BAE Systems’ $15 Billion Army Vehicle Program Hit by Covid Delay

On the same subject

• 

  April 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing set to reopen major military helicopter production hub for H-47 and MH-139

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — After a two-week closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Boeing on April 20 is set to reopen the Philadelphia-area facility where the H-47 Chinook and several other military helicopters are built, the company announced on Friday. Boeing manufactures the H-47 Chinnook cargo helicopter, the V-22 Osprey and the MH-138 Grey Wolf helicopter at its production line in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Operations at that installation have been suspended since April 3. During that time, the company cleaned the entire facility, Boeing said in a statement. Employees who can work from home will still have the option to telework, but Boeing has added hand-sanitizing stations and will make face masks available for workers at the facility. The company is also requiring employees coming into work to go through a temperature screening before starting a shift, and workstations will be spaced farther apart to reduce the risk of transmission. “The number one priority is and will continue to be protecting the health and safety of our employees, their families and all of our stakeholders,” the company said in a statement. The decision to open the plant in the Philadelphia area follows a similar one made by Boeing earlier this week to restart operations at its facilities in the region near Puget Sound, Washington. The company restarted production of the P-8 maritime surveillance plane and KC-46 tanker this past Monday and will resume production of commercial airliners made at those facilities on April 20. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/04/17/boeing-set-to-reopen-major-military-helicopter-production-hub-for-h-47-and-mh-139/

• 

  May 5, 2024 | International, Land

  Germany and allies accuse Russia of sweeping cyberattacks May 3, 2024

• 

  September 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  The Air Force’s robot pilot returns to the skies

  Nathan Strout A developmental robot pilot that transforms manned aircraft into unmanned systems is flying again after the Air Force Research Laboratory took its ROBOpilot out for a test flight at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, Sept. 24. ROBOpilot's name belies the simplicity of the program. In order to turn a manned aircraft into an unmanned one, AFRL simply replaces the human pilot with a robot who interacts with the aircraft controls the same way a human would: it can pull the yoke, press pedals to control rudders and brakes, adjust the throttle and flip switches. In addition to the robot's own internal GPS and inertial measurement unit, the system scans the gauges on the dashboard for information about the aircraft and its position, processing that information with a computer to independently fly the plane. Importantly, ROBOpilot requires no permanent modifications. All operators need to do is remove the pilots' seats and replace them with ROBOpilot. And if users determine that they want to return the aircraft to a manned mission, ROBOpilot is simply removed and the pilots' seats are reinstalled. The robotic system is the result of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) award granted to DZYNE Technologies by the AFRL's Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI). Despite a successful first flight in August 2019, the system was later grounded after it maintained damage during a landing mishap. “The CRI and DZYNE team analyzed the findings and incorporated the recommendations to ensure the success of this latest test,” said Marc Owens, CRI's program manager for ROBOpilot. “We determined the cause of the mishap, identified the best course of corrective action and we're very pleased to be flight testing again.” Since then, ROBOpilot has been cleared to fly again and installed in a new Cessna 206. On Sept. 24, the system returned to the skies for a 2.2 hour test flight over Utah. “Since this is a completely new build with a different Cessna 206, we re-accomplished the flight test points completed on our first flight last year,” Owen explained. “ROBOpilot is too good an idea to let the mishap derail the development of this technology.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/09/28/the-air-forces-robot-pilot-returns-to-the-skies/