaxation of Mick Adams Michael Hickey tial game-changers. SPACEX the U.S.’s International VP MRO Services Chief Operations Off cer Arianespace is quick to promote Traffic in Arms Regula- Etihad Airways Engineering its reliability: Its August launch was tions (ITAR), which aims Ryanair its 73rd consecutive successful one. to prevent the transfer of And in announcing Blue Origin’s New sensitive technology to Glenn reusable launch vehicle, founder China. “It is a problem for Stan Deal Silvestar Špehar Jef Bezos emphasized a methodical ap- us; we have good launchers SVP Commercial Production Planning proach to development. “Our mascot but cannot get to the mar- Aviation Services & Control Manager ket easily,” said Zhiheng Fu, is the tortoise,” he stated. “We believe Boeing Croatia Airlines ‘slow is smooth and smooth is fast.’ ” China Great Wall Industry Among the titans of the launch indus- Corp.’s vice president and try, a consensus is emerging on “mutual general manager. A satel- Darin L. DiTommaso backup.” Such agreements allow a pro- lite with a U.S. component Jens Thordarson GM, Digital Services VP Technical Operations, vider, in case of a delay, to redirect its may not be launched on a and Solutions Engineering customer to a partner. “Launch service Long March rocket. Icelandair providers have an obligation to help cus- China is among a hand- GE Aviation tomers have their satellites in orbit on ful of countries that have time; we all face challenges, and . . . there For the Dragon V2’s launch escape system, not benefited from an is an opportunity for us to work together SpaceX is using a 3-D-printed chamber in the ITAR relaxation in 2014. REGISTER TODAY - mroeurope.aviationweek.com and still efectively compete,” Interna- SuperDraco engine. Additive-layer manufactur- SpaceX’s Shotwell and Exhibition Hours tional Launch Services (ILS) President ing, thanks to its reduced cost, is expected to Ko Ogasawara, Mitsubi- Kirk Pysher said Sept. 13 during a panel become widespread in spacecraft production. shi Heavy Industries’ vice Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Thursday, October 20, 2016 discussion at Euroconsult’s World Sat- president and director for 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ellite Business Week annual executive cause of the explosion, Shotwell clari- space systems business development, meeting in Paris. SpaceX and ILS have fied, but “three months is the right also appear to favor further relaxation. Get the full list of exhibiting companies online. a mutual backup agreement for a num- amount of time to fnd the problem and All three Western launch service pro- ber of satellites, according to Gwynne fx it,” she said. viders expect to see growing use of addi- Special Features Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief Asked about conducting other tests tive manufacturing (3-D printing). “On operating ofcer. Whether it will apply with a satellite onboard, she answered: Ariane 6, 3-D printing will be one of the Hosted Sessions and Product & Service Technical Briefi ngs Attend to the recent Falcon 9 explosion is not “We don’t force anyone to do that. I do means to cut costs,” said Israel. Shot- these complimentary sessions taking place during MRO Europe for an in- clear, she added, as the company needs not want to speculate, I will not say well concurred, noting that “printers get depth look at new offerings and business solutions! further discussion with the customer. ‘never again’ but probably not the next better all the time” and the technique Wednesday, October 19 – Sessions hosted by: “Mutual backup makes sense, and few.” uses much less material. She warned, . . . we are ready to trigger discussions The frst fight of a Falcon Heavy is however, that metal from a conventional with our dear competitors,” Ariane- being rescheduled to 2017. “It depends machining process is stronger. space Chairman and CEO Stephane on the results of the investigation into Robert Cleave, Lockheed Martin Interactive Workshop Sessions Tackle the hottest topics with Israel said. Compatibility with two dif- the anomaly; it has no impact on the Commercial Launch Services vice pres- your peers. Take advantage of this unique chance to be part of ferent launchers can be designed into a rocket but on which pad we will launch ident for advanced programs, pointed an interactive and dynamic discussion. Register early to secure satellite, an ofcial at a satellite opera- from,” Shotwell explained. out that 3-D printing is already playing your place. tor confrms. The ofcial fnds it hard, Launch service providers are gear- a substantial role on the planned Vulcan however, to imagine mutual backup as ing up for electric propulsion becoming launcher. ILS is not using 3-D printing Live Interviews on the MRO Exhibition Floor: Aviation Week Editors Examine the Experts part of a contract with the customer. widespread. Arianespace calculated and is not planning to do so, even for Quality has a cost, and there are lim- that one-third of the satellites launched a launcher on the drawing board, said Fokker Services Schiphol Facility Tour its to Arianespace’s pricing as it priori- last year were electric or hybrid. It will Pysher. c Thursday, October 20: Transportation to and from the facility will be provided. Participants will also be entered into a prize draw with the chance to win an Apple Watch! 30 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
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next-generation trainer. But does it Boeing’s T-X Moment have what it takes to win? The Sept. 13 rollout ceremony re- Teamed with Saab, Boeing bets on afordability vealed a single-engine T-X design that looks like a hybrid of an F/A-18 Super in U.S. Air Force’s next-gen trainer competition Hornet and a Saab Gripen. The air- craft features a shoulder-mounted, Lara Seligman St. Louis shallow-anhedral wing and fuselage- mounted landing gear. The wing has s production of Boeing’s ven- new orders from the U.S. military or F/A-18-style leading-edge root exten- A erated F-15 and F/A-18 fghters its allies, production of Boeing’s Strike sions, under which appear Gripen- winds down, the company is Eagle and Super Hornet will end by style pitot inlets. struggling to stay in the tactical air- 2020. The aircraft can be most obviously craft business beyond this decade. So “St. Louis will never close, but the distinguished from the competition by it is taking no chances in the U.S. Air fighter business that was the heart its twin vertical tails, which ofcials Force’s T-X advanced trainer competi- of the enterprise is in danger,” warns say add maneuverability and control. tion, which may ofer St. Louis a lifeline. Loren Thompson, an analyst with the While most modern fghter jets are Boeing and partner Saab finally Lexington Institute. “To be out of that twin-tail, the other three T-X propos- lifted the curtain on their T-X ofer- business is a wrenching prospect, and als feature a single tail. Boeing’s is ing here on Sept. 13, bringing to a T-X is one way they might be able to powered by an afterburning General close months of speculation about the keep a toehold.” Electric F404—the same engine used by Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Boeing Industries’ offer- ing, the T-50, and, in nonreheated form, in Northrop’s T-X dem- onstrator. Boeing appears to have concluded the competition will come down to afordability, with ofcials promis- ing to “shatter the cost curve”—a refer- ence to the Air Force’s cost-cutting initiative Boeing and Saab announced during the unveiling of their joint T-X advanced dubbed “Bending the trainer ofering that they already have two production-ready aircraft on hand. Cost Curve.” The Boeing-Saab pro- posal prioritizes affordability over clean-sheet aircraft. Boeing-Saab’s Richard Aboulafa, an analyst with exceeding performance requirements, T-X is a purpose-built, production- the Teal Group, is blunter: “When Su- says Boeing Phantom Works Presi- ready trainer that hews closely to the per Hornet and F-15 go, St. Louis goes,” dent Darryl Davis—a decision that Air Force’s threshold requirements he says. comes as a bit of a surprise, as the for the new program. The sleek, twin- So there is no question the stakes Air Force in its latest draft request tail design focuses on affordability were high last week when Boeing for proposals (RFP) incentivized com- over performance, drawing on Boe- finally unveiled its T-X offering. In petitors to submit high-performance ing’s secretive Black Diamond initia- perhaps the biggest surprise of the bids. tive to drive down manufacturing and day, company ofcials revealed they “The No. 1 mission is to meet the sustainment costs. have two production-ready aircraft threshold requirements of the Air Boeing is the last of the four com- on hand—in contrast to Northrop Force advanced pilot training,” says peting prime contractors to show its Grumman’s clean-sheet T-X demon- Davis. “If you are going to control cost hand in the competition. The 350-air- strator, which made its unannounced you have to drive how you actually craft program is a coveted prize for all first flight from rapid-prototyping meet all those requirements.” four of the competing teams, but Boe- subsidiary Scaled Composites’ plant Boeing may have concluded the ing arguably has the most to lose. In a in Mojave, California, on Aug. 26. The performance incentives in the RFP major blow, the company lost the next- frst Boeing aircraft, displayed during were not enough to ofset the price of generation bomber competition to the rollout event, has already started increasing the aircraft’s power and Northrop Grumman last year; mean- ground tests and will complete its G-capability, Aboulafa hypothesizes. while, any work on the U.S. Air Force frst fight by year-end, company of- Meanwhile, Byron Callan of Capital and Navy’s sixth-generation fghter will fcials say. Alpha Partners questions how much likely come too late to keep Boeing in The Boeing-Saab design certainly the service will be willing to pay for in- the tactical aircraft business. Absent looks the part of a purpose-built creased performance at the end of the
32 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p32-33.indd 32 9/22/16 11:13 AM Defense next-generation trainer. But does it day, particularly given the bow wave of three other competitors are in the same ing’s St. Louis factory, Davis says. Boeing’s T-X Moment have what it takes to win? modernization bills coming due in the boat, as Raytheon is relying on Italy’s The Air Force is planning to release The Sept. 13 rollout ceremony re- 2020s. Leonardo for the T-100 airframe and a fnal RFP to industry in December, Teamed with Saab, Boeing bets on afordability vealed a single-engine T-X design that “The Air Force has an ‘eyes big- Lockheed’s T-50A is based on South with a downselect to a single vendor looks like a hybrid of an F/A-18 Super ger than its stomach’ problem right Korea’s Golden Eagle fghter-trainer. planned in 2017. Initial operational ca- in U.S. Air Force’s next-gen trainer competition Hornet and a Saab Gripen. The air- now,” he says. “They may be looking The Boeing-Saab team is still discuss- pability is expected in 2024. c craft features a shoulder-mounted, at Porsches, but they are going to end ing where the aircraft will ultimately Lara Seligman St. Louis shallow-anhedral wing and fuselage- up buying Fords.” be assembled, but the engineering and Gallery See more on the Boeing- mounted landing gear. The wing has Ofcials revealed after the rollout manufacturing development phase of Saab team’s next-generation T-X trainer: s production of Boeing’s ven- new orders from the U.S. military or F/A-18-style leading-edge root exten- that the T-X design goes beyond Boe- the program will be completed at Boe- AviationWeek.com/Boeing-SaabT-X A erated F-15 and F/A-18 fghters its allies, production of Boeing’s Strike sions, under which appear Gripen- ing’s Black Diamond initiative, with winds down, the company is Eagle and Super Hornet will end by style pitot inlets. engineers 3-D-printing certain com- struggling to stay in the tactical air- 2020. The aircraft can be most obviously ponents of the jet to lower manufac- craft business beyond this decade. So “St. Louis will never close, but the distinguished from the competition by turing costs. In order to bring down it is taking no chances in the U.S. Air fighter business that was the heart its twin vertical tails, which ofcials life-cycle costs, the aircraft also fea- Force’s T-X advanced trainer competi- of the enterprise is in danger,” warns say add maneuverability and control. tures large, conveniently positioned www.osramheaters.com tion, which may ofer St. Louis a lifeline. Loren Thompson, an analyst with the While most modern fghter jets are access panels so that technicians can Boeing and partner Saab finally Lexington Institute. “To be out of that twin-tail, the other three T-X propos- more easily perform maintenance. lifted the curtain on their T-X ofer- business is a wrenching prospect, and als feature a single tail. Boeing’s is Experts read Boeing’s emphasis on ing here on Sept. 13, bringing to a T-X is one way they might be able to powered by an afterburning General afordability as an indication the com- close months of speculation about the keep a toehold.” Electric F404—the same engine used pany sees Lockheed’s T-50 as its main by Lockheed Martin competition for T-X. Like Boeing’s of- and Korea Aerospace fering, the T-50 can easily meet the Boeing Industries’ offer- Air Force’s performance parameters, ing, the T-50, and, in but Lockheed may struggle to bring OSRAM©2016 SYLVANIA nonreheated form, in down the cost of the existing airframe. Northrop’s T-X dem- As to the T-100, a version of Leon- onstrator. ardo’s M-346 offered by Raytheon, Boeing appears to Honeywell and CAE, its main advan- have concluded the tage is the companies’ simulation and competition will come training expertise. However, there is down to afordability, still some question about whether the with ofcials promis- T-100 can meet the stringent perfor- ing to “shatter the mance requirements. cost curve”—a refer- But while Boeing is seen as a lead- ence to the Air Force’s ing contender in the competition, the cost-cutting initiative company’s partnership with Saab may Boeing and Saab announced during the unveiling of their joint T-X advanced dubbed “Bending the pose a problem, Aboulafa says. While trainer ofering that they already have two production-ready aircraft on hand. Cost Curve.” The Boeing-Saab pro- ofcials declined to say what parts of The heat is on! posal prioritizes affordability over the jet were developed by which indus- clean-sheet aircraft. Boeing-Saab’s Richard Aboulafa, an analyst with exceeding performance requirements, try partner, experts believe Saab did T-X is a purpose-built, production- the Teal Group, is blunter: “When Su- says Boeing Phantom Works Presi- much of the design and engineering Sometimes patience ready trainer that hews closely to the per Hornet and F-15 go, St. Louis goes,” dent Darryl Davis—a decision that work. Ulf Nilsson, president of Saab Air Force’s threshold requirements he says. comes as a bit of a surprise, as the Aeronautics, says Saab is responsible isn’t a virtue for the new program. The sleek, twin- So there is no question the stakes Air Force in its latest draft request for the mid- and rear-fuselage sections, tail design focuses on affordability were high last week when Boeing for proposals (RFP) incentivized com- according to a recent news report. over performance, drawing on Boe- finally unveiled its T-X offering. In petitors to submit high-performance Meanwhile, a large Russian cargo air- Don’t let legacy heater technology hold back your business. ing’s secretive Black Diamond initia- perhaps the biggest surprise of the bids. craft believed to be carrying portions Wasting time, energy, and fl oor space hurt your bottom line. tive to drive down manufacturing and day, company ofcials revealed they “The No. 1 mission is to meet the of the new aircraft few from Sweden OSRAM Specialty Flanged Inline Heaters require only sustainment costs. have two production-ready aircraft threshold requirements of the Air to the U.S. in June. minutes to reach stable operating temperature. Learn how Boeing is the last of the four com- on hand—in contrast to Northrop Force advanced pilot training,” says The disconnect between the design OSRAM can help your business deliver faster turnaround peting prime contractors to show its Grumman’s clean-sheet T-X demon- Davis. “If you are going to control cost and manufacturing of the Boeing-Saab hand in the competition. The 350-air- strator, which made its unannounced you have to drive how you actually T-X may add risk—something the times, exceed customer expectations, and minimize operating craft program is a coveted prize for all first flight from rapid-prototyping meet all those requirements.” Air Force is seeking to avoid, Abou- costs. Contact OSRAM today! Call (800) 258-8290 or email four of the competing teams, but Boe- subsidiary Scaled Composites’ plant Boeing may have concluded the lafia speculates. He contrasted the us at [email protected]. ing arguably has the most to lose. In a in Mojave, California, on Aug. 26. The performance incentives in the RFP team’s three-year design effort with major blow, the company lost the next- frst Boeing aircraft, displayed during were not enough to ofset the price of Northrop’s, whose Scaled Composites generation bomber competition to the rollout event, has already started increasing the aircraft’s power and subsidiary quickly built its own T-X Northrop Grumman last year; mean- ground tests and will complete its G-capability, Aboulafa hypothesizes. demonstrator after the company, in while, any work on the U.S. Air Force frst fight by year-end, company of- Meanwhile, Byron Callan of Capital February 2015, abandoned plans to and Navy’s sixth-generation fghter will fcials say. Alpha Partners questions how much propose an updated version of BAE likely come too late to keep Boeing in The Boeing-Saab design certainly the service will be willing to pay for in- Systems’ Hawk trainer. the tactical aircraft business. Absent looks the part of a purpose-built creased performance at the end of the But Callan points out that two of the
32 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 33
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NATO countries have been policing the airspace of the Baltic states since 2004, but this presence has been enhanced since the Russian annexation of Crimea.
and modernized” state, he says. Helgesson has no doubts the Rus- sians will follow by basing the Su- Baltic Boundaries 34 “Fullback” strike aircraft, Su-35 “Flankers” and new types such as the T-50 Pak-FA in the Baltic region .
CrownCopyright “The threshold to use these forces has been lowered,” says Helgesson. “With new [Russian] fghters and ships and ground-based air defense systems, we must be ready to handle that.” The smallest of the Baltic states, Baltic states work together to solve defense Estonia is one of the few countries in Europe that regularly meet NATO’s issues posed by their ‘pesky’ neighbor target of spending 2% of its gross do- Tony Osborne Malmen Air Base, Sweden mestic product (GDP) on defense, but as a small nation the spending levels ilitaries around the Baltic are predict than before,” he notes. He says do not equate to much in real terms, Mreconsidering defense plans, Russia is increasingly willing to use vio- particularly compared to its giant with years of defense cuts be- lence to achieve its political goals and neighbor to the east. ing reversed as they ponder how to that even tactical nuclear weapons play Yet Estonia has always tried to counter and deter a more powerful, a part in its military exercises. punch above its weight in terms of de- capable Russian armed force equipped Swedish defense ofcials point out ploying troops and assisting in inter- with advanced fghters, standof weap- that Russian anti-access/area-deni- national operations. It regularly sent ons and advanced long-range ground- al capabilities, such as long-range rotations of 150 troops to Afghanistan, based air defenses. ground-based air defenses, have been and nine Estonian soldiers died there. As the nation with the largest Bal- frmly established in the Kaliningrad As a proportion of its population, its tic coastline, Sweden is at a strate- Oblast, the Russian exclave on the casualties were nearly twice those of gic juncture of great interest to both Baltic, along with tactical ballistic the U.S., and that support has earned NATO and Russia, said Col. Oscar missiles. The siting of such capabili- it strong defense alliances. Hull, head of the Swedish armed forces ties just over 500 km (310 mi.) from “The Estonian people appreciate capabilities section, speaking during Stockholm is roughly the same dis- why we sent troops to Afghanistan. . . an airpower seminar before its air tance as Kiev to Crimea, where simi- . When they see the NATO fghters in force’s 90th anniversary celebrations lar defense capabilities have also been Estonia, they feel safer,” says Col. Jaak at Malmen air base. established. Tarien, commander of the Estonian air “Access to Swedish borders, terri- The Swedish government has force. tory and airspace is a strategic advan- raised defense spending, approving The country is dependent, as are tage for NATO, therefore there is also the building of new submarines and a the other Baltic states, on the rotation a Russian natural interest in Swedish new feet of latest-model Gripen fght- of NATO fghters as part of the Bal- waters and airspace,” he said. ers, although currently just 60 jets are tic Air Policing (BAP) program. BAP While Sweden had one of Europe’s planned. Politicians are pondering in- missions were usually solely concen- largest armed forces during the Cold creasing that to 70 aircraft. There are trated from Siauliai in Lithuania, but War, its assumption of a “peace divi- also plans to give the jets a long-range the spike in Russian operations in the dend” has left its forces a fraction of strike capability through the integra- Baltic prompted NATO to bulk up the that size. Politicians chose to convert tion of a cruise missile, but there is no mission, and now fghters are also reg- a well-equipped force ready to defend decision on which weapon this will be. ularly operated from Estonia’s Amari the country from invasion into a lightly The air force is in the process of train- air base. That base also regularly hosts equipped expeditionary power ftted to ing to use the long-range Meteor air- U.S. fighters and ground attack air- respond to world events, a pattern fol- to-air missile. craft and has seen deployments of F-22 lowed by numerous Western countries. Swedish air force commander Maj. Raptors and MQ-1 Predator unmanned But Russia’s moves have seen Swed- Gen. Mats Helgesson says the air force air systems. ish armed forces revisiting a national has noted significant changes in the But for equipment, Estonia has defense role. capabilities of Russian aircraft based largely been dependent on other “The Baltic region has become less in the region. Types such as the long- NATO countries and its neighbors to secure,” says Swedish Defense Minister range Mikoyan MiG-31, once a rare supply surplus kit—much of its feet of Peter Hultqvist, noting that the situa- sight over the Baltic, are now seen aircraft and helicopters is focused on tion is “more challenging and harder to more regularly, often in a “refurbished providing training to its army so that
34 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
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it is ready to work alongside its NATO sams would be commanded by each steps to boost air surveillance and counterparts. respective air force. share primary and secondary radar “Our air force is about maintaining For Lithuania, the introduction of information through the Baltic Air our aviation competency, in airfield Nasams would be just one element of Surveillance Network; however, some operations and battlefield support,” a major defense modernization pro- nations are frustrated by the level of says Tarien. gram. This year, Vilnius has ordered information-sharing between NATO Recent plans to induct former U.S. Boxer armored fghting vehicles and and non-NATO countries. Army C-23 Sherpa transport aircraft purchased surplus self-propelled ar- “We are in a boxing ring with fve were abandoned because of the high tillery from Germany. And to boost friends and fve enemies, and our eyes, cost of support and pilot training, while troop numbers, conscription is being nose and ears are shut; if we take a the purchase of four Robinson R44 he- reintroduced this month. swing, we don’t know who we will hit,” licopters was supposed to be the pre- “Russia is an unpredictable neigh- says Tarien. cursor to a buy of more advanced heli- bor . . . but from a military point of “We really need to move onto un- copters with an anti-armor capability, view, we are thankful in this situation restricted sharing of data. . . . This is but this also did not proceed. The air because our politicians have put na- about safer airspace in peacetime and force is now examining other options tional security and defense as a top about having a fair chance [versus] los- to fll its transport aircraft needs. priority in the national budget, to 2% ing in a crisis,” he says. In order to expand its defense ca- of GDP,” says Col. Audronis Navickas, There are other concerns. As more pabilities, Estonia is looking to its commander of the Lithuanian air NATO countries purchase more ad- partnership with the other Baltic force. vanced fghters, such as the F-35, their states, Lithuania and Latvia. High on His force, one of the smallest in high cost and smaller available numbers its shopping list is the purchase of a Europe, has grown rapidly in recent may discourage some nations from de- medium-range air defense system to years, and what it lacks in airpower it ploying them on air policing operations. U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sg T Force/Tech. Air U.S. Since President Obama’s visit to Estonia in 2014, the U.S. has sent to the country numerous aircraft and troop deployments, including F-22s and MQ-1 Predator UAVs. . D . A niel h e A T on
supplement the short-range missiles makes up for in mobility, equipped with “There will be less of them, and already in service in the three coun- a trio of C-27J Spartan airlifters and [they will be] more expensive to fy,” tries, but Estonia may struggle to af- nine medium helicopters for search- says one ofcial from the Baltic states. ford the capability. and-rescue and troop transport. During a visit to Estonia in 2014, Tarien says both Lithuania and Lat- The air arm also fies four Aero Vo- President Barack Obama promised a via have enjoyed signifcant increases dochody L-39 jet trainers—three of more regular U.S. military presence in in defense spending and have surplus- which are leased—but these are pri- the country, while the new European es available allowing them to purchase marily used for the training of fghter commander for the U.S. Air Force such a system. controllers and forward air control- has said he wants to bolster training Lithuania’s defense budget rose to lers. Navickas says his ultimate aim is in the region by broadening the scope 1.5% of GDP in 2016 from 1.1% in 2015, to give the country its own airpower of the existing Arctic Challenge aerial while Latvia has committed to spend- capability. exercises. ing 2% of GDP on defense by 2018. “It has to be a step-by-step pro- Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of Discussions on the proposed air de- cess,” he told delegates at the Swedish the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, says fense system are embryonic, but Lithu- air force’s air power conference. “We there was a “premeditated game plan” anian ministers have already selected are not looking at ffth-generation or to take the exercises to “another level,” the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to- fourth-generation fghters. It is not so building up training, and adding new Air Missile System (Nasams). These easy to make airpower the top of a na- capabilities for regional allies to help would be surplus Norwegian systems, tional procurements list; sometimes it deter what he called the “pesky ag- as Oslo looks to introduce the new Na- almost seems impossible.” gressive folks that sit of to the east,” sams 2. In the Baltic states, the Na- All three Baltic states have taken a clear reference to Russia. c
36 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p34-36.indd 36 9/20/16 12:39 PM DEFENSE LOW-COST CARRIERS it is ready to work alongside its NATO sams would be commanded by each steps to boost air surveillance and but we cannot now make any revelations,” she says. That counterparts. respective air force. share primary and secondary radar Barriers to Entry sounds like there will be a revelation to make. “Our air force is about maintaining For Lithuania, the introduction of information through the Baltic Air AirAsia and other airline groups in Asia and Australia our aviation competency, in airfield Nasams would be just one element of Surveillance Network; however, some The world’s lowest-cost airline have created chains of franchisee carriers that share a operations and battlefield support,” a major defense modernization pro- nations are frustrated by the level of brand and such operations as booking systems. Typically, says Tarien. gram. This year, Vilnius has ordered information-sharing between NATO is looking at China the group parent company owns up to 49% of the equity Recent plans to induct former U.S. Boxer armored fghting vehicles and and non-NATO countries. of each franchisee—but no more, to preserve the branch’s Army C-23 Sherpa transport aircraft purchased surplus self-propelled ar- “We are in a boxing ring with fve Bradley Perrett Beijing and Melbourne, Australia local nationality and therefore access to its home country’s were abandoned because of the high tillery from Germany. And to boost friends and fve enemies, and our eyes, domestic market and international air-service rights. The cost of support and pilot training, while troop numbers, conscription is being nose and ears are shut; if we take a ome to China, make lots of money—and tell us how local equity partner need not be an airline. the purchase of four Robinson R44 he- reintroduced this month. swing, we don’t know who we will hit,” “C you do it.” Although never stated quite so baldly, According to Tan, AirAsia would like to own 49% of a licopters was supposed to be the pre- “Russia is an unpredictable neigh- says Tarien. this is the typical invitation extended to foreign Chinese subsidiary, with the partner holding the rest. Under cursor to a buy of more advanced heli- bor . . . but from a military point of “We really need to move onto un- companies who possess certain expertise China lacks. such circumstances, the branch company could achieve high- copters with an anti-armor capability, view, we are thankful in this situation restricted sharing of data. . . . This is AirAsia certainly has extraordinarily valuable expertise: er efciency. But that raises another obstacle: The Chinese but this also did not proceed. The air because our politicians have put na- about safer airspace in peacetime and By its own reckoning, the budget airline group has the lowest government has never allowed foreigners to own anywhere force is now examining other options tional security and defense as a top about having a fair chance [versus] los- costs in commercial aviation. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation near 49% of a Chinese passenger airline. Delta Air Lines’ to fll its transport aircraft needs. priority in the national budget, to 2% ing in a crisis,” he says. Administration of China (CAAC) has been encouraging air- stake in China Eastern Airlines, less than 4%, is typical of In order to expand its defense ca- of GDP,” says Col. Audronis Navickas, There are other concerns. As more lines to adopt the low-cost model. And now AirAsia says it foreign participation in the equity of Chinese carriers. pabilities, Estonia is looking to its commander of the Lithuanian air NATO countries purchase more ad- wants to set up a Chinese subsidiary with a local partner. Yet Chinese low-cost carrier Spring Airlines owns 33% of partnership with the other Baltic force. vanced fghters, such as the F-35, their The problem may turn out to be that as currently planned a Japanese subsidiary that fies under its brand, while HNA states, Lithuania and Latvia. High on His force, one of the smallest in high cost and smaller available numbers the partner would not be an airline. So all the country’s cur- Group owns 48% of French carrier Aigle Azure. its shopping list is the purchase of a Europe, has grown rapidly in recent may discourage some nations from de- rent carriers would only have reason to complain to the pro- In China, AirAsia cannot use its own information-tech- medium-range air defense system to years, and what it lacks in airpower it ploying them on air policing operations. tectionist CAAC about the proposal from what will be seen nology systems nor install its own check-in equipment at
U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sg T Force/Tech. Air U.S. as a foreign company. airports, says Tan. Instead it must use suppliers, which hurts Since President Obama’s visit to Estonia in 2014, the U.S. has sent AirAsia’s ambition to set up a Chinese subsidiary has to the country numerous aircraft and troop deployments, Spring Airlines has been prevented including F-22s and MQ-1 Predator UAVs. been spelled out to Aviation Week by the group’s newly from growing as fast as it would like. appointed president for . D .
A niel North Asia, Kathleen Tan. Potential Chinese partners h e A have approached AirAsia, T on and while the talks should produce results soon, the group cannot yet reveal what those might be, she says. The potential for cut- ting costs in China is one Airbus factor behind the ambition to set up there, the executive efciency. Implicitly, she believes AirAsia’s costs would be says. That means an AirAsia China, if Beijing allowed the lower if it handled its own ground operations there. creation of one, would beneft the Malaysia-based group’s A peculiarity of the Chinese market will inhibit efciency supplement the short-range missiles makes up for in mobility, equipped with “There will be less of them, and current airlines while also opening access to the Chinese even if AirAsia has a local branch, however. CAAC insists on already in service in the three coun- a trio of C-27J Spartan airlifters and [they will be] more expensive to fy,” domestic market. a minimum 1-hr. turnaround time between fights, probably tries, but Estonia may struggle to af- nine medium helicopters for search- says one ofcial from the Baltic states. In China “our aim is to fnd a partner that believes in the to minimize delays. Budget airlines elsewhere aim to keep ford the capability. and-rescue and troop transport. During a visit to Estonia in 2014, AirAsia model, deeply appreciates low-cost aviation and is their aircraft at airport gates for much less than that, even Tarien says both Lithuania and Lat- The air arm also fies four Aero Vo- President Barack Obama promised a compatible with our culture,” Tan says. The partner would less than 30 min. via have enjoyed signifcant increases dochody L-39 jet trainers—three of more regular U.S. military presence in not be an airline, adds another AirAsia ofcial. No doubt There are other obstacles, too. The CAAC is currently in defense spending and have surplus- which are leased—but these are pri- the country, while the new European AirAsia would prefer not to teach its tricks to a Chinese reluctant to approve the establishment of new airlines be- es available allowing them to purchase marily used for the training of fghter commander for the U.S. Air Force competitor, but that is exactly what Beijing prefers to see. cause of safety concerns. It could give the go-ahead but then such a system. controllers and forward air control- has said he wants to bolster training In early July, AirAsia was subject to speculation that it was restrict growth to limit damage to favored airlines, notably Lithuania’s defense budget rose to lers. Navickas says his ultimate aim is in the region by broadening the scope considering setting up a Chinese joint venture or establishing the three big ones that belong to the central government: 1.5% of GDP in 2016 from 1.1% in 2015, to give the country its own airpower of the existing Arctic Challenge aerial a dual listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It responded China Southern Airlines, Air China and China Eastern. while Latvia has committed to spend- capability. exercises. on July 12, saying it “does, from time to time, receive proposals Spring Airlines would have many more than its current 61 ing 2% of GDP on defense by 2018. “It has to be a step-by-step pro- Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of to establish airline joint ventures in various jurisdictions” but aircraft if the CAAC had been more willing to let it grow, Discussions on the proposed air de- cess,” he told delegates at the Swedish the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, says “currently AirAsia is not pursuing any new joint venture pro- industry sources say. fense system are embryonic, but Lithu- air force’s air power conference. “We there was a “premeditated game plan” posals.” Tan is not necessarily contradicting that statement, On the other hand, the big airlines appear to have lost anian ministers have already selected are not looking at ffth-generation or to take the exercises to “another level,” however, since “not pursuing” may have meant that the group infuence, say other industry sources. Notably, they do not the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to- fourth-generation fghters. It is not so building up training, and adding new was not negotiating a specifc deal at the time. have close and long-standing ties with the new chief of the Air Missile System (Nasams). These easy to make airpower the top of a na- capabilities for regional allies to help Chinese local governments, airports and airlines are in- CAAC, Feng Zhenglin. Feng, appointed in January, does not would be surplus Norwegian systems, tional procurements list; sometimes it deter what he called the “pesky ag- terested in working with AirAsia, Tan says, without naming have a background in aviation. c as Oslo looks to introduce the new Na- almost seems impossible.” gressive folks that sit of to the east,” them. The possible role of an airline that would not be a joint sams 2. In the Baltic states, the Na- All three Baltic states have taken a clear reference to Russia. c shareholder is unclear. “We should have a fnal result soon, —With Adrian Schofeld in Auckland; research by Ryan Wang
36 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 37
AW_09_26_2016_p34-36.indd 36 9/20/16 12:39 PM AW_09_26_2016_p37.indd 37 9/15/16 6:08 PM LOW-COST CARRIERS New Horizons Long-haul LCCs eye Europe as the model matures Adrian Schofi eld Brisbane, Australia
he Asia-Pacifi c region still serves business hubs in Europe, Tas a Petri dish for the long-haul, assessed that an LCC low-cost carrier (LCC) concept. model would best However, there is no longer any ques- fit the Athens tion about whether the experiment is route. SIA has sustainable. Airlines in this category already trans- are growing rapidly as they spread ferred some of its their networks across Asia, and they own routes—includ- are now beginning to set their sights ing Jeddah—to its subsidiary. further afi eld. Scoot has grown its 787 fl eet to 12 While long-haul LCCs have ap- aircraft, comprising six of the -9 ver- The AirAsia X group has grown its peared elsewhere, they are most sion and six -8s. It took delivery of its Airbus A330 fl eet to 31 prevalent in Asia. The vast distances latest 787 in September, leaving eight aircraft and has 66 of the and less mature markets are well remaining on order. successor A330neos on order. suited to this business model. Most of While its fl eet is expanding, Scoot these carriers have struggled to break is also looking at other ways to extend offshore affiliates, most of which even, leading many observers to doubt its reach. It has helped form a long- are narrowbody short-haul opera- their viability. But this perception is haul LCC in Thailand in partnership tors. AAX is a separate company but changing as the former upstarts come with local short-haul carrier Nok Air. has common ownership links with of age. The Bangkok-based joint venture, AirAsia and is part of the broader Malaysia-based AirAsia X (AAX) branded as NokScoot, fl ies three Boe- group. It draws on feed from the other is regarded as the standard bearer ing 777-200ERs on six routes. AirAsia brands and has established for long-haul LCCs. The airline is fi - NokScoot has ambitious growth long-haul joint ventures of its own in nally out of the red and launching new plans of its own. Nok Air CEO Patee Thailand and Indonesia. routes within and beyond Asia. AAX Sarasin says the joint venture wants AAX achieved a milestone with its has repeatedly said it intends to fl y to fi rst-ever net profi t for the Europe, although it appears that fast- second quarter. It reported growing Singapore LCC Scoot will “There are different schools of a profit for the first half, beat it to the punch. too, turning around a siz- Scoot plans to introduce service thought within AirAsia X able loss from the same pe- from Singapore to Athens, Greece, riod last year. While lower on June 20, 2017, using Boeing 787-8s. about fl ights to Europe, fuel costs are helping, it is The carrier asserts this will not only also attracting more busi- be its longest route, at over 10,000 km and that is healthy” ness in key markets. (5,400 nm), but also the longest fl ight Revenue from its Aus- operated by any LCC. tralia routes was up 56% The current Scoot network encom- in the second quarter, with passes destinations across Asia and to add seven more used 777s and is an increase of 47% on Chinese fl ights. Australia. It began fl ying to Jeddah, looking for potential sellers. The car- The AirAsia group has more capac- Saudi Arabia, in May, which is now rier intends to use the extra aircraft to ity into China than any other non-Chi- its longest flight. It also introduced launch its own fl ights to India, he said nese carrier, and AAX plays a major its first flights to India in the same on the sidelines of the recent CAPA role in that, says Arik De, AAX’s head month. Australia Pacifi c Aviation Summit. of commercial operations. The group Scoot was launched by Singapore Competing with the much larger has already gone beyond primary and Airlines (SIA) in 2012 as a wholly AirAsia group is one of the challenges secondary cities in China and is now owned subsidiary. SIA’s intention is facing LCCs such as Scoot, Nok and looking at tertiary markets. to combat the proliferation of Asian NokScoot. This has led them to form The long-haul LCC sees further LCCs by creating its own budget an Asia-Pacifi c LCC coalition with fi ve growth potential in Australia and New brands, in much the same way as other airlines, known as the Value Al- Zealand, De says. AAX generally of- Qantas has done with its Jetstar sub- liance. The members intend to of set fers double-daily fl ights to Australian sidiary. some of AirAsia’s network advantages cities Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, The Athens fl ight is a good exam- by interlining with each other. and it also has service to Gold Coast ple of the SIA group’s approach. The AirAsia’s network reach is increas- and Darwin; in New Zealand it serves parent, which already serves many ingly based on its growing stable of Auckland.
38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p38-39.indd 38 9/22/16 3:08 PM LOW-COST CARRIERS
as well. The airline previously fl ew to tem and on its online route map in New Horizons London and Paris using Airbus A340s, August. However, AAX later released before discontinuing the routes in a statement to “clarify that we have Long-haul LCCs eye Europe 2012. In recent years, it has repeatedly no immediate plans to operate those signaled that routes.” According to the airline, “the as the model matures it intends routes appeared on our website as to resume part of internal testing.” Since then, Adrian Schofi eld Brisbane, Australia flights to senior airline executives have said
MEDHI NAZARINIA/WIKIMEDIA Europe, with they intend to launch an Istanbul he Asia-Pacifi c region still serves business hubs in Europe, London being fl ight next year. Tas a Petri dish for the long-haul, assessed that an LCC the destination most AAX has been growing its overall low-cost carrier (LCC) concept. model would best discussed by AirAsia Group CEO capacity dramatically this year. While However, there is no longer any ques- fit the Athens Tony Fernandes. it has been taking some new deliver- tion about whether the experiment is route. SIA has AAX is likely to wait until it begins ies, it has also been transferring air- sustainable. Airlines in this category already trans- receiving Airbus A330neos in 2018 craft back from its charter operation are growing rapidly as they spread ferred some of its before launching European non- and increasing the fl eet’s average uti- their networks across Asia, and they own routes—includ- stop fl ights. However, the car- lization rate, says De. are now beginning to set their sights ing Jeddah—to its subsidiary. rier has also said it could fl y Four A330s have been added this further afi eld. Scoot has grown its 787 fl eet to 12 to Europe using its existing year, three allocated to the core Ma- While long-haul LCCs have ap- aircraft, comprising six of the -9 ver- The AirAsia X group has grown its A330ceos, by operating a one- laysian operation and one to the Thai peared elsewhere, they are most sion and six -8s. It took delivery of its Airbus A330 fl eet to 31 stop service via an intermedi- af liate. This gives the carrier and its prevalent in Asia. The vast distances latest 787 in September, leaving eight aircraft and has 66 of the ate destination. De says there are “dif- two af liates a total of 31 A330s. AAX and less mature markets are well remaining on order. successor A330neos on order. ferent schools of thought within the has no more A330ceo deliveries due suited to this business model. Most of While its fl eet is expanding, Scoot The carrier has little scope to add organization [about fl ights to Europe], this year or in 2017, and its next sched- these carriers have struggled to break is also looking at other ways to extend offshore affiliates, most of which more fl ights to Australia’s largest cit- and that is healthy.” uled deliveries are in 2018, when its 66 even, leading many observers to doubt its reach. It has helped form a long- are narrowbody short-haul opera- ies under existing bilateral arrange- The carrier gave a hint about one A330neo orders are due to start arriv- their viability. But this perception is haul LCC in Thailand in partnership tors. AAX is a separate company but ments and it would like to see a fur- possible option when it briefl y listed ing. However, AAX may still decide to changing as the former upstarts come with local short-haul carrier Nok Air. has common ownership links with ther relaxation of limits, De says. a Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul-Barcelona, source more A330ceos in the interim, of age. The Bangkok-based joint venture, AirAsia and is part of the broader Europe is certainly on AAX’s agenda Spain, route in its reservations sys- says De. c Malaysia-based AirAsia X (AAX) branded as NokScoot, fl ies three Boe- group. It draws on feed from the other is regarded as the standard bearer ing 777-200ERs on six routes. AirAsia brands and has established for long-haul LCCs. The airline is fi - NokScoot has ambitious growth long-haul joint ventures of its own in nally out of the red and launching new plans of its own. Nok Air CEO Patee Thailand and Indonesia. routes within and beyond Asia. AAX Sarasin says the joint venture wants AAX achieved a milestone with its has repeatedly said it intends to fl y to fi rst-ever net profi t for the Europe, although it appears that fast- second quarter. It reported Ensuring mission success. growing Singapore LCC Scoot will “There are different schools of a profit for the first half, beat it to the punch. too, turning around a siz- The Dornier 228 Multirole. Scoot plans to introduce service thought within AirAsia X able loss from the same pe- from Singapore to Athens, Greece, riod last year. While lower on June 20, 2017, using Boeing 787-8s. about fl ights to Europe, fuel costs are helping, it is The carrier asserts this will not only also attracting more busi- be its longest route, at over 10,000 km and that is healthy” ness in key markets. (5,400 nm), but also the longest fl ight Revenue from its Aus- operated by any LCC. tralia routes was up 56% The current Scoot network encom- in the second quarter, with passes destinations across Asia and to add seven more used 777s and is an increase of 47% on Chinese fl ights. Australia. It began fl ying to Jeddah, looking for potential sellers. The car- The AirAsia group has more capac- Saudi Arabia, in May, which is now rier intends to use the extra aircraft to ity into China than any other non-Chi- its longest flight. It also introduced launch its own fl ights to India, he said nese carrier, and AAX plays a major its first flights to India in the same on the sidelines of the recent CAPA role in that, says Arik De, AAX’s head month. Australia Pacifi c Aviation Summit. of commercial operations. The group Scoot was launched by Singapore Competing with the much larger has already gone beyond primary and Airlines (SIA) in 2012 as a wholly AirAsia group is one of the challenges secondary cities in China and is now owned subsidiary. SIA’s intention is facing LCCs such as Scoot, Nok and looking at tertiary markets. to combat the proliferation of Asian NokScoot. This has led them to form The long-haul LCC sees further LCCs by creating its own budget an Asia-Pacifi c LCC coalition with fi ve growth potential in Australia and New brands, in much the same way as other airlines, known as the Value Al- Zealand, De says. AAX generally of- Qantas has done with its Jetstar sub- liance. The members intend to of set fers double-daily fl ights to Australian View video sidiary. some of AirAsia’s network advantages cities Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, RUAG Aerospace Services GmbH | RUAG Aviation The Athens fl ight is a good exam- by interlining with each other. and it also has service to Gold Coast P.O. Box 1253 | Special Airfield Oberpfaffenhofen | 82231 Wessling | Germany Phone +49 8153 30-2011 | [email protected] ple of the SIA group’s approach. The AirAsia’s network reach is increas- and Darwin; in New Zealand it serves www.dornier228.com parent, which already serves many ingly based on its growing stable of Auckland.
38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 39
AW_09_26_2016_p38-39.indd 38 9/22/16 3:08 PM AW_09_26_2016_p38-39.indd 39 9/22/16 3:28 PM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING NASA’s Next X-plane Boeing Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) The Options Slender, high-aspect-ratio wings generate less lift-induced drag, and an extreme example is the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing. The conf gu- Graham Warwick Washington ration was originally developed by Boeing in 2008-10 under a NASA contract to identify new designs for fuel-eff cient airliners entering nder its New Aviation Horizons service in 2030-35. U With a glider-like wing, but a traditional tube-style fuselage, the initiative, NASA proposes building TTBW has the potential to reduce fuel burn by 5-10% over today’s a series of large-scale X-planes over 10 180-seat narrowbody airliners with conventional cantilevered wings. The conf guration takes its name from years to demonstrate technologies for the strut or multimember truss that sup- future ultra-ef cient subsonic transports. ports the long-span wing. To get a head start, the agency has The most recent design tested has a wing span of 170 ft., compared with awarded six-month contracts to develop 118 ft. for the Boeing 737, and an the system requirements for fl ight dem- aspect ratio (span squared divided by onstrators in fi ve dif erent confi gurations. NASA area) of 19.55 compared with 11 for the Boeing 787 and 9 for the 737. Bracing The next step, funding permitting, will be reduces weight, but the long wing is f exible. Wind-tunnel testing at a competition to take the fi rst X-plane to a NASA Langley Research Center in 2014-15 conf rmed wing weight is preliminary design review. These are the acceptable and evaluated active f utter suppression techniques. Wind-tunnel tests at NASA Ames Research Center in early 2016 fi ve confi gurations under consideration. assessed high-speed aerodynamics and the potential for interference where the strut and wing come together. The truss design that was Aurora Flight Sciences tested comprised a primary load-bearing strut with a single stabilizing Double-Bubble D8 jury member. Results were promising, says NASA. Aurora is proposing the D8 concept originally developed Boeing Blended Wing Body (BWB) for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for an aircraft that could enter service in 2030-35 Under investigation by Boe- with 50% higher eff ciency than today’s 180-seat narrow- ing and NASA for more than two bodies. The design combines three key innovations: decades, including f ights of the X-48B/C subscale unmanned ■ A lifting fuselage, allowing a smaller wing for lower aircraft in 2010-13, the Blended drag, with a twin-lobe or “double-bubble” cross-section Wing Body is the most mature of enabling a twin-aisle cabin in a Boeing 737-class aircraft. the large-scale X-plane options ■ Engines embedded (see page 42). NASA in the aft fuselage Under NASA’s Environmentally to ingest the slower- Responsible Aviation (ERA) program, completed in 2015, extensive moving boundary wind-tunnel tests of the BWB showed up to a 53% fuel saving over layer over the broad today’s 300-seat widebody airliners and a noise reduction of more fuselage and reener- than a cumulative 40 dB below the Stage 4 limit. gize the wake for re- A BWB X-plane would demonstrate the integration of technologies duced drag. AURORA including: ■ Advanced compos- ites manufacturing of the noncircular pressure vessel and ■ A conf guration with high aerodynamic and structural eff ciency complex-curved aft fuselage and pi-tail to enable light that provides signif cant additional internal volume for cargo, pas- weight. sengers and fuel. ■ Engines mounted above the aft fuselage and between the vertical Aurora, with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney tails to provide airframe shielding of fan and jet noise. and MIT as partners, is proposing an X-plane that would ■ A lightweight, noncircular pressure vessel manufactured using Boe- demonstrate boundary layer ingestion (BLI) in flight. ing’s Prseus (pultruded rod-stitched eff cient unitized structure) tech- Wind-tunnel tests of the D8 suggest system-level fuel nique. savings of 15% from having the engines embedded in the aft fuselage. Under the ERA program, Boeing built a demonstrator-scale BWB BLI will require engine fans that can operate in dis- center section using the carbon-f ber composite Prseus. The 30-ft.- torted airf ow with minimum eff ciency penalty and ac- wide multibay box exceeded its design goals for damage resistance ceptable aeromechanical performance, an area on which in structural testing to destruction. United Technologies Research Center is working. Aurora A BWB X-plane potentially would have dual uses, as the U.S. Air will ground-test its fuselage structural concept under an Force Research Laboratory has funded research into the conf guration FAA research contract. as a future military tanker-transport.
40 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p40-41.indd 40 9/21/16 4:55 PM AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING NASA’s Next X-plane Boeing Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) Dzyne Technologies BWB Small Airliner The Options Slender, high-aspect-ratio wings generate less lift-induced drag, and Studies show blended wing bodies (BWB) work well for large Key NASA X-planes an extreme example is the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing. The conf gu- aircraft but not smaller regional airliners or business jets. A Graham Warwick Washington ration was originally developed by Boeing in 2008-10 under a NASA double-deck fuselage with passengers on top and cargo and land- contract to identify new designs for fuel-eff cient airliners entering ing gear below results in a deep center-body and a blended wing 1946 Bell X-1 nder its New Aviation Horizons service in 2030-35. that is too thick on a smaller aircraft for eff cient transonic cruise. supersonic fl ight U With a glider-like wing, but a traditional tube-style fuselage, the Dzyne Technologies has a design for a regional/business-jet initiative, NASA proposes building TTBW has the potential to reduce fuel burn by 5-10% over today’s BWB in which the landing gear and cargo are moved out from a series of large-scale X-planes over 10 180-seat narrowbody airliners with conventional cantilevered wings. under the cabin to enable a single-deck center-body with thin 1954 Bell X-2 The conf guration takes its name from wings. The gear is moved outward, and baggage and cargo are years to demonstrate technologies for the strut or multimember truss that sup- stored in the wing roots, outboard of the passenger cabin. swept wing future ultra-ef cient subsonic transports. ports the long-span wing. As a business jet with a 100,000-lb. gross weight, the limit To get a head start, the agency has The most recent design tested has set by key airports such 1952 Douglas X-3 a wing span of 170 ft., compared with as Teterboro in New awarded six-month contracts to develop 118 ft. for the Boeing 737, and an Jersey, the small BWB trapezoidal wing the system requirements for fl ight dem- aspect ratio (span squared divided by offers three times the onstrators in fi ve dif erent confi gurations. NASA area) of 19.55 compared with 11 for the f oor area for the same DZYNE 1948 Northrop X-4 The next step, funding permitting, will be Boeing 787 and 9 for the 737. Bracing performance as today’s reduces weight, but the long wing is f exible. Wind-tunnel testing at purpose-designed, long-range, large-cabin jets, says Dzyne. semi-tailless a competition to take the fi rst X-plane to a NASA Langley Research Center in 2014-15 conf rmed wing weight is As a 110-130-seat “super-regional,” essentially the same con- preliminary design review. These are the acceptable and evaluated active f utter suppression techniques. f guration offers twin-aisle seating and a 20% fuel saving over Wind-tunnel tests at NASA Ames Research Center in early 2016 existing aircraft. 1951 Bell X-5 fi ve confi gurations under consideration. assessed high-speed aerodynamics and the potential for interference Dzyne plans to use Prseus composites technology for the where the strut and wing come together. The truss design that was structure, and the proposed full-scale X-plane would use the variable-geometry wing Aurora Flight Sciences tested comprised a primary load-bearing strut with a single stabilizing stitched carbon-f ber for a section of the upper center-body that Double-Bubble D8 jury member. Results were promising, says NASA. includes the skylights, which provide natural light to the cabin in 1959 both business and regional conf gurations (see page 42). North American X-15 Aurora is proposing the D8 concept originally developed Boeing Blended Wing Body (BWB) hypersonic fl ight for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for an aircraft that could enter service in 2030-35 Under investigation by Boe- Lockheed Martin Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) with 50% higher eff ciency than today’s 180-seat narrow- ing and NASA for more than two 1984 Grumman X-29 bodies. The design combines three key innovations: decades, including f ights of the Questions most frequently asked about blended wing-body forward-swept wing X-48B/C subscale unmanned designs center on how such aircraft would f t into established ■ A lifting fuselage, allowing a smaller wing for lower aircraft in 2010-13, the Blended commercial and military infrastructure and procedures for load- drag, with a twin-lobe or “double-bubble” cross-section Wing Body is the most mature of ing and unloading, evacuating passengers or airdropping cargo. 1997 Boeing X-36 enabling a twin-aisle cabin in a Boeing 737-class aircraft. the large-scale X-plane options Lockheed Martin’s answer is its Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) ■ Engines embedded (see page 42). NASA conf guration, which combines a blended wing and forebody tailless agility in the aft fuselage Under NASA’s Environmentally for aerodynamic and structural eff ciency with a conventional to ingest the slower- Responsible Aviation (ERA) program, completed in 2015, extensive aft fuselage and tail com- moving boundary wind-tunnel tests of the BWB showed up to a 53% fuel saving over patible with existing cargo- 2007 Boeing X-48 layer over the broad today’s 300-seat widebody airliners and a noise reduction of more handling equipment. fuselage and reener- than a cumulative 40 dB below the Stage 4 limit. Conceived as a future blended wing body gize the wake for re- A BWB X-plane would demonstrate the integration of technologies airlifter, the HWB has in duced drag. AURORA including: wind-tunnel tests shown 2006 Boeing X-53 ■ Advanced compos- potential to burn 45% less ■ ites manufacturing of the noncircular pressure vessel and A conf guration with high aerodynamic and structural eff ciency LOCKHEED MARTIN fuel than the Boeing C-17 active aeroelastic wing complex-curved aft fuselage and pi-tail to enable light that provides signif cant additional internal volume for cargo, pas- while carrying outsize weight. sengers and fuel. cargo of the kind now transported by the Lockheed C-5. The 2012 ■ Engines mounted above the aft fuselage and between the vertical Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA have funded studies Lockheed Martin X-56 Aurora, with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney tails to provide airframe shielding of fan and jet noise. of a dual-use demonstrator for a commercial freighter and active fl utter suppression and MIT as partners, is proposing an X-plane that would ■ A lightweight, noncircular pressure vessel manufactured using Boe- military airlifter. demonstrate boundary layer ingestion (BLI) in flight. ing’s Prseus (pultruded rod-stitched eff cient unitized structure) tech- In addition to the drag-reducing blended wing and forebody, Wind-tunnel tests of the D8 suggest system-level fuel nique. the HWB features engine nacelles mounted above the trailing 2018 ESAero X-57 savings of 15% from having the engines embedded in edge of the wing. This facilitates installation of fuel-eff cient distributed electric the aft fuselage. Under the ERA program, Boeing built a demonstrator-scale BWB large-diameter ultra-high-bypass or open-rotor powerplants. propulsion BLI will require engine fans that can operate in dis- center section using the carbon-f ber composite Prseus. The 30-ft.- Wind-tunnel tests show the overwing nacelles are 5% more torted airf ow with minimum eff ciency penalty and ac- wide multibay box exceeded its design goals for damage resistance aerodynamically eff cient than conventional underwing engines. ceptable aeromechanical performance, an area on which in structural testing to destruction. Lockheed has tested both transonic half-span and low-speed United Technologies Research Center is working. Aurora A BWB X-plane potentially would have dual uses, as the U.S. Air full-span models of the HWB. The latter model is now being Gallery See more on these NASA X-planes will ground-test its fuselage structural concept under an Force Research Laboratory has funded research into the conf guration prepared for f ight as a subscale unmanned aircraft to assess AviationWeek.com/NASA-X-Planes FAA research contract. as a future military tanker-transport. the conf guration’s handling and performance in cruise mode.
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Alternative Blend NASA looks beyond established transport aircraft makers as it seeks ideas for ultra-ef cient X-planes Graham Warwick Washington ASA’s research contracts with Boeing have been called gov- Single-deck fuselage, skylight win- ernment handouts for the last U.S. manufacturer of large dows and semi-embedded engines N distinguish Dzyne’s small-airliner commercial aircraft. But as the agency seeks ideas for new Blended Wing Body. X-plane fl ight demonstrators, it is casting the net more widely. do, signifi cantly, given the number of Boeing has won contracts to study whether a smaller business jet would Airbus and Boeing business jets that two potential confi gurations for future be easier to do and wanted to under- sell against high-performance Bom- ultra-ef cient subsonic transports, and stand what it would take to break bardier and Gulfstream aircraft with Lockheed Martin has received one, but through the barriers to entry.” Those the same payload/range performance,” NASA has also awarded studies to two initial studies evolved into an aircraft says Page. “We have the fl oor space of newcomers to commercial-aircraft than can be both business jet and small an Airbus A319 in an aircraft that can design: Aurora Flight Sciences and airliner. But fi rst the BWB’s inherent fl y 18 people 7,000 nm from Teterboro. Dzyne Technologies. challenges had to be overcome. There is no other way to do that.” Boeing will study both the Blended Studies show the configuration, As a “super regional jet” seating 110- Wing Body (BWB) and Transonic with its aerodynamic and structural 130 passengers, essentially the same Truss-Braced Wing confi gurations as ef ciency, works well for large aircraft, aircraft will provide a 20% fuel saving candidates for a large-scale X-plane of ering fuel savings of more than 50% over existing aircraft. “Our super-re- that could fl y by 2021, funding permit- over today’s widebody airliners. But on gional has about 20% more fl oor space ting. Lockheed Martin will study its smaller BWBs a double-deck fuselage, per passenger than today’s regional Hybrid Wing Body concept for a dual- with passengers above and cargo and jets,” says Page. “The price for 20% use military airlifter and commercial landing gear below, results in a deep more fl oor space is about 2% in fuel, so freighter (page 40 ). centerbody and a blended wing that is we’re investing 1/10th of the BWB’s 22% Aurora has been working with en- too thick for ef cient transonic fl ight. fuel savings in passenger comfort.” gine developer Pratt & Whitney on Dzyne has developed a design that Dzyne had decided an all-up demon- the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- moves the main gear out from under stration was needed to gain acceptance nology’s “double-bubble” D8 confi gura- the cabin, allowing a single-deck fu- for a business-jet BWB when NASA tion for several years, but the Ascent selage and thinner wing. The gear is began looking at X-planes for ultra- concept for a BWB small airliner from moved outward, and baggage and cargo ef cient airliners. “That really caught design and prototyping house Dzyne is are stored in the wing roots, outboard our attention, because everything you being unveiled for the fi rst time. of the cabin. “This is a breakthrough could learn with a full-scale X-plane Established in 2012, Dzyne has that allows any size of BWB,” says Page. would knock down the remaining tech- worked on design projects ranging As a corporate aircraft with a nical barriers, real or perceived. This from the RotorWing vertical-takeof - 100,000-lb. gross weight—the maxi- could fi nally allow BWB technology to and-landing unmanned aircraft to the mum allowed at key business aviation reach the public,” he says. M10 light aircraft for Mooney Interna- airports such as Teterboro, New Jer- “We believe there’s a clear market tional. Founding partner Mark Page, sey—the small BWB has three times for BWB technology, but no one is ser- Dzyne vice president and chief sci- the floor area of existing purpose- vicing that interest. So we created a entist, is co-inventor of the BWB and designed long-range, large-cabin jets business construct to fund BWB de- was technical program manager on the like the Gulfstream G650. This allows velopment now. This will allow mean- original NASA/McDonnell Douglas room for features such as a conference ingful discussions with the airlines program in the 1990s. room, gym and multiple bedrooms. and bizjet owners,” says CEO Darrell “No commercial BWB has come into “The question is, does the cus- Gillette. “To our knowledge, the major existence,” says Page. “We wondered tomer value fl oor space? We fi nd they incumbents have not engaged the air-
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lines about BWB introduction. We want the most remote seat and the exit. gines are semi-buried in the upper fu- to have those discussions and promote That’s two-thirds fewer than in today’s selage to place their exhaust closer to timely adoption of this technology.” airplanes. The distance from the most the beavertail for greater shielding. “We Dzyne is pursuing development of remote seat and the exit is halved,” he hope the full-scale X-plane will validate the business-jet BWB through private says. “The vertical sidewalls allow much that,” Page says. investment and the super-regional deeper overhead bag racks. This will Dzyne is not looking at boundary- though NASA’s X-plane plans. “We’re nearly eliminate delays caused by gate- layer ingestion to reduce drag, which aiming to introduce the bizjet fi rst since checking overfl ow baggage. Combined, would require the development of en- we believe it’s easier to fund and certi- these benefi ts are estimated to reduce gines with distortion-tolerant fans. “We fy,” says Gillette. “The bizjet design will turn time 15-20 min. at a minimum.” want to make a real product. There is Alternative Blend be informed by airliner requirements. Boeing has completed substantial no unusual infl ow to the engines. The We’re aiming for a 2025 introduction. NASA-funded research on the BWB, flow is diverted, and we use tricks “The 110-130-passenger airliner data that is made publicly available af- with external compression to coax the NASA looks beyond established transport aircraft makers would fl y a few years later, followed by ter a fi ve-year hold. “Within 18 months, boundary layer away from the inlets.” 160- and 210-passenger growth mod- all the BWB data through to the X- Page explains. as it seeks ideas for ultra-ef cient X-planes els. Once the airline discussions com- 48B/C flights will be available,” says The company plans to use the Boe- mence, we can adapt the timing, per- Page. But all the technologies needed ing/NASA Prseus (pultruded rod Graham Warwick Washington formance and capacity to suit them,” to develop an aircraft have not yet stitched efficient unitized structure) he says. “As development progresses, concept for the airframe, particularly ASA’s research contracts with Boeing have been called gov- Single-deck fuselage, skylight win- we’ll decide between teaming with a the noncircular pressure vessel. “Pr- ernment handouts for the last U.S. manufacturer of large dows and semi-embedded engines major airframer or creating a consor- seus of ers extremely low fabrication N distinguish Dzyne’s small-airliner tium. Either way, we’ll use the same DZYNE TECHNOLOGIES CONCEPTS cost because there are no pre-preg commercial aircraft. But as the agency seeks ideas for new Blended Wing Body. supplier base as the major airframers.” materials that need freezers, and no X-plane fl ight demonstrators, it is casting the net more widely. Differences between versions of autoclaves,” Page says. “The added me- do, signifi cantly, given the number of the 118-ft.-span aircraft are relatively chanical damage tolerance is especially Boeing has won contracts to study whether a smaller business jet would Airbus and Boeing business jets that small. The business-jet has lower- valuable in the pressurized centerbody.” two potential confi gurations for future be easier to do and wanted to under- sell against high-performance Bom- bypass engines for high-speed per- Boeing and NASA tested a repre- ultra-ef cient subsonic transports, and stand what it would take to break bardier and Gulfstream aircraft with formance, where the super-regional sentative BWB center section to de- Lockheed Martin has received one, but through the barriers to entry.” Those the same payload/range performance,” has high-bypass for ef ciency. “And struction and the 30-ft.-wide Prseus NASA has also awarded studies to two initial studies evolved into an aircraft says Page. “We have the fl oor space of we move a bulkhead to change multibay structure exceeded its de- newcomers to commercial-aircraft than can be both business jet and small an Airbus A319 in an aircraft that can the balance between cargo and sign goals. For the X-plane, Dzyne design: Aurora Flight Sciences and airliner. But fi rst the BWB’s inherent fl y 18 people 7,000 nm from Teterboro. fuel,” says Page. Dzyne is look- proposes a Prseus demonstra- Dzyne Technologies. challenges had to be overcome. There is no other way to do that.” ing at Rolls-Royce BR725-class tion on a 24 X 10-ft. part of the Boeing will study both the Blended Studies show the configuration, As a “super regional jet” seating 110- engines for the business jet and upper pressure vessel that in- Wing Body (BWB) and Transonic with its aerodynamic and structural 130 passengers, essentially the same 23,000-lb.-class CFM Leap or cludes cutouts for the skylights. Truss-Braced Wing confi gurations as ef ciency, works well for large aircraft, aircraft will provide a 20% fuel saving Pratt & Whitney PW1100G en- “The rest of the airplane will be candidates for a large-scale X-plane of ering fuel savings of more than 50% over existing aircraft. “Our super-re- gines for the super-regional. made using traditional compos- that could fl y by 2021, funding permit- over today’s widebody airliners. But on gional has about 20% more fl oor space In the airliner version, pas- ites that are well-known to our ting. Lockheed Martin will study its smaller BWBs a double-deck fuselage, per passenger than today’s regional sengers enter a vestibule via a door The Ascent 1000 has twin-aisle major suppliers,” Page says. Hybrid Wing Body concept for a dual- with passengers above and cargo and jets,” says Page. “The price for 20% about 40% of the way along the cabin, seating for 110-130 passengers. NASA’s contract is for a six-month use military airlifter and commercial landing gear below, results in a deep more fl oor space is about 2% in fuel, so then turn left for business class or A structural divider runs the length study to define the system require- freighter (page 40 ). centerbody and a blended wing that is we’re investing 1/10th of the BWB’s 22% right for economy. The business cabin of the cabins. ments for an X-plane. Results will in- Aurora has been working with en- too thick for ef cient transonic fl ight. fuel savings in passenger comfort.” has twin aisles and large windows on form the agency’s plans for a series of gine developer Pratt & Whitney on Dzyne has developed a design that Dzyne had decided an all-up demon- the fuselage sides. Economy is two been fl own together. The BWB is the X-planes under its New Aviation Hori- the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- moves the main gear out from under stration was needed to gain acceptance six-abreast single-aisle cabins side- ultimate integration challenge; all of zons program. For one or more of the nology’s “double-bubble” D8 confi gura- the cabin, allowing a single-deck fu- for a business-jet BWB when NASA by-side, separated by a structural wall the pieces have multiple roles,” he says. fi ve confi gurations, the next step would tion for several years, but the Ascent selage and thinner wing. The gear is began looking at X-planes for ultra- running the length of the cabin and “You can’t demonstrate wing per- be to take the concept to a preliminary concept for a BWB small airliner from moved outward, and baggage and cargo ef cient airliners. “That really caught with overhead skylights for natural formance without integrated engines design review. design and prototyping house Dzyne is are stored in the wing roots, outboard our attention, because everything you lighting. Emergency exits are forward fl ying from 100 kt. to dive Mach num- Dzyne, meanwhile, has engaged a being unveiled for the fi rst time. of the cabin. “This is a breakthrough could learn with a full-scale X-plane near the cockpit and at the rear of the ber—engines that must operate behind “respected business aviation profes- Established in 2012, Dzyne has that allows any size of BWB,” says Page. would knock down the remaining tech- cabin, opening onto shallow ramps. a shockwave above the cabin,” Page sional” to validate market interest in a worked on design projects ranging As a corporate aircraft with a nical barriers, real or perceived. This “The BWB benefi t is large enough says. “You need a proof of concept with business-jet BWB. “A fairly large num- from the RotorWing vertical-takeof - 100,000-lb. gross weight—the maxi- could fi nally allow BWB technology to that some can be spent on passenger a pressurized cabin to give people the ber of investors have approached us, and-landing unmanned aircraft to the mum allowed at key business aviation reach the public,” he says. comfort,” says Page. “We wanted to be fl ight experience in this entirely new but we are not ready to commit,” says M10 light aircraft for Mooney Interna- airports such as Teterboro, New Jer- “We believe there’s a clear market economically competitive with a 34-in. airplane. And how else can you dem- Gillette. “We will get the initial results tional. Founding partner Mark Page, sey—the small BWB has three times for BWB technology, but no one is ser- pitch in coach. Since the coach cabin onstrate community noise benefi ts un- [of the validation study] soon and will Dzyne vice president and chief sci- the floor area of existing purpose- vicing that interest. So we created a is only eight rows long, adding another less you can actually fl y takeof s and then initiate negotiations with inves- entist, is co-inventor of the BWB and designed long-range, large-cabin jets business construct to fund BWB de- row reduces pitch to a still comfortable approaches?” tors.” And if they need an incentive to was technical program manager on the like the Gulfstream G650. This allows velopment now. This will allow mean- 30 . . . [and] that’s as far as you can go.” Under Boeing’s BWB work for invest? While the airliner version of the original NASA/McDonnell Douglas room for features such as a conference ingful discussions with the airlines The outer bulkheads are spaced to al- NASA, the wingtip vertical tails were BWB has been named the Ascent, Page program in the 1990s. room, gym and multiple bedrooms. and bizjet owners,” says CEO Darrell low all middle seats to be 3 in. wider moved inboard to increase airframe says naming rights for the business-jet “No commercial BWB has come into “The question is, does the cus- Gillette. “To our knowledge, the major than the others. shielding of engine noise. Dzyne’s BWB variant will go to the fi rst investor to existence,” says Page. “We wondered tomer value fl oor space? We fi nd they incumbents have not engaged the air- “There are only eight rows between retains the wingtip surfaces, and the en- commit $50 million to the project. c
42 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 43
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“We are hoping if we get extra time Better Blend we can do some more control-surface testing,” says Princen. “We’ve been Modifed blended wing is ‘superior’ for airdrop, thinking about shorter field perfor- mance, mostly for military missions, but says Boeing, as new wind tunnel tests begin from a commercial aircraft perspective, the BWB already had good feld perfor- Guy Norris Los Angeles mance,” he says. “However, the military wants short-takeof-and-landing, like a esting that could pave the way to-tunnel comparisons,” says Boeing C-17 or C-130, so we’d need shorter feld Tfor a short-takeof version of Boe- BWB chief engineer Norm Princen. performance, and the control-surface ing’s blended wing body (BWB) is “The data will be used to compare the testing is part of that.” underway at NASA Langley Research tunnel now with how the tunnel was The work will focus on scheduling Center as part of work to calibrate the before, as well as compare the 14 X the movement of the surface to en- facility’s refurbished 14 X 22-ft. subson- 22-ft. with the 40 X 80-ft.” Testing will able the aircraft to rotate at a slower ic wind tunnel. include using particle imagery velo- airspeed, enabling quicker climb to For Boeing, the tests could be a small cimetry (PIV), a technique in which higher altitude. Test results will aug- but important stepping-stone toward a particle-seeded fow is illuminated ment Boeing’s extensive control-sur- further development of the BWB con- with a laser sheet to visualize and map face database amassed during flight cept as a military tanker-transport. airfow around the aircraft. tests of the X-48 demonstrator. The Having originated the integrated fuse- “The laser illuminates the particles, work will also build on the 2015 NFAC lage-wing confguration more than 20 and their movement can be optically campaign, which demonstrated that years ago, Boeing is studying a modi- tracked and recorded frame by frame pitch moment could be increased by blowing the exhaust of the large, up- per-fuselage-mounted engines across elevons mounted on the trailing edge. Boeing is also studying other options for augmenting pitch control varying from a belly-mounted fap and altering Boeing’s 13-ft.-span blended wing body model will undergo fow visualization tests in NASA Lang- ley’s subsonic tunnel using particle imagery velocimetry techniques.
the gaps between the leading edge and the BWB’s Krueger fap to changing the fap angle for takeof and landing. However, just as important to make the airlifter vision a reality is develop- ment of an unusual cargo door confgu- NASA LANGLEY/DAVID C. BOWMAN ration that would be incorporated into fed variant with a large aft cargo door by cameras,” says Boeing BWB test the trailing edge of the aft fuselage. as a pathway to a potential frst real- director John Bonet. “The 14 X 22-ft. Since frst revealing details of its con- world application. tunnel is better for doing that than the cept to Aviation Week earlier this year The test campaign, which is sched- NFAC because it is smaller and the (AW&ST Feb. 1-14, p. 58), Boeing says it uled to end by early October, will com- model is closer to the optical test win- is making signifcant progress. pare data obtained in 2015 using a dow. One of the reasons we want to do “We have been looking at a clamshell 13-ft.-span model in the 40 X 80-ft. Na- it is to measure the vortical [vortices] cargo door for military applications, tional Full-Scale Aerodynamics Facility fow of the airplane surfaces, and we and we think we have a good solution (NFAC) wind tunnel at NASA Ames. don’t want intrusive pressure rakes or for that,” says Princen. “We’ve done This same 6% scale model was built for pressure probes. This will produce a recent CFD work, and the flow qual- NASA’s recently completed Environ- three-dimensional map of the separa- ity looks good behind the aircraft. It is mentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) tion and vortex fow at high angles of potentially better than the conventional program and was initially evaluated attack. fuselage ramp because of the upwash at Langley before the tunnel sufered “We will see where it originates from you get around the fuselage close out. mechanical failure and the balance of and compare that with the predictions That’s why we think it’s a superior solu- the testing was transferred to Ames. from computational fluid dynamics tion for the airdrop mission. We believe “As part of the process of bringing [CFD]. PIV is really looking at the of- this is the path forward for the BWB, the 14 X 22-ft. wind tunnel back online, board fow feld generated by the fan, and in the next 10 years or so we can we had the opportunity to go back in aft section and overwing by the leading develop it into some kind of military with the same model and do tunnel- edge devices,” Bonet notes. transport, freighter or tanker.” c
44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
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“We are hoping if we get extra time to get replacements in place, the higher the chance that more Better Blend we can do some more control-surface Iridium Reborn of the original satellites could fail. testing,” says Princen. “We’ve been When Iridium signed on with SpaceX in 2010, entrepre- Modifed blended wing is ‘superior’ for airdrop, thinking about shorter field perfor- Next-generation satellites are neur Elon Musk’s launch company was a fedgling startup mance, mostly for military missions, but dismissed by skeptics. “We took a chance on them,” says says Boeing, as new wind tunnel tests begin from a commercial aircraft perspective, ready, but SpaceX is not Iridium CEO Matthew J. Desch. With that chance came a the BWB already had good feld perfor- good deal: Desch says SpaceX’s price of $450 million for seven Guy Norris Los Angeles mance,” he says. “However, the military Joseph C. Anselmo McLean,Virginia launches is less than half what other launch providers would wants short-takeof-and-landing, like a and Thierry Dubois Paris have charged. esting that could pave the way to-tunnel comparisons,” says Boeing C-17 or C-130, so we’d need shorter feld Iridium’s initial business model failed because it was based Tfor a short-takeof version of Boe- BWB chief engineer Norm Princen. performance, and the control-surface n 1998, Iridium switched on the world’s frst global tele- primarily on a pricey telephone service that attracted only ing’s blended wing body (BWB) is “The data will be used to compare the testing is part of that.” Iphone service, utilizing a constellation of 66 interconnected a tiny fraction of anticipated subscribers. Its backers also underway at NASA Langley Research tunnel now with how the tunnel was The work will focus on scheduling satellites operating in six low-Earth-orbit planes. Less than underestimated the rapid emergence of terrestrial cell phone Center as part of work to calibrate the before, as well as compare the 14 X the movement of the surface to en- a year later, the company went bankrupt and took its place networks in the late 1990s. facility’s refurbished 14 X 22-ft. subson- 22-ft. with the 40 X 80-ft.” Testing will able the aircraft to rotate at a slower in history as one of the worst business blunders of the 1990s. The new Iridium, which went public in 2009, relies on ic wind tunnel. include using particle imagery velo- airspeed, enabling quicker climb to But Iridium’s satellites have proven more resilient than telephony for only about half its revenues. The other half For Boeing, the tests could be a small cimetry (PIV), a technique in which higher altitude. Test results will aug- its original business plan. Designed by Motorola to last fve comes from data, tracking and machine-to-machine (M2M) but important stepping-stone toward a particle-seeded fow is illuminated ment Boeing’s extensive control-sur- years, most of the spacecraft are still operating or have been communications sold to the U.S. Defense Department and further development of the BWB con- with a laser sheet to visualize and map face database amassed during flight replaced by on-orbit spares, providing highly proftable com- a long list of customers in aviation, maritime and other in- cept as a military tanker-transport. airfow around the aircraft. tests of the X-48 demonstrator. The munications and tracking services to 823,000 subscribers. dustries. An on-orbit software upgrade in 2003 added the Having originated the integrated fuse- “The laser illuminates the particles, work will also build on the 2015 NFAC And now the reconstituted company is poised to replace its M2M capabilities, long before machine-to-machine commu- lage-wing confguration more than 20 and their movement can be optically campaign, which demonstrated that aging system with an equal-size constellation years ago, Boeing is studying a modi- tracked and recorded frame by frame pitch moment could be increased by of much more capable satellites. blowing the exhaust of the large, up- The new L-band spacecraft—built by per-fuselage-mounted engines across France’s Thales Alenia Space and assem- elevons mounted on the trailing edge. bled at an Orbital ATK factory in Gilbert, Boeing is also studying other options Arizona—look a lot like their predecessors: for augmenting pitch control varying 10 ft. long, 4 ft. wide and 2.6 ft. tall. But each from a belly-mounted fap and altering will have far more memory and processing speed, expanding the Iridium system’s capac- Boeing’s 13-ft.-span blended ity more than fvefold. Designed to last 12.5 wing body model will undergo fow visualization tests in NASA Lang- Iridium’s new satellites, pictured be- ley’s subsonic tunnel using particle ing mated to a launch dispenser, carry a imagery velocimetry techniques. payload that will be able to track airliners fying over oceans and remote areas. the gaps between the leading edge and the BWB’s Krueger fap to changing years, they also will carry a secondary pay- the fap angle for takeof and landing. load that provides satellite-based air naviga- However, just as important to make tion connections and tracking of aircraft and the airlifter vision a reality is develop- ships anywhere on the globe. ment of an unusual cargo door confgu- While McLean, Virginia-based Iridium NASA LANGLEY/DAVID C. BOWMAN ration that would be incorporated into has been able to raise the $3 billion needed fed variant with a large aft cargo door by cameras,” says Boeing BWB test the trailing edge of the aft fuselage. to build and orbit the new system, which as a pathway to a potential frst real- director John Bonet. “The 14 X 22-ft. Since frst revealing details of its con- includes spares for backup, getting back to world application. tunnel is better for doing that than the cept to Aviation Week earlier this year space has been a challenge. SpaceX is under Thales alenia space The test campaign, which is sched- NFAC because it is smaller and the (AW&ST Feb. 1-14, p. 58), Boeing says it contract for seven missions with its Falcon 9 launcher, each nications were referred to as the “Internet of Things.” The uled to end by early October, will com- model is closer to the optical test win- is making signifcant progress. carrying 10 Iridium satellites. The frst batch of 10 satel- new formula seems to be working: Iridium reported proft pare data obtained in 2015 using a dow. One of the reasons we want to do “We have been looking at a clamshell lites was in place for launch at Vandenberg AFB, California, margins of 57% in the quarter ended June 30. 13-ft.-span model in the 40 X 80-ft. Na- it is to measure the vortical [vortices] cargo door for military applications, on Aug. 25. But a mysterious explosion on a launch pad at The new Iridium satellites also will carry a secondary tional Full-Scale Aerodynamics Facility fow of the airplane surfaces, and we and we think we have a good solution Cape Canaveral seven days later destroyed a Falcon 9 and its payload, manufactured by Harris Corp., that will relay Au- (NFAC) wind tunnel at NASA Ames. don’t want intrusive pressure rakes or for that,” says Princen. “We’ve done payload and has grounded SpaceX until at least November, tomatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signals This same 6% scale model was built for pressure probes. This will produce a recent CFD work, and the flow qual- raising doubts about Iridium’s plan to have the new system from airliners anywhere on the globe to ground controllers, NASA’s recently completed Environ- three-dimensional map of the separa- ity looks good behind the aircraft. It is fully operational by the end of next year. “We’re encouraged allowing for reduced horizontal separation between aircraft mentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) tion and vortex fow at high angles of potentially better than the conventional by SpaceX’s November target for a return to fight, but all over oceans and providing real-time, satellite-based tracking program and was initially evaluated attack. fuselage ramp because of the upwash is based on a successful root-cause determination” of the of aircraft fying over oceans and remote areas. The system at Langley before the tunnel sufered “We will see where it originates from you get around the fuselage close out. Sept. 1 explosion, says an Iridium spokeswoman. “We’re will be operated by a spinof-venture, Aireon, whose inves- mechanical failure and the balance of and compare that with the predictions That’s why we think it’s a superior solu- ready to launch when our rocket is ready.” tors include Iridium, Nav Canada and the air navigation the testing was transferred to Ames. from computational fluid dynamics tion for the airdrop mission. We believe Iridium insists it will “continue operating as we are today” service providers in Italy, Denmark and Ireland (AW&ST “As part of the process of bringing [CFD]. PIV is really looking at the of- this is the path forward for the BWB, until the new system is in place, but the clock is ticking on Feb. 29-March 12, p. 56). “We will be able to see every com- the 14 X 22-ft. wind tunnel back online, board fow feld generated by the fan, and in the next 10 years or so we can its 18-year-old satellites. The interconnected network has mercial aircraft in the world that is broadcasting ADS-B,” we had the opportunity to go back in aft section and overwing by the leading develop it into some kind of military developed two minor gaps in its global footprint that could, says Desch. “We think we are going to be the predominant with the same model and do tunnel- edge devices,” Bonet notes. transport, freighter or tanker.” c in the worst case, delay signals for 6 min. The longer it takes player in the cockpit.” c
44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 45
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Reaction expects to procure frst parts for a combat aircraft-size SABRE ground demonstrator following a design review later this year.
think we have found a sweet spot with utility, where you can still see extrapolation to an end product. We are still Reaction Reaction engines in the design phase at the moment, and before the end of Reality the year we aim to go through a design review that allows us to procure the frst parts of the dem- SABRE demonstrator will be scaled for smaller- onstrator.” Reaction’s demonstrator road map scale hypersonic and reusable launch needs is divided into three main phases, the final part of which culminates with Guy Norris Culham, England fight testing early next decade. The first phase, from this year to 2020, reshly infused with government Reaction CEO Mark Thomas be- focuses on proving the core of the F and industry funding, and riding lieves the move to a smaller demon- SABRE and the heat exchanger. “We a wave of interest in Europe and strator is serendipitous. “It is now are bringing together the core system the U.S., Reaction Engines Ltd. is frm- more afordable, more rapid to execute as a dedicated demonstrator, which ing up plans to build a fghter engine- and will potentially fnd its frst appli- will allow us to prove that the thermo- size ground demonstrator of its reus- cation quicker,” he says. Comparable in dynamic cycle actually stacks up and able hypersonic propulsion system. overall size to Pratt & Whitney’s F135 that the helium-based cycle is capable As that rarest of beasts, a pow- engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter of generating thrust,” says Thomas. erplant concept combining the air- (JSF), the smaller SABRE could more The basic principle of the SABRE breathing efficiency of a jet engine easily find its way onto a multistage cycle depends on a precooler that with the power and vacuum operat- vehicle or hypersonic X-plane size ve- chills the incoming air from more than ing capability of a rocket, the SABRE hicle, suggests Thomas. 1,000C (1,800F) to −150C (−240F) in (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket En- “It’s a quarter of a SABRE, effec- less than 1/100th of a second, before gine) cycle is a potential game changer tively. In an application for something passing it through a turbocompressor for the overlapping worlds of reusable like Skylon [the single-stage-to-orbit and into the rocket combustion cham- space and hypersonics. Assisted by spaceplane for which the cycle was ber. Here it is burned with subcooled bypass ram-burners for boost, the originally conceived] the engine would liquid hydrogen fuel. To chill and dry engine is designed to power a vehicle have four combustion chambers con- the incoming air, the SABRE uses a from a standing start on the runway necting to the single nozzle, a bypass closed-cycle helium loop consisting all the way to about Mach 5, at which system and the same large turboma- of miles of tightly packed, thin-walled point it will transition from air-breath- chinery, intake and heat exchanger,” tubing that cools down the air only to ing to an onboard liquid oxygen source says Thomas. “There is a view that the point where it forms a vapor. The for the remainder of the fight to orbit. you could modularize the engine to a vaporized air is then injected by the However, while scientists at both far higher degree, so that you could turbocompressor at high pressure the U.S. Air Force Research Labora- have four compressors and still have into the combustion chamber. For tory and the European Space Agency a large heat exchanger. From this point higher-altitude operation and speeds are among those who have verifed the onward you could go completely modu- over Mach 5 for the acceleration to theoretical capability of the SABRE lar, so if you could demonstrate one ele- Mach 25 and orbital velocity, the en- and the innovative precooler design ment, then it is all about integration.” gine switches to onboard liquid oxygen at its heart, the UK-based developer There are other advantages, too, supply and runs as a semiconventional knows only a successful full-size dem- says Thomas: “Being a JSF-size en- closed-cycle rocket engine. onstrator will prove the concept is real. gine, it also gives us the ability to do “We are looking to do the frst test Reaction originally targeted a full- a rapid demonstrator that can use within the next 12-15 months, and after scale demonstrator capable of more of-the-shelf components. So you do the heat exchanger the core test is the than 150,000 lb. thrust, but the engine not have to develop everything such one we are positioning for in the 2019 size has been scaled back to refect the as pumps, compressors and other ele- time frame,” says Thomas. Tests would slower-than-expected rate of funding. ments.” The change in scale has “been focus on the low fuel consumption po- As a result, the demonstrator will good and refreshing,” he notes. “Now tential of the cycle, as well as operabil- now be rated at about 20 metric tons we are saying, ‘Let’s get this thing ity work covering transients, startups (44,000 lb.) thrust in air-breathing done and moving!’ ” and shutdowns. Key tests will validate mode, or about 25% of the ground-test Although the demonstrator could the performance of the all-important version originally envisioned. have been smaller, Thomas says, “We heat exchanger system, which flows
46 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
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Reaction expects to procure frst parts for a mix of methanol and will incorporate a hydrogen/ a combat aircraft-size SABRE ground water forward through air-breathing preburner to demonstrator following a the matrix of tubes condition the air for core design review later this year. against the direction tests. Evaluation of the of the airfow. “So there rocket nozzle continues at is a drumbeat demon- Airborne Engineering’s test think we have found a sweet stration over the next facility at nearby Westcott, spot with utility, where you few years, and in paral- while parts for the complex can still see extrapolation to lel we will develop the M M ages.co Mark Wagner/aviation-i heat exchanger are made an end product. We are still rocket elements of the by Reaction at Culham, as Reaction Reaction engines in the design phase at the system,” he adds. well as by Crossman Engi- moment, and before the end of The second phase neering and Brite Precision, Reality the year we aim to go through will focus on integrated two Didcot, England-based a design review that allows us to engine tests in 2020- companies. procure the frst parts of the dem- 2021. “At a point in Sustained through its SABRE demonstrator will be scaled for smaller- onstrator.” time, we will integrate formative years by $75 mil- Reaction’s demonstrator road map the whole lot and test lion of backing from pri- scale hypersonic and reusable launch needs is divided into three main phases, the that early in the next vate investors, Reaction’s final part of which culminates with decade. This side of growth is accelerating Guy Norris Culham, England fight testing early next decade. The 2020, we will demon- through the injection of $90 first phase, from this year to 2020, strate the frst two ele- million in UK government reshly infused with government Reaction CEO Mark Thomas be- focuses on proving the core of the ments, and then [later investment as well as $31 F and industry funding, and riding lieves the move to a smaller demon- SABRE and the heat exchanger. “We in] 2020 integrate the million from BAE Systems, a wave of interest in Europe and strator is serendipitous. “It is now are bringing together the core system full system and put it which acquired 20% of the the U.S., Reaction Engines Ltd. is frm- more afordable, more rapid to execute as a dedicated demonstrator, which to test,” Thomas says. company in 2015. “BAE ing up plans to build a fghter engine- and will potentially fnd its frst appli- will allow us to prove that the thermo- The full-up evaluation brings lots of expertise size ground demonstrator of its reus- cation quicker,” he says. Comparable in dynamic cycle actually stacks up and will therefore link up and capability we can de- able hypersonic propulsion system. overall size to Pratt & Whitney’s F135 that the helium-based cycle is capable precoolers and thrust ploy on the program,” says As that rarest of beasts, a pow- engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter of generating thrust,” says Thomas. chambers and take the Thomas. “They have great erplant concept combining the air- (JSF), the smaller SABRE could more The basic principle of the SABRE engine through the full systems integration capa- breathing efficiency of a jet engine easily find its way onto a multistage cycle depends on a precooler that operating range with bility and knowledge of how with the power and vacuum operat- vehicle or hypersonic X-plane size ve- chills the incoming air from more than heated inlet air. to work partnerships with ing capability of a rocket, the SABRE hicle, suggests Thomas. 1,000C (1,800F) to −150C (−240F) in Sea-level testing of industry and governments. (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket En- “It’s a quarter of a SABRE, effec- less than 1/100th of a second, before the high-Mach number Helium at 200 bar pressure is passed through the red-capped They ticked all the boxes for gine) cycle is a potential game changer tively. In an application for something passing it through a turbocompressor SABRE cycle is repre- ports into the precooler tube matrix, which is made up of us and their approach is very for the overlapping worlds of reusable like Skylon [the single-stage-to-orbit and into the rocket combustion cham- sentative because the about 2,000 km (1,240 mi.) of 1-mm-dia. tubing with wall refreshing.” space and hypersonics. Assisted by spaceplane for which the cycle was ber. Here it is burned with subcooled atmosphere is both the thicknesses of 20 microns. Reaction says it is “seek- bypass ram-burners for boost, the originally conceived] the engine would liquid hydrogen fuel. To chill and dry source of its energy ing European partners for engine is designed to power a vehicle have four combustion chambers con- the incoming air, the SABRE uses a and the reaction mass, says the compa- For the third phase covering flight some of the building block technol- from a standing start on the runway necting to the single nozzle, a bypass closed-cycle helium loop consisting ny. Using the heat exchanger, the test testing, Reaction is “looking at various ogy” for the demonstrator. Initial all the way to about Mach 5, at which system and the same large turboma- of miles of tightly packed, thin-walled team plans to modulate the air enter- concepts, whether it is an X-plane or a prospects include ramjet developer point it will transition from air-breath- chinery, intake and heat exchanger,” tubing that cools down the air only to ing the engine. Higher velocity air will fight demonstrator aircraft, or a com- Bayern-Chemie, part of missile man- ing to an onboard liquid oxygen source says Thomas. “There is a view that the point where it forms a vapor. The be simulated by heating the air flow bination of those assets,” he adds. ufacturer MBDA, as well as Spanish for the remainder of the fight to orbit. you could modularize the engine to a vaporized air is then injected by the and, as the temperature of the air en- “The X-plane feels like the right terri- engine-maker ITP—recently acquired However, while scientists at both far higher degree, so that you could turbocompressor at high pressure tering the engine will remain ambient tory for something like that.” Targets by Rolls-Royce. the U.S. Air Force Research Labora- have four compressors and still have into the combustion chamber. For thanks to the precooler, Thomas says, for the fight-test engine include inlet However, Reaction is also eagerly tory and the European Space Agency a large heat exchanger. From this point higher-altitude operation and speeds “we can simulate that on the ground all and bypass demonstrations, complete developing its potential interests in are among those who have verifed the onward you could go completely modu- over Mach 5 for the acceleration to the way from Mach 0-5.” In addition, propulsion integration, maintainability the U.S. through a recently established theoretical capability of the SABRE lar, so if you could demonstrate one ele- Mach 25 and orbital velocity, the en- inlet tests will be conducted in wind and reliability. As the hypersonic engine Colorado-based subsidiary led by for- and the innovative precooler design ment, then it is all about integration.” gine switches to onboard liquid oxygen tunnels to evaluate fow conditions. will be closely integrated into whatever mer Lockheed Martin Space Systems at its heart, the UK-based developer There are other advantages, too, supply and runs as a semiconventional This ability to ground test to the airframe it powers, the fight test will architect Adam Dissel. “This enables knows only a successful full-size dem- says Thomas: “Being a JSF-size en- closed-cycle rocket engine. equivalent of Mach 5 is one of the also include a liquid-hydrogen-fueled us to have more constructive discus- onstrator will prove the concept is real. gine, it also gives us the ability to do “We are looking to do the frst test cycle’s key attributes, according to demonstration and evaluation of an sions with U.S. agencies,” says Thom- Reaction originally targeted a full- a rapid demonstrator that can use within the next 12-15 months, and after Reaction. “Scramjets are a fantastic integrated airframe structure concept as. Treading a careful path in terms scale demonstrator capable of more of-the-shelf components. So you do the heat exchanger the core test is the concept, but they are very expensive and high-temperature materials. of export control, Reaction is “being than 150,000 lb. thrust, but the engine not have to develop everything such one we are positioning for in the 2019 to develop because you have to fly Reaction is currently committed as careful as we can possibly be,” he size has been scaled back to refect the as pumps, compressors and other ele- time frame,” says Thomas. Tests would them to get a few seconds of data,” says to testing the SABRE core in the UK. notes. “Designing and making an ar- slower-than-expected rate of funding. ments.” The change in scale has “been focus on the low fuel consumption po- Thomas. “But the SABRE looks more “That means we have to build a test ticle here in the UK for testing may As a result, the demonstrator will good and refreshing,” he notes. “Now tential of the cycle, as well as operabil- like a jet engine, and you can do a lot facility, and that is a big infrastructure result in that article remaining in the now be rated at about 20 metric tons we are saying, ‘Let’s get this thing ity work covering transients, startups of testing on the ground because of the project,” says Thomas. “We are a few U.S., and we are fne with that. If that (44,000 lb.) thrust in air-breathing done and moving!’ ” and shutdowns. Key tests will validate heat exchanger, which gives you stable weeks away from submitting planning gets the job done and puts results in mode, or about 25% of the ground-test Although the demonstrator could the performance of the all-important entry conditions throughout the whole applications for a test facility close to the hands of decision-makers, that is version originally envisioned. have been smaller, Thomas says, “We heat exchanger system, which flows operating regime.” Culham [England],” he adds. The site a price we would be willing to pay.” c
46 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 47
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article was dropped by one helicopter Alternate Approach and caught at a lower altitude by a hook apparatus attached to an Airbus NASA/industry teaming evolves to demonstrate Helicopters H125 (formerly Eurocop- ter AS350) over the dry lakebed at Vulcan engine recovery and reuse technology Edwards AFB. The test, which was run three times, may be extended to in- Guy Norris Los Angeles clude higher loads, say NASA ofcials. Partners included California-based hile both Blue Origin and Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-1) from the Airborne Systems, which developed a WSpaceX have demonstrated base of the stack after burn out. Sepa- conceptual design for a scalable system the feasibility of recovering rated by a shaped explosive charge of parafoils and load-limiting grapples, and reusing boosters as part of an in- built into the thrust structure between and Erickson Aviation of Oregon, which dustry-wide push to cut the cost of ac- the engine mounts and the base of the evaluated the operational aspects. cess to space, United Launch Alliance stage, the device will sever the large Massachusetts-based Charles Stark (ULA) is taking the frst steps along an feed pipes supplying oxygen and fuel Draper Laboratory also developed alternate path involving recovery of to the thrust chamber, be it methane a road map for guidance, navigation only the frst-stage engines—the high- or kerosene. and control development, as well as est-value element of the booster. The engines will be protected during autonomous systems for the parafoil, ULA’s sensible modular autonomous reentry by a hypersonic infatable atmo- helicopter and grapple. Based on ini- return technology (SMART) reuse con- spheric decelerator (HIAD) that in turn tial testing, follow-on demonstrations cept, frst unveiled in 2015, is based on will be detached to enable deployment of 5,000- and 20,000-lb. systems are planned by ULA. Reed, who updated Vulcan Engine Recovery Aeroshell Size Comparison the status of SMART at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronau- NASA Inflatable Reentry Vulcan Recovery System tics Space 2016 conference, says testing Vehicle Experiment shows “our entire approach is viable.” (IRVE-3) For decelerator work, ULA’s team- 3-m diameter (10-ft.) ing arrangement with NASA builds on 60-deg. half‐cone angle the agency’s continuing HIAD studies Hypersonic Inflatable and results of the Infatable Reentry Aerodynamic Decelerator Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) in 2012. on ULA (HULA) Designed to enable larger payloads to be inserted into the atmospheres of other planets, or the recovery of 6-m diameter 12-m diameter fast-moving spacecraft to Earth, the 70-deg. half‐cone angle 70-deg. half‐cone angle HIAD consists of a set of concentric SOURCE: ULA doughnut-shaped rings. Each inflat- Studies indicate that a 12-m-dia. (40-ft.) HIAD aeroshell will enable able ring, or torus, is made of braided Zylon and held to its neighboring torus recovery and reuse of Vulcan engines with minimal or no refurbishment. by Zylon straps. the premise that it is more economical of a parafoil. Supported by the parafoil, “NASA was studying HIAD, so see- to use full booster performance to deliv- the engines will be recovered in midair ing this as synergy with their efforts er additional mass to orbit rather than by a helicopter and fown to a waiting we set up a Space Act Agreement with reserve fuel to return the frst stage to vessel downrange. Langley to mature that technology and the landing site. ULA argues the reus- To perfect two key elements of burn down risks associated with our able frst stage approach in particular SMART—the HIAD and MAR (mid- application,” says Reed. Unlike IRVE-3, incurs up to a 60% performance loss. air recovery)—the launch company has which was 3 m in diameter and deceler- Even though ULA concedes that re- teamed with other industry players and ated up to 20g, the Vulcan engine recov- usable boosters can work with lighter NASA through Space Act Agreements. ery system will be scaled up to around payloads, the company believes in these Although midair recovery systems have 12 m to provide a nominal entry of 3g. cases the business case is undermined retrieved payloads from space since the As an interim step. ULA is working by the loss of potential revenue with 1960s, none have yet been developed to with NASA on fight demonstrations each launch. manage the 21,000-lb. class of load that of a 6-m-dia. HIAD. Dubbed HULA The SMART concept is predicated will be needed for the Vulcan engines. (HIAD ULA), the experiment will be on development of the Vulcan rock- “We needed partners in this endeavor,” the largest blunt body reentry ever et and ACES (Advanced Cryogenic says ULA reusable systems principal fown and be boosted by a Centaur At- Evolved Stage) launch system, the investigator John Reed. las V second stage. The plan includes combined version of which should be ULA teamed with NASA Armstrong launching several secondary payloads in service by 2023. The frst reusable Flight Research Center in California mounted in NanoRacks and on an launch is targeted for 2024 and involves for the third-generation MAR test, the adaptor before the Centaur performs detaching the main engines (either the initial recovery method for which was a reentry burn and spins up the HULA baseline Blue Origin BE-4 or alternate demonstrated in July when a 1,100-lb. prior to separation. c
48 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p48.indd 48 9/21/16 10:14 AM REUSABLE LAUNCH TECHNOLOGY article was dropped by one helicopter on facilities at Cape Canaveral AFS, Alternate Approach and caught at a lower altitude by a Another Reusable where it has taken over Launch Com- hook apparatus attached to an Airbus plex 36 for orbital operations and plans NASA/industry teaming evolves to demonstrate Helicopters H125 (formerly Eurocop- Blue Origin details orbital launch vehicle to spend $220 million on improvements. ter AS350) over the dry lakebed at Also in the works is a manufacturing Vulcan engine recovery and reuse technology Edwards AFB. The test, which was Frank Morring, Jr. Washington plant in a nearby state industrial park run three times, may be extended to in- (AW&ST Sept. 28-Oct. 11, 2015, p. 66). Guy Norris Los Angeles clude higher loads, say NASA ofcials. he powerful new space launch will be able to handle. Both versions In October, the company is planning Partners included California-based Tvehicle outlined by Blue Origin will have a 23-ft. diameter. The two- a ffth fight of the same New Shepard hile both Blue Origin and Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-1) from the Airborne Systems, which developed a owner Jeff Bezos could give part- stage version will stand 270 ft. tall, booster with the same engines at its re- WSpaceX have demonstrated base of the stack after burn out. Sepa- conceptual design for a scalable system ner United Launch Alliance (ULA) a while the three-stage vehicle will mea- mote West Texas facility for an ascent- the feasibility of recovering rated by a shaped explosive charge of parafoils and load-limiting grapples, run for the money in the 2020s, posi- sure 313 ft., comparable to NASA’s Sat- abort test designed to validate the solid- and reusing boosters as part of an in- built into the thrust structure between and Erickson Aviation of Oregon, which tioning “Blue” to support a burgeoning urn V Moon launcher (see illustration). fuel pusher-type escape engine that will dustry-wide push to cut the cost of ac- the engine mounts and the base of the evaluated the operational aspects. economy in low Earth orbit (LEO) and The Kent, Washington-based com- separate a crew capsule from a failing cess to space, United Launch Alliance stage, the device will sever the large Massachusetts-based Charles Stark beyond. pany Bezos is bankrolling privately with booster during ascent. (ULA) is taking the frst steps along an feed pipes supplying oxygen and fuel Draper Laboratory also developed Named in honor of retired Sen. John his Amazon.com billions is developing Because of the forces that separation alternate path involving recovery of to the thrust chamber, be it methane a road map for guidance, navigation Glenn, the frst U.S. astronaut to orbit the BE-4 in partnership with ULA to of the crew capsule will place on the only the frst-stage engines—the high- or kerosene. and control development, as well as the Earth, the launcher—identified use liquifed natural gas as a fuel. Other rising booster when it ignites at about est-value element of the booster. The engines will be protected during autonomous systems for the parafoil, informally as the “very big brother”— rocket engines in its class, such as the 16,000 ft., company engineers do not ULA’s sensible modular autonomous reentry by a hypersonic infatable atmo- helicopter and grapple. Based on ini- will generate 3.85 million lb. thrust at Russian RD-180 and Aerojet Rock- expect the booster to survive its ffth return technology (SMART) reuse con- spheric decelerator (HIAD) that in turn tial testing, follow-on demonstrations liftoff. It will burn seven of the BE-4 etdyne’s planned AR-1, burn refined fight. If it does, Bezos has said, it will cept, frst unveiled in 2015, is based on will be detached to enable deployment of 5,000- and 20,000-lb. systems are hydrocarbon-fueled engines Blue is kerosene. be displayed in a museum. planned by ULA. Reed, who updated developing with ULA, which intends to Liquifed natural gas is less expen- Like the New Shepard and the Fal- Vulcan Engine Recovery Aeroshell Size Comparison the status of SMART at the American fly them two at a time on the Vulcan sive, but it requires larger fuel tanks con 9 core stage, the New Glenn frst Institute of Aeronautics and Astronau- to produce 1.1 million lb. thrust of the for the same performance as kerosene. stage will return to a tail-down decel- NASA Inflatable Reentry Vulcan Recovery System tics Space 2016 conference, says testing pad. New Glenn and Vulcan are planned The New Glenn will use seven of the eration and landing for reuse. Bezos Vehicle Experiment shows “our entire approach is viable.” to begin routine operations in the com- (IRVE-3) For decelerator work, ULA’s team- ing decade, when U.S. government and 3-m diameter (10-ft.) ing arrangement with NASA builds on private-sector spaceflight managers ‐ 60-deg. half cone angle the agency’s continuing HIAD studies hope to see an of-planet economy de- Hypersonic Inflatable and results of the Infatable Reentry veloping in the region between Earth Aerodynamic Decelerator Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) in 2012. and the Moon. on ULA (HULA) Designed to enable larger payloads Other U.S. launch vehicles also to be inserted into the atmospheres could play into that marketplace. The of other planets, or the recovery of new Blue Origin launcher will be more 6-m diameter 12-m diameter fast-moving spacecraft to Earth, the powerful than the Delta IV Heavy (2.13 70-deg. half‐cone angle 70-deg. half‐cone angle HIAD consists of a set of concentric million lb. thrust with three RS-68A SOURCE: ULA doughnut-shaped rings. Each inflat- liquid-hydrogen engines), but will not Studies indicate that a 12-m-dia. (40-ft.) HIAD aeroshell will enable able ring, or torus, is made of braided generate as much thrust as SpaceX is Zylon and held to its neighboring torus saying its upcoming Falcon Heavy will recovery and reuse of Vulcan engines with minimal or no refurbishment. by Zylon straps. deliver with 27 Merlin hydrocarbon en- the premise that it is more economical of a parafoil. Supported by the parafoil, “NASA was studying HIAD, so see- gines (5.13 million lb. thrust at sea level). Blue Origin to use full booster performance to deliv- the engines will be recovered in midair ing this as synergy with their efforts Two versions of New Glenn are er additional mass to orbit rather than by a helicopter and fown to a waiting we set up a Space Act Agreement with planned—an all-hydrocarbon two- reserve fuel to return the frst stage to vessel downrange. Langley to mature that technology and stage version for launches to LEO, and the landing site. ULA argues the reus- To perfect two key elements of burn down risks associated with our a three-stage iteration for launches to able frst stage approach in particular SMART—the HIAD and MAR (mid- application,” says Reed. Unlike IRVE-3, the Moon and beyond. The third stage The planned Blue Origin orbital launch vehicle, compared to other launchers. incurs up to a 60% performance loss. air recovery)—the launch company has which was 3 m in diameter and deceler- will use a single cryogenic “vacuum- Even though ULA concedes that re- teamed with other industry players and ated up to 20g, the Vulcan engine recov- optimized” version of the suborbital 550,000-lb.-thrust BE-4s in the first has said Blue Origin prefers the ver- usable boosters can work with lighter NASA through Space Act Agreements. ery system will be scaled up to around New Shepard vehicle’s BE-3 engine stage, with a single BE-4 optimized tical-landing approach over a runway payloads, the company believes in these Although midair recovery systems have 12 m to provide a nominal entry of 3g. that will be “capable of fying demand- for vacuum operations powering the landing with wings or a lifting body cases the business case is undermined retrieved payloads from space since the As an interim step. ULA is working ing beyond-LEO missions,” says Bezos, second stage. The three-stage variant because it can be scaled to larger ve- by the loss of potential revenue with 1960s, none have yet been developed to with NASA on fight demonstrations who revealed more details about the will use the same confguration in its hicles. The company already has plans each launch. manage the 21,000-lb. class of load that of a 6-m-dia. HIAD. Dubbed HULA new vehicle Sept. 12. Like New Shepard frst two stages, Bezos says. for ever-larger launch vehicles, and in The SMART concept is predicated will be needed for the Vulcan engines. (HIAD ULA), the experiment will be and the SpaceX Falcon core stage, the The BE-4 will be produced at the announcing the New Glenn details on on development of the Vulcan rock- “We needed partners in this endeavor,” the largest blunt body reentry ever New Glenn frst stage is to be reusable. Kent factory, where the reusable BE-3 Sept. 12 Bezos also revealed the name et and ACES (Advanced Cryogenic says ULA reusable systems principal fown and be boosted by a Centaur At- “Building, fying, landing and refying is manufactured. The latter burns liq- for the next vehicle in the sequence. Evolved Stage) launch system, the investigator John Reed. las V second stage. The plan includes New Shepard has taught us so much uid hydrogen as fuel. The cryogenic “Our vision is millions of people living combined version of which should be ULA teamed with NASA Armstrong launching several secondary payloads about how to design for practical, oper- upper-stage engine has already proved and working in space, and New Glenn in service by 2023. The frst reusable Flight Research Center in California mounted in NanoRacks and on an able reusability,” Bezos says. “And New its mettle in tests of the New Shepard, is a very important step,” he states. “It launch is targeted for 2024 and involves for the third-generation MAR test, the adaptor before the Centaur performs Glenn incorporates all those learnings.” fying repeated missions without costly won’t be the last, of course. Up next on detaching the main engines (either the initial recovery method for which was a reentry burn and spins up the HULA Still to be revealed are the payload and time-consuming refurbishment. our drawing board: New Armstrong. baseline Blue Origin BE-4 or alternate demonstrated in July when a 1,100-lb. prior to separation. c masses the two New Glenn variants Blue Origin has started construction But that’s a story for the future.” c
48 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 49
AW_09_26_2016_p48.indd 48 9/21/16 10:14 AM AW_09_26_2016_p49.ildd.indd 49 9/15/16 4:40 PM ConneCted AerospACe CoCkpit ConneCtivity
Working Data provider for Inmarsat’s new broadband Ka-band Jet ConneX service, is taking a holistic view of connectivity across its Small equipment additions promise entire avionics and auxiliary power unit portfolio. “We are looking at what con- large benefts for connected airlines nectivity does to the front of the aircraft and under the foorboards,” says Carl John Croft Washington Esposito, vice president of marketing and product management for Honey- well Aerospace. “We have strategies and plans around using it in innovative ways to improve operations, mainte- nance, reliability and the fundamental business models of our clients.” As an example of out-of-the-box thinking, Honeywell recently certifed Honeywell has certifed a software modifcation to its 3-D weather radar that allows for crowdsourcing among connected aircraft.
a software upgrade for its RDR-4000 weather radar that will downlink the radar’s output to the company’s Global Data Center (GDC), where forecasters will be able to boost the capabilities of Honeywell’s Weather Information sub- Honeywell scription service. “Airborne weather dvances in connectivity sys- Boeing 737—with connectivity equip- radar was never designed to share its Atems, and some creative think- ment. Key competitors include Astro- information,” says Esposito, arguing ing, hold the promise of a broad nautics Corp. of America, Astronics the development is revolutionary rather new slate of applications and services Corp., Avionica Inc., Esterline CMC than evolutionary. “There are no design that will beneft airline operational ef- Electronics, Teledyne Controls and standards for that.” fciency and safety. Thompson Aerospace. The GDC will merge the downlinked Fueling the trend are the increas- Rockwell Collins, which purchased weather—sent every 5 min. from partic- ing number of airliners being fitted Arinc in 2013 and rebranded the op- ipating aircraft—with data from other with broadband systems and small, eration as Information Management connected weather radars and tradi- lightweight cabin and “crew services” Services, predicts a boom time for tional sources to create, with enough network hardware and software dedi- applications and services as broad- aircraft transmitting data, what could cated to the fight deck and operations. band connectivity slowly but surely be the frst near-global, near-real-time Pilots will beneft in part through new becomes ubiquitous in the airline feet. snapshot of weather from the ground to electronic fight bag (EFB) applications Kent Statler, executive vice president 60,000 ft. (the RDR-4000 looks ahead that tap into onboard and offboard and chief operating ofcer of Rockwell up to 320 nm at a swath of airspace data, while airlines will see efciency Collins’s Commercial Systems division, between the ground and 60,000 ft. in gains through movement of operational says a key focus is to position the com- a 240-deg. arc). data at lower costs, both on the ground pany for “the inevitable move into the The crowdsourced weather will be and in the air. information management side.” sent to subscribers, including airlines, Top avionics companies includ- Management in this context involves business aviation and general aviation ing Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and not only moving data from the aircraft pilots, as well as atypical paying custom- Thales are investing heavily in the to the airline operations center and ers including forecasters and insurance hardware and software components, back, but also using the data to help companies. “That kind of information, and the data pipes that deliver the in- carriers save money. Statler says a top particularly over oceanic regions, Af- formation to and from the cockpit, as priority of airlines is to be able to use rica and the Middle East, has never ex- they compete to become end-to-end connectivity to minimize feet disrup- isted before,” says Esposito, adding that service providers for data-hungry avi- tions due to weather or other unplanned Honeywell is “working incentive details” onics and EFB applications. circumstances. He says the company is with RDR-4000-equipped airlines that An increasing number of connec- involved in “disruption management” sign up to get the software upgrade and tivity subsystem providers building studies with both Airbus and Boeing to provide the crowdsourced data. servers or aircraft interface devices determine how to “fx” a disruption and Honeywell is also drasticaly increas- are jockeying for potentially lucrative communicate the solution to the feet. ing the number of cockpit applications contracts outftting legacy aircraft de- Honeywell, the main distributor that can take advantage of its connect- signs—primarily the Airbus A320 and and satellite communications terminal ed weather information service. Kiah
50 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p50-51.indd 50 9/16/16 4:18 PM ConneCted AerospACe CoCkpit ConneCtivity
Working Data provider for Inmarsat’s new broadband Erlich, Honeywell’s director of flight an option for the A320 and A320neo family is Avionica’s Onboard Network Ka-band Jet ConneX service, is taking a support services, says application devel- and A330 new aircraft, with the first System, selected by FlyDubai and East- holistic view of connectivity across its opers for Honeywell’s GoDirect service A320neo delivery expected in Decem- ern Air Lines. The small lightweight Small equipment additions promise entire avionics and auxiliary power unit have increased their output rate from ber to launch customer Azul. Located in electronics stack includes a remote data portfolio. “We are looking at what con- one new application launch per year to the avionics bay, the 6-lb. EFB interface concentrator, which reads data from the large benefts for connected airlines nectivity does to the front of the aircraft one per month. One of their latest devel- and communications device (EICU) avionics buses and other inputs; a quick and under the foorboards,” says Carl opments is a new tool to optimize fl ight electronics box connects to avionics access recorder to capture FOQA data; a John Croft Washington Esposito, vice president of marketing plans in the vertical dimension in real data buses as well as to several discrete 1 TB server for storing FOQA and other and product management for Honey- time based on the latest wind and tem- signals, storing fl ight operations quality information; and 4G cellular and Wi-Fi well Aerospace. “We have strategies perature data, a move Erlich says could assurance (FOQA) data from the fl ight links that give an airline remote capa- and plans around using it in innovative save airlines 88 lb. of fuel per fl ight. Tri- data recorder in memory and providing bilities to move data on and of the air- ways to improve operations, mainte- als underway with a “major internation- the fl ight deck with access to the data craft. The server provides information nance, reliability and the fundamental al airline” will be fi nished by year-end. using Wi-Fi connectivity. Airlines have to the EFBs and can host applications, business models of our clients.” Future work includes optimizing fl ight traditionally collected FOQA data by including electronic logbooks. As an example of out-of-the-box plans in the horizontal direction. physically retrieving the memory from The small form factor is critical for thinking, Honeywell recently certifed Weather data for pilots is in some- the cockpit at the gate and postprocess- the 737, particularly when the aircraft what of a unique category, as it can be ing the data to monitor how well pilots is outfi tted with a cabin broadband sys- Honeywell has certifed a software sent back and forth from the aircraft adhere to standard operating practices. tem. “There’s really no more rack space modifcation to its 3-D weather using the broadband connectivity sys- The EICU, however, is connected to available [in the electronics bay],” says radar that allows for crowdsourcing tems installed for passengers in the 4G cellular and Wi-Fi antennas that Sean Reilly, vice president of business among connected aircraft. cabin, providing that the pilots are au- connect with airline operations Wi- development for Avionica. The com- thorized by the FAA to connect to the Fi systems or hot spots at airports to pany also builds Iridium satcom units a software upgrade for its RDR-4000 network. With a larger volume of data, download FOQA data wirelessly. Given and is developing a lightweight Bring weather radar that will downlink the the cabin network is usually a lower- that Wi-Fi hot spots are typically not Your Own Device Wi-Fi-based infl ight radar’s output to the company’s Global cost option than the “crew services” available at most airports, particu- entertainment system. Data Center (GDC), where forecasters network, a more secure and generally larly internationally, the 4G connec- To retrieve FOQA data, airlines have will be able to boost the capabilities of lower bandwidth network for flight- tion is key to retrieving the data, with the option of using Avionica or another Honeywell’s Weather Information sub- related information. satellite connections as a backup. The mobile service provider. Avionica has Honeywell scription service. “Airborne weather Airlines are increasingly tapping EICU—marketed EICU—marketed asas thethe SSR7000SSR7000 byby partneredpartnered withwith GigSkyGigSky toto createcreate seam-seam- dvances in connectivity sys- Boeing 737—with connectivity equip- radar was never designed to share its into broadband systems in the cabin Atems, and some creative think- ment. Key competitors include Astro- information,” says Esposito, arguing so pilots can receive real-time weather ing, hold the promise of a broad nautics Corp. of America, Astronics the development is revolutionary rather and flight planning updates through new slate of applications and services Corp., Avionica Inc., Esterline CMC than evolutionary. “There are no design the airline itself or from third-party that will beneft airline operational ef- Electronics, Teledyne Controls and standards for that.” providers such as Honeywell and Rock- fciency and safety. Thompson Aerospace. The GDC will merge the downlinked well Collins. Delta Air Lines pilots are Fueling the trend are the increas- Rockwell Collins, which purchased weather—sent every 5 min. from partic- tapping into the cabin network to link ing number of airliners being fitted Arinc in 2013 and rebranded the op- ipating aircraft—with data from other with broadband systems and small, eration as Information Management connected weather radars and tradi- Rockwell Collins reveals the small Services, predicts a boom time for tional sources to create, with enough lightweight cabin and “crew services” form factor of the company’s new CROFT/AW&STJOHN network hardware and software dedi- applications and services as broad- aircraft transmitting data, what could server for the A320neo. cated to the fight deck and operations. band connectivity slowly but surely be the frst near-global, near-real-time Pilots will beneft in part through new becomes ubiquitous in the airline feet. snapshot of weather from the ground to their EFBs through the Gogo connec- electronic fight bag (EFB) applications Kent Statler, executive vice president 60,000 ft. (the RDR-4000 looks ahead tion system to run an application that that tap into onboard and offboard and chief operating ofcer of Rockwell up to 320 nm at a swath of airspace graphically shows turbulence reports data, while airlines will see efciency Collins’s Commercial Systems division, between the ground and 60,000 ft. in assembled by forecasters using down- gains through movement of operational says a key focus is to position the com- a 240-deg. arc). linked ride-quality parameters from data at lower costs, both on the ground pany for “the inevitable move into the The crowdsourced weather will be hundreds of aircraft in the fl eet. Rockwell Collins—has four subscriber less global connectivity through the and in the air. information management side.” sent to subscribers, including airlines, While cabin networks can passively identifi cation module (SIM) cards that GigSky network. After landing, the Top avionics companies includ- Management in this context involves business aviation and general aviation monitor certain avionics parameters— airlines can program for dif erent cellu- network connects to GigSky’s 3G/4G ing Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and not only moving data from the aircraft pilots, as well as atypical paying custom- such as aircraft position for the infl ight lar providers, with the router selecting networks using a single SIM card and Thales are investing heavily in the to the airline operations center and ers including forecasters and insurance entertainment system displays—the in- the appropriate provider based on GPS transfers the data to Avionica’s ground hardware and software components, back, but also using the data to help companies. “That kind of information, teractions are one-way for security and position and other factors. network servers, which validates the and the data pipes that deliver the in- carriers save money. Statler says a top particularly over oceanic regions, Af- safety reasons. Crew networks, with For the fl ight deck, Rockwell Collins data and distributes the results to air- formation to and from the cockpit, as priority of airlines is to be able to use rica and the Middle East, has never ex- dedicated servers, sometimes called is providing software that will allow line customers. they compete to become end-to-end connectivity to minimize feet disrup- isted before,” says Esposito, adding that aircraft interface devices, that require airlines or their third-party provid- Avionica has proven that the sys- service providers for data-hungry avi- tions due to weather or other unplanned Honeywell is “working incentive details” more rigorous software certifi cation are ers to develop applications for EFBs, tem works in remote locations: Reilly onics and EFB applications. circumstances. He says the company is with RDR-4000-equipped airlines that capable of more access and are the fo- taking advantage of the connections says he has successfully downloaded An increasing number of connec- involved in “disruption management” sign up to get the software upgrade and cus of a great deal of development work, to the avionics data captured by the data from a 737 on a recent charter tivity subsystem providers building studies with both Airbus and Boeing to provide the crowdsourced data. given the benefi ts the data can yield for server. The company is building a fl ight to Cuba. c servers or aircraft interface devices determine how to “fx” a disruption and Honeywell is also drasticaly increas- EFB applications and airline operations. similar system as part of the “avionics are jockeying for potentially lucrative communicate the solution to the feet. ing the number of cockpit applications Rockwell Collins is providing Airbus gateway” for the Boeing 777X. Check 6 Aviation Week editors discuss contracts outftting legacy aircraft de- Honeywell, the main distributor that can take advantage of its connect- with a new generation of “smart” serv- A competing third-party server of- how the connected aircraft works : signs—primarily the Airbus A320 and and satellite communications terminal ed weather information service. Kiah ers (or routers) that is being of ered as fering for the Boeing 737NG and MAX AviationWeek.com/podcast
50 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 51
AW_09_26_2016_p50-51.indd 50 9/16/16 4:18 PM AW_09_26_2016_p50-51.indd 51 9/16/16 4:18 PM CONNECTED AEROSPACE COCKPIT CONNECTIVITY Turn On Your Devices
Satellite constellations ramp up to meet growing need for airline passenger connectivity APSTAR Amy Svitak Paris
urging demand for airline cabin connectivity has Hong Kong-based Apstar, a nascent provider of Sspurred the advent of new satellite suppliers hop- aeronautical broadband, will launch its fi rst high- ing to tap into the market, ranging from established throughput broadband satellite by the end of 2018. geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) fl eet operators to startup companies planning global internet constellations in low In Asia, satellite fl eet operator APT Satellite of Hong Earth orbit (LEO). Kong is forming a partnership with the Chinese govern- Infl ight connectivity service provider Gogo is boosting ment to develop a network of mobile broadband satellites investment in its 2Ku technology, with 10 aircraft fi tted for serving aeronautical and maritime platforms. The com- the satellite-enabled Wi-Fi capability as of June, split among bination, formed as part of an agreement between China AeroMexico, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic. Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a major share- Gogo President and CEO Michael Small says he now plans holder in APT, and the Shenzhen regional government in to equip up to 100 aircraft by the end of 2017, and ultimately July, will launch China’s fi rst high-throughput broadband at least 750 annually with the service. satellite by the end of 2018. In the near-term, Small says Gogo expects to sign a capac- According to the terms, APT Mobile Satcom Ltd. (Apstar) ity agreement with OneWeb LLC, a startup based in Brit- will manage construction of the new satellite system, which ain’s Channel Islands that is among a handful of companies will also feature two additional high-capacity satellites to planning new low-circling constellations of internet satellites round out the broadband network by 2020. capable of covering the globe with bandwidth. In the meantime, rival Panasonic Avionics , with its “These satellite constellations will have tremendous EXConnect service, has been using a global Ku-band satel- advantages in terms of latency and coverage,” Small told lite network to deliver broadband connectivity to aircraft investors earlier this year, adding that the company is not around the world. gambling on a single closed system that ties it to a few Panasonic recently announced a memorandum of under- satellites. standing with United Arab Emirates-based Yahsat to explore “Instead, we are betting on an open architecture that will new ways of of ering broadband connectivity to mobile mar- allow us to take advantage of whatever greater innovations kets in the Middle East over the next 3-5 years. Google, OneWeb, SpaceX, SES . . . and others will bring to In addition, the agreement allows both parties to explore the market,” he said, referring to the slate of players, old and the launch of a Yahsat satellite constellation that would serve new, that are developing satellite-based connectivity solu- Panasonic’s general mobility needs in aviation, maritime and tions for the aeronautical and maritime markets. ground transportation, while giving Yahsat the ability to use OneWeb, which in June 2015 raised $500 million in equity Panasonic communication technologies and services. for what is expected to be a multibillion-dollar system of Yahsat currently has Ka-band satellite capacity over the more than 600 small Ku-band satellites in low Earth orbit, Middle East. Under the terms of the memorandum, the com- is working with Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) to build panies will study the frequency to be used, coverage and the new system. As prime contractor for the satellites un- capacity needed to serve fl ight routes in the region, the type der a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb, ADS will of antenna and radome, and certifi cation requirements. build the majority of the spacecraft at a clean-sheet facility In July, Panasonic announced an increase in its commit- in Florida, though the fi rst 10 satellites will be constructed ment from China Eastern Airlines for global broadband at Airbus in Toulouse . connectivity, growing from the 20 aircraft announced last Using the OneWeb constellation, Gogo could potentially November to 84 aircraft. extend its coverage beyond what is currently provided by The extended agreement includes 35 line-fi t aircraft with Intelsat’s fl eet of communications satellites in GEO, adding an extensive retrofi t program covering an additional 49 air- high-throughput capacity for air-traf c routes over the poles. craft. At the same time, Intelsat, which has invested in the One- Panasonic has been among the most aggressive infl ight- Web constellation, says incorporating the LEO broadband connectivity providers in terms of buying and leasing network will of er customers seamless connectivity from Ku-band satellite capacity to provide seamless coverage over both low-circling satellites and geostationary spacecraft. major airline routes. c
52 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
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recorder to a readout facility or down- Destination Driven load and send the data. At Avionica, technicians verify that the recorded Turn On Your Devices Avionica builds foundation data meet certain performance thresh- olds, investigate any exceedances and, for connectivity future for legacy tape-based machines, make Satellite constellations ramp up sure that certain commands (speed up, John Croft Miami slow down) operate correctly. United to meet growing need for airline Airlines, one of the company’s largest passenger connectivity aul Segredo discovered at an ear- “I have an ethic of hiring people that readout clients, downloads its record- Rly age three guiding principles are aviators as well, because pilots are ers and sends the data to Avionica. essential to creating an aero- destination-oriented people,” he says of When Segredo first looked at the space business in the highly competitive Avionica. Along with subsidizing fight issue, airlines were using disparate APSTAR connectivity niche: Put the customer training for employees, the company tools to read out recorders made by Amy Svitak Paris frst; put yourself in the customer’s seat; has on occasion had its own fying club different companies. “What if we teach your employees to fy. and company aircraft, including a PZL took the download software and put Segredo, co-founder, president and Koliber, a license-built version of the it into a regular laptop and changed urging demand for airline cabin connectivity has Hong Kong-based Apstar, a nascent provider of CEO of Miami-based Avionica, has in- Socata Rallye on which Segredo says the cables?” he wondered. “That’s the Sspurred the advent of new satellite suppliers hop- aeronautical broadband, will launch its fi rst high- corporated that wisdom into the DNA about 20 employees learned to fy. While genesis of our ground support line. We ing to tap into the market, ranging from established throughput broadband satellite by the end of 2018. of his company, which builds ground there is currently no company flying take a generic laptop, plug in the right geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) fl eet operators to startup support equipment, data recorders club or aircraft, Segredo, who now fies cable and run the software that will companies planning global internet constellations in low In Asia, satellite fl eet operator APT Satellite of Hong and connectivity systems for the global the company’s Cessna Citation 501SP operate any of these FDRs.” Earth orbit (LEO). Kong is forming a partnership with the Chinese govern- aviation industry. The 25-year-old pri- business jet, says he recently brought That simple concept introduced in Infl ight connectivity service provider Gogo is boosting ment to develop a network of mobile broadband satellites vately held business has 60 employees in an instructor to hold a ground school 1993—applying ingenuity and technol- investment in its 2Ku technology, with 10 aircraft fi tted for serving aeronautical and maritime platforms. The com- servicing more than 750 customers “to get people back into it.” ogy to make life better for the custom- the satellite-enabled Wi-Fi capability as of June, split among bination, formed as part of an agreement between China globally and is growing at about 15% He and a fellow graduate of the Uni- er—served Segredo well as word-of- AeroMexico, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic. Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., a major share- per year on revenues of about $15 mil- versity of Miami, Stylian Cocalides mouth led to a building-block approach Gogo President and CEO Michael Small says he now plans holder in APT, and the Shenzhen regional government in lion a year. Customers include United (now retired), started Avionica in 1992 to other opportunities that ultimately to equip up to 100 aircraft by the end of 2017, and ultimately July, will launch China’s fi rst high-throughput broadband Airlines, FedEx, UPS, Delta Air Lines, based on a common-sense idea to help expanded the company’s product lines at least 750 annually with the service. satellite by the end of 2018. FlyDubai, Emirates, Gol, China Air- airlines with the required annual read- into quick access recorders (QAR) and In the near-term, Small says Gogo expects to sign a capac- According to the terms, APT Mobile Satcom Ltd. (Apstar) lines and Malaysia Airlines. outs of digital flight data recorders connectivity equipment. ity agreement with OneWeb LLC, a startup based in Brit- will manage construction of the new satellite system, which That growth is based not only on the (FDR). Carriers either ship the actual The company’s start in the QAR ain’s Channel Islands that is among a handful of companies will also feature two additional high-capacity satellites to relevance of legacy products—largely planning new low-circling constellations of internet satellites round out the broadband network by 2020. ground support equipment and re- capable of covering the globe with bandwidth. In the meantime, rival Panasonic Avionics , with its corders—but the increasing need for Eastern Air Lines is equip- ping its Boeing 737s with an “These satellite constellations will have tremendous EXConnect service, has been using a global Ku-band satel- ubiquitous connectivity on the fight advantages in terms of latency and coverage,” Small told lite network to deliver broadband connectivity to aircraft deck as a fundamental aircraft capa- Avionica fight deck network investors earlier this year, adding that the company is not around the world. bility. The company’s latest product system that includes a server, gambling on a single closed system that ties it to a few Panasonic recently announced a memorandum of under- line features both “gatelink” capabili- Wi-Fi and 4G wireless gate satellites. standing with United Arab Emirates-based Yahsat to explore ties—connecting the cockpit to the connection. “Instead, we are betting on an open architecture that will new ways of of ering broadband connectivity to mobile mar- airline at the gate to take advantage allow us to take advantage of whatever greater innovations kets in the Middle East over the next 3-5 years. of low-cost broadband data transfer Google, OneWeb, SpaceX, SES . . . and others will bring to In addition, the agreement allows both parties to explore through Wi-Fi and 4G—and satellite the market,” he said, referring to the slate of players, old and the launch of a Yahsat satellite constellation that would serve connections, data and voice, over the new, that are developing satellite-based connectivity solu- Panasonic’s general mobility needs in aviation, maritime and Iridium constellation. tions for the aeronautical and maritime markets. ground transportation, while giving Yahsat the ability to use The confuence of Segredo’s three OneWeb, which in June 2015 raised $500 million in equity Panasonic communication technologies and services. principles began during his 10-year for what is expected to be a multibillion-dollar system of Yahsat currently has Ka-band satellite capacity over the stint at Gables Engineering, a builder more than 600 small Ku-band satellites in low Earth orbit, Middle East. Under the terms of the memorandum, the com- of avionics and controls. He began at is working with Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) to build panies will study the frequency to be used, coverage and age 14 as the kid “sweeping up the the new system. As prime contractor for the satellites un- capacity needed to serve fl ight routes in the region, the type foors and tidying the labs.” By the time der a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb, ADS will of antenna and radome, and certifi cation requirements. he turned 16, he was learning to write build the majority of the spacecraft at a clean-sheet facility In July, Panasonic announced an increase in its commit- machine code for the microcontrollers in Florida, though the fi rst 10 satellites will be constructed ment from China Eastern Airlines for global broadband that were just starting to emerge in at Airbus in Toulouse . connectivity, growing from the 20 aircraft announced last electronics. “I noticed there were no Using the OneWeb constellation, Gogo could potentially November to 84 aircraft. pilots there,” says Segredo of his co- extend its coverage beyond what is currently provided by The extended agreement includes 35 line-fi t aircraft with workers at the time. “[We] built con- Intelsat’s fl eet of communications satellites in GEO, adding an extensive retrofi t program covering an additional 49 air- troller panels for cockpits, and none of high-throughput capacity for air-traf c routes over the poles. craft. us knew what they were for.” At the same time, Intelsat, which has invested in the One- Panasonic has been among the most aggressive infl ight- Segredo decided to put himself in Web constellation, says incorporating the LEO broadband connectivity providers in terms of buying and leasing the customer’s seat, fguratively, earn- network will of er customers seamless connectivity from Ku-band satellite capacity to provide seamless coverage over ing his private pilot’s license and be- both low-circling satellites and geostationary spacecraft. major airline routes. c coming “very passionate” about fying. John Croft/AW&St
52 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 53
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business came the late 1990s when says Segredo. To date, the company has for “safety services” and qualify for Delta Air Lines—which used Avionica sold about 8,000 mini QARs. lower separation minimums over the for FDR readouts—asked for help with The second-generation mini QAR ocean. United was the frst customer, a problem. The industry was in the came about because FedEx wanted equipping a Boeing 777. Anthony Rios, early stages of a seismic shift in safety more capacity but the same download Avionica’s vice president of sales, says culture, moving from forensics (wait time, a request that led to a USB port the company has 850 “classic” satcom for an accident then fx what caused and an Ethernet connection. FedEx systems in service and has sold about it) to predictive safety, where airlines later asked for changes that would re- 200 Satlink Max systems. and the FAA would analyze fight data sult in the third-generation mini QAR in A request by Gulfstream during de- to root out trends pointing to a poten- 2009, initially with Wi-Fi connectivity velopment of the G650 around 2008 tial accident. and later with 3G and 4G wireless con- set the path for further evolution of Delta needed an easy way to read nections over cellular links. Along the the mini QAR. Rios says the airframer out the fight performance data, called way, Avionica built a military version had heard about Avionica’s ability to Flight Operations Quality Assurance of the mini QAR, which was used for connect EFBs to aircraft data via Eth- (FOQA) data, from the aircraft’s digital a time by the U.S. Navy to record fight ernet and wanted to see if the same fight data acquisition unit, the device parameters for post-flight playback confguration could be used to sample that taps into the various data buses on Boeing F/A-18 fghter jets based at data from a group of hydraulic flters and sends information to the FDR box. Patuxent River and Miramar NAS, in that otherwise would require a bundle “We had been kicking around this of wires running to the health-monitor- concept of a tiny data recorder that ing system at the front of the aircraft. would plug into the provisions Boeing “Three months later, we went to Gulf- already had in the aircraft, just to test stream to demonstrate the mini QAR the system and see if it would work,” on steroids,” says Rios. The beefed-up says Segredo. He notes that engineers QAR, with additional inputs, memory and capability, was ofcially named the Avionica President/CEO Raul remote data concentrator and became Segredo at the controls of his a standard component on the G650. Cessna Citation 501SP business jet. The culmination of recorder and connectivity evolution is housed in Avi- came up with a variety of prototypes onica’s Onboard Network Server archi- that were round, square or oblong. For tecture (AviONS). The smal-footprint the Boeing 737, the device would plug electronics package includes a remote into a connector at the back of the for- data concentrator topped with the Wi- ward closet. AvionicA Fi and 4G units and an Ethernet con- After meetings with the FAA at the Maryland and California, respectively. nection to the Satlink Max electronics aircraft certifcation ofce in Atlanta, While the QAR was evolving, airlines box in the crown of the aircraft, near Segredo was given the green light to in the mid-2000s were also interested the L-band antennas. treat the device as a thumb drive (not in increasing the usefulness of elec- While Avionica has come far, it does requiring certification) and was al- tronic flight bags (EFB), which were face challenges,; the latest of which lowed to try it on a small number of largely being used to hold electronic is an ongoing lawsuit with Teledyne Delta aircraft for a few months. With documents. Miami Air International, a Controls. According to court docu- the miniature QAR, Delta could down- charter operator based in Miami, called ments, the suit revolves around claims load the FOQA data using a laptop on Avionica to connect its EFBs to the that Avionica’s connectivity systems plugged into the mini QAR. The test external world via satellite, in large part infringe on a 2001 patent by Teledyne went well, and the FAA allowed Delta to update charts from anywhere in the for “wireless transmission of aircraft to equip its entire 737 feet with Avi- world. The resulting “Satlink” prod- performance data, from an aircraft to onica’s QAR using a “feld approval” uct, which connected the aircraft via the ground once an aircraft has landed.” rather than a formal supplemental the Iridium satellite network, took the Teledyne builds Ground Link, a compet- type certifcate (STC), a move Segredo next step in evolution when Continental ing system. Avionica denies the allega- says spared the company from having Airlines needed communications help tions and has asked for a jury trial. Ab- to generate a 3-ft.-tall stack of approval for its feet of 737s in Micronesia. sent a settlement, which could possibly documentation. Because of issues with the legacy involve Avionica paying a license fee to He says Delta flew the first-gener- communications system—HF—pilots Teledyne for AviONS, the two will face ation recorders for three years and would sometimes have no voice con- of in court starting in May 2017. 600,000 flight hours with only one tact to tell controllers in California that As with any turbulence, Segredo failure before upgrading to the second- they needed to divert around weather. navigates like a pilot, always keep- generation version, for which Avionica The solution was to use Avionica’s ing his sights on the destination. “I’m in 2002 gained an STC (that now cov- system for voice calls over Iridium. In an engineer with no formal business ers almost 250 aircraft types in an 2013, Avionica came out with its next- training,” he says. “I need to cling to “approved model list”) and put all the generation Iridium satcom (called pretty simple tenets: If I take care of necessary quality controls in place for Satlink Max), which included approval the customer, the customer will take a production facility. “We have never for FANS 1/A capability, meaning air- care of me. Going on 25 years, that looked back in the 17 intervening years,” craft could use the datalink and voice theory has always proven out.” c
54 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p53-54.indd 54 9/22/16 5:11 PM ConneCted AerospACe CoCkpit ConneCtivity CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING business came the late 1990s when says Segredo. To date, the company has for “safety services” and qualify for To Place Your Classified Ad Contact: Delta Air Lines—which used Avionica sold about 8,000 mini QARs. lower separation minimums over the Miguel Ornelas; Tel: 818-834-4232 • [email protected] for FDR readouts—asked for help with The second-generation mini QAR ocean. United was the frst customer, a problem. The industry was in the came about because FedEx wanted equipping a Boeing 777. Anthony Rios, early stages of a seismic shift in safety more capacity but the same download Avionica’s vice president of sales, says EQUIPMENT TENDER NOTICE culture, moving from forensics (wait time, a request that led to a USB port the company has 850 “classic” satcom for an accident then fx what caused and an Ethernet connection. FedEx systems in service and has sold about Ultrasonic Inspection C-Scan Systems it) to predictive safety, where airlines later asked for changes that would re- 200 Satlink Max systems. for your High Performance Structures and the FAA would analyze fight data sult in the third-generation mini QAR in A request by Gulfstream during de- to root out trends pointing to a poten- 2009, initially with Wi-Fi connectivity velopment of the G650 around 2008 tial accident. and later with 3G and 4G wireless con- set the path for further evolution of Delta needed an easy way to read nections over cellular links. Along the the mini QAR. Rios says the airframer out the fight performance data, called way, Avionica built a military version had heard about Avionica’s ability to Flight Operations Quality Assurance of the mini QAR, which was used for connect EFBs to aircraft data via Eth- (FOQA) data, from the aircraft’s digital a time by the U.S. Navy to record fight ernet and wanted to see if the same fight data acquisition unit, the device parameters for post-flight playback confguration could be used to sample that taps into the various data buses on Boeing F/A-18 fghter jets based at data from a group of hydraulic flters and sends information to the FDR box. Patuxent River and Miramar NAS, in that otherwise would require a bundle • Automated Ultrasonic C-Scan Systems “We had been kicking around this of wires running to the health-monitor- • Multi-Axis Gantries and Immersion Tanks concept of a tiny data recorder that ing system at the front of the aircraft. would plug into the provisions Boeing “Three months later, we went to Gulf- already had in the aircraft, just to test stream to demonstrate the mini QAR the system and see if it would work,” on steroids,” says Rios. The beefed-up (508) 351-3423 [email protected] says Segredo. He notes that engineers QAR, with additional inputs, memory and capability, was ofcially named the Avionica President/CEO Raul remote data concentrator and became COURSES ADVANCED COMPOSITE TRAINING ICE SENSORS Segredo at the controls of his a standard component on the G650. Cessna Citation 501SP business jet. The culmination of recorder and Aircraft Stress Analysis ICE SENSORS connectivity evolution is housed in Avi- Distance Learning Modern Ice Sensors for UAVs came up with a variety of prototypes onica’s Onboard Network Server archi- Certificate Program that were round, square or oblong. For tecture (AviONS). The smal-footprint For additional information All-plastic probes the Boeing 737, the device would plug electronics package includes a remote contact us at: Demonstrably the smallest, lightest, into a connector at the back of the for- data concentrator topped with the Wi- http://www.psa1.com most sensitive aloft today. ward closet. AvionicA Fi and 4G units and an Ethernet con- or 208-772-7721 newavionics.com • 954-776-1900 After meetings with the FAA at the Maryland and California, respectively. nection to the Satlink Max electronics aircraft certifcation ofce in Atlanta, While the QAR was evolving, airlines box in the crown of the aircraft, near Segredo was given the green light to in the mid-2000s were also interested the L-band antennas. treat the device as a thumb drive (not in increasing the usefulness of elec- While Avionica has come far, it does requiring certification) and was al- tronic flight bags (EFB), which were face challenges,; the latest of which lowed to try it on a small number of largely being used to hold electronic is an ongoing lawsuit with Teledyne Appraisal Services Delta aircraft for a few months. With documents. Miami Air International, a Controls. According to court docu- the miniature QAR, Delta could down- charter operator based in Miami, called ments, the suit revolves around claims Aircraft Collateral Verifcation & Audit load the FOQA data using a laptop on Avionica to connect its EFBs to the that Avionica’s connectivity systems JETAPPRAISALS plugged into the mini QAR. The test external world via satellite, in large part infringe on a 2001 patent by Teledyne Portfolio Audits went well, and the FAA allowed Delta to update charts from anywhere in the for “wireless transmission of aircraft to equip its entire 737 feet with Avi- world. The resulting “Satlink” prod- performance data, from an aircraft to Investigative accurateaccurate appraisalsappraisals Diminution of Value onica’s QAR using a “feld approval” uct, which connected the aircraft via the ground once an aircraft has landed.” rather than a formal supplemental the Iridium satellite network, took the Teledyne builds Ground Link, a compet- type certifcate (STC), a move Segredo next step in evolution when Continental ing system. Avionica denies the allega- Whether buying or selling, an appraisal from an accredited aircraft appraiser is important says spared the company from having Airlines needed communications help tions and has asked for a jury trial. Ab- for ensuring your aircraft is accurately refecting its fair market value. to generate a 3-ft.-tall stack of approval for its feet of 737s in Micronesia. sent a settlement, which could possibly documentation. Because of issues with the legacy involve Avionica paying a license fee to He says Delta flew the first-gener- communications system—HF—pilots Teledyne for AviONS, the two will face Carl Janssens Chris Reynolds ation recorders for three years and would sometimes have no voice con- of in court starting in May 2017. Accredited Senior Appraiser Accredited Senior Appraiser 600,000 flight hours with only one tact to tell controllers in California that As with any turbulence, Segredo failure before upgrading to the second- they needed to divert around weather. navigates like a pilot, always keep- generation version, for which Avionica The solution was to use Avionica’s ing his sights on the destination. “I’m 877.531.1450 | jetappraisals.com in 2002 gained an STC (that now cov- system for voice calls over Iridium. In an engineer with no formal business ers almost 250 aircraft types in an 2013, Avionica came out with its next- training,” he says. “I need to cling to “approved model list”) and put all the generation Iridium satcom (called pretty simple tenets: If I take care of necessary quality controls in place for Satlink Max), which included approval the customer, the customer will take a production facility. “We have never for FANS 1/A capability, meaning air- care of me. Going on 25 years, that looked back in the 17 intervening years,” craft could use the datalink and voice theory has always proven out.” c
54 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 55
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56 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/September 26-october 9, 2016 57
AW_09_26_2016_p56.indd 56 9/22/16 11:25 AM AW_09_26_2016_p57.indd 57 9/22/16 5:59 PM Viewpoint AEROJET ROCKETDYNE Positioning for Digital Disruption
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG AND DAN SCHWARTZ
hen it comes to technical innovation, few greater outside the company than within, how should industries can match the achievements of we develop better partnering capabilities? W ■ aerospace and defense (A&D). But, ironi- If we can predict product performance, access main- cally, many A&D companies are not on the cutting tenance data from anywhere and 3-D-print spares on edge of using digital technology to create business site, how should we retrain and redeploy employees? models and transform their operations. When A&D ■ If we use better analytics to optimize supply chain executives look at digital opportunities, too many still fows and provide a more stable demand forecast, use the traditional technology lens for developing or can we translate this knowledge into greater invest- improving products without sufciently evaluating ment and risk-sharing by suppliers? the related business model impacts. After defning and prioritizing these business mod- The efects of digital disruption are prevalent across el needs, how do we implement the required changes? industries. The confuence of connectivity, big data and For example, how do we develop or access the talent leaps in computing and software capabilities are dis- and create the IT infrastructure to execute? What do rupting old business models and enabling digital-savvy we have to change in our management approaches startups and other competitors to push into new mar- and go-to-market processes? The diference between kets. In industrial goods, which include those produced success and failure in digitization often comes down by A&D, startups raised $40 billion in venture capital to how well a company can adapt its model. The best to build new businesses in 2015. Leading-edge incum- performers get at least four things right:
bents also are using digital innovation to fundamen- ■ They embed digitization in their strategies versus tally change their oferings. John Deere, for example, developing a digitization strategy. Digitization should
inform and enable execution of a core business strat- egy. Successful digitization strategies focus on helping Too many executives still “ companies better serve the needs of core customers and increase diferentiation in their oferings. use the traditional technology ■ They allocate meaningful R&D time and energy out- “ side the company. Successful companies look beyond lens for developing products. traditional organizational boundaries for ideas, inno- vations and funding. A broader lens helps combat re- sistance to ideas that would disrupt legacy businesses. is shifting from selling farm equipment to providing ■ They build capabilities in partnering. The most suc- data-enabled “agricultural solutions” (which include cessful companies will repeatedly source and screen smart tractors). Some A&D incumbents are getting potential partners in nontraditional places. They will into the game, too. Aerojet Rocketdyne used 3-D print- build partnerships that rest on a strong deal thesis, ing to reduce the parts in a core injector to two from have clearly defned partner contributions as well as 100, reducing time to market to eight weeks from a clear governance mechanisms and exit options. year. Pratt & Whitney and its tech partners analyzed ■ They recruit digital thinkers and create a culture the “exhaust” data from engine sensors to develop a of risk acceptance. New talent is required to compete more proftable power-by-the-hour program. in a digitized world. Top innovators will attract and With digitization marching through sector after hire new talent in part by creating a more open, col- sector, incumbents will continue to disrupt or be laborative and risk-taking culture. disrupted, and A&D, despite its long lead times and Digitization does not represent a wholesale change in product cycles, will not be an exception. every industry and is not required in every operation A good frst step for A&D leadership teams is to or product. But where disruption’s risk and opportunity build a “digital road map” for their companies. While are real, management cannot aford to ignore the power the breadth of technical innovations to consider on of digitization or simply to apply new technologies us- the road map can be quite broad, the business model ing today’s business model. Being prepared and willing questions quickly become paramount. For example: to evolve models to capitalize on innovation will place ■ If the customer is no longer buying hardware (such companies on the right side of digital disruption. c as a satellite) and is now buying an outcome (say, ubiquitous communications), then how does that Michael Goldberg, a Bain & Co. partner in Los Angeles, change the way we develop and price our products? leads its global A&D practice. Dan Schwartz is a Bain ■ If the money invested in autonomy is 1,000 times partner in Washington and a member of its A&D practice.
58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p58.indd 58 9/21/16 2:10 PM AEROJET ROCKETDYNE Viewpoint AVIATION WEEK Positioning for 2016 PHOTO CONTEST Digital Disruption
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG AND DAN SCHWARTZ hen it comes to technical innovation, few greater outside the company than within, how should industries can match the achievements of we develop better partnering capabilities? W ■ aerospace and defense (A&D). But, ironi- If we can predict product performance, access main- cally, many A&D companies are not on the cutting tenance data from anywhere and 3-D-print spares on edge of using digital technology to create business site, how should we retrain and redeploy employees? models and transform their operations. When A&D ■ If we use better analytics to optimize supply chain executives look at digital opportunities, too many still fows and provide a more stable demand forecast, use the traditional technology lens for developing or can we translate this knowledge into greater invest- improving products without sufciently evaluating ment and risk-sharing by suppliers? the related business model impacts. After defning and prioritizing these business mod- The efects of digital disruption are prevalent across el needs, how do we implement the required changes? industries. The confuence of connectivity, big data and For example, how do we develop or access the talent leaps in computing and software capabilities are dis- and create the IT infrastructure to execute? What do rupting old business models and enabling digital-savvy we have to change in our management approaches startups and other competitors to push into new mar- and go-to-market processes? The diference between kets. In industrial goods, which include those produced success and failure in digitization often comes down by A&D, startups raised $40 billion in venture capital to how well a company can adapt its model. The best to build new businesses in 2015. Leading-edge incum- performers get at least four things right: bents also are using digital innovation to fundamen- ■ They embed digitization in their strategies versus tally change their oferings. John Deere, for example, developing a digitization strategy. Digitization should inform and enable execution of a core business strat- egy. Successful digitization strategies focus on helping Too many executives still “ companies better serve the needs of core customers and increase diferentiation in their oferings. use the traditional technology ■ They allocate meaningful R&D time and energy out- “ side the company. Successful companies look beyond lens for developing products. traditional organizational boundaries for ideas, inno- vations and funding. A broader lens helps combat re- sistance to ideas that would disrupt legacy businesses. is shifting from selling farm equipment to providing ■ They build capabilities in partnering. The most suc- data-enabled “agricultural solutions” (which include cessful companies will repeatedly source and screen smart tractors). Some A&D incumbents are getting potential partners in nontraditional places. They will into the game, too. Aerojet Rocketdyne used 3-D print- build partnerships that rest on a strong deal thesis, ing to reduce the parts in a core injector to two from have clearly defned partner contributions as well as 100, reducing time to market to eight weeks from a clear governance mechanisms and exit options. year. Pratt & Whitney and its tech partners analyzed ■ They recruit digital thinkers and create a culture the “exhaust” data from engine sensors to develop a of risk acceptance. New talent is required to compete more proftable power-by-the-hour program. in a digitized world. Top innovators will attract and With digitization marching through sector after hire new talent in part by creating a more open, col- sector, incumbents will continue to disrupt or be laborative and risk-taking culture. disrupted, and A&D, despite its long lead times and Digitization does not represent a wholesale change in product cycles, will not be an exception. every industry and is not required in every operation A good frst step for A&D leadership teams is to or product. But where disruption’s risk and opportunity build a “digital road map” for their companies. While are real, management cannot aford to ignore the power the breadth of technical innovations to consider on of digitization or simply to apply new technologies us- the road map can be quite broad, the business model ing today’s business model. Being prepared and willing questions quickly become paramount. For example: to evolve models to capitalize on innovation will place Entry Deadline Entries must be submitted by October 17, 2016. ■ If the customer is no longer buying hardware (such companies on the right side of digital disruption. c Get more information and enter your photos at AviationWeek.com/photocontest as a satellite) and is now buying an outcome (say, ubiquitous communications), then how does that Michael Goldberg, a Bain & Co. partner in Los Angeles, change the way we develop and price our products? leads its global A&D practice. Dan Schwartz is a Bain ■ If the money invested in autonomy is 1,000 times partner in Washington and a member of its A&D practice.
JIM KOEPNICK 58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 9, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_09_26_2016_p58.indd 58 9/21/16 2:10 PM 609AWBIBC.indd 1 9/16/2016 3:43:55 PM WELCOME TO OUR WORLD
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