February 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval

Astronics awarded contracts to support Boeing’s MQ-25 unmanned tanker for the U.S. Navy

ASTRONICS PRESS RELEASE | FEBRUARY 17, 2021

Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 12 seconds.

Astronics Corporation (Nasdaq: ATRO), a leading provider of advanced technologies for global aerospace, defense and other mission critical industries, has been awarded contracts by The Boeing Company to supply CorePower® aircraft power distribution units and custom-engineered exterior lighting for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program.

“Our CorePower® Electronic Circuit Breaker Unit (ECBU) technology is ideally suited for use in unmanned aircraft. This COTS power distribution technology will support the success of the MQ-25 program by providing intelligent control and visibility of the on-board power systems,” said Pete Gundermann, President and CEO of Astronics. “Additionally, we are proud to bring our exterior lighting expertise for military programs to Boeing on this project.”

The CorePower system replaces pilot-operated, thermal mechanical breaker systems with intelligently controlled, solid-state switches to provide safe, reliable performance remotely. The system planned for the MQ-25 incorporates the use of Astronics' latest generation ECBU products to create an evenly distributed system at a fraction of the wire weight and increased reliability compared with traditional systems.

Astronics is also currently working with Boeing to design custom lighting for the MQ-25 that to provide for safe operations for flight deck personnel and aid in the aerial refueling process.

The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program.

“The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy to extend the range of the carrier air wing and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. “The work we're doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing – where we're building autonomous systems from seabed to space.” For more information on the CorePower® ECBU technology, visit www.astronics.com/aircraft-power-distribution or Astronics' aircraft lighting solutions, visit www.astronics.com/aircraft-exterior-lighting.

This press release was prepared and distributed by Astronics.

https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/astronics-awarded-contracts-to-support-boeings-mq-25-unmanned-tanker-for-the-u-s-navy/

On the same subject

January 21, 2021 | International, Land, C4ISR

DARPA Project Drives Simulation Technology for Off-Road Unmanned Vehicles
RACER-Sim to focus on new computer models to advance autonomy capabilities DARPA's Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency - Simulation (RACER-Sim) project is seeking innovations in technologies that bridge the gap from simulation to the real world and significantly reduce the cost of off-road autonomy development. DARPA invites proposals for promising solutions that support these goals. While the past decade has seen increased use of simulation in developing field robotics, the military off-road environment is especially challenging and complex. Computers need to re-create three-dimensional surfaces, compliant soils and vegetation, and hundreds of obstacle classes. Software also needs to take into account lower fidelity or limited mapping data, unique platform-surface interactions, continuous motion planning, and no defined road networks or driving rules. In addition, modeling high speed off-road performance of sensors/modalities, sensor-to-terrain representations, autonomous platforms, and autonomous control remains a software and processing challenge. “Because these challenges haven't been effectively met, the practical use of current virtual models to advance off-road field robotics capabilities is limited and doesn't yet allow a demonstrable simulation-to-real world capability, said Dr. Stuart Young, RACER program manager. “The large reality gap of current software models and complexities of their use discourage developers and prevent them from leveraging the full benefits of simulation.” Over a four-year timeline, RACER-Sim will investigate technologies that are applicable to the off-road environment in the areas of algorithm development, simulation element technologies, and simulator content generation. Source: DARPA Date: Jan 19, 2021 https://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2021/01/19/darpa-project-drives-simulation-technology-offroad-unmanned-vehicles
April 24, 2022 | International, Aerospace

AeroVironment wins $20M contract for hand-launched drone for Ukraine
The Defense Department has awarded the first contract of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative's $300 million budget for this year, a $19.7 million deal with AeroVironment for a small, hand-launched surveillance drone called the RQ-20 Puma AE.
October 13, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

Bowen inaugure son centre de R&D aux Ulis
PATRICK DÉSAVIE Le spécialiste des équipements complexes de radiofréquences et de télécommunications Bowen a inauguré le 8 octobre son nouveau centre de R&D aux Ulis (Essonne) où travaillent une cinquantaine de salariés. Spécialisé dans la conception et la fabrication d'équipements complexes de radiofréquence et de télécommunications, le groupe Bowen a inauguré, le 8 octobre son nouveau centre de R&D situé dans la grande zone d'activités de Courtabœuf aux Ulis (Essonne). Spécialisé dans la conception et la fabrication d'équipements complexes de radiofréquence et de télécommunications, le groupe Bowen a inauguré, le 8 octobre son nouveau centre de R&D situé https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/bowen-inaugure-son-centre-de-r-d-aux-ulis.N1014414 .

All news