Northrop Grumman, MBDA and Saab Demonstrate the Integration of Disparate Missile and Radar Systems into Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Manager

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  September 11, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  How B-52 Bombers Will Fly Until the 2050s

  By Kyle Mizokami The Air Force's fleet of Cold War bombers will fly longer than most people will live, allowing B-52 crews to work on planes their great-grandfathers flew. A series of upgrades to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber could keep the remaining fleet of Cold War bombers going until 2050. The planes, built during the Kennedy Administration, are expected to receive new engines, electronics, and bomb bay upgrades to keep them viable in nuclear and conventional roles. The B-52 strategic heavy bomber is a true survivor. It was designed to fly high over the Soviet Union carrying atomic bombs if necessary. But the B-52 is the do-it-all tool of strike warfare, taking on whatever mission is popular at the time. B-52s were modified to drop conventional bombs during the Vietnam War, where they proved they could fly low to penetrate enemy defenses, gained the ability to drop precision-guided bombs, and swapped their nuclear bomb loads for nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. The B-52s also can carry Harpoon anti-ship missiles, lay minefields at sea, and provide close air support to troops on the ground. B-52s have even flirted with air-to-air warfare, with their tail gunners reportedly shooting down two MiG-21 fighters over Vietnam. Of the original 102 B-52Hs built between 1961 and 1962, 76 are still flying with the Air Force's Global Strike Command and Air Force reserve. B-52s regularly fly to Europe and Asia, and in early June, two B-52s stationed on the island of Guam flew to the South China Sea in protest of Chinese territorial claims. Now the U.S. Air Force is embarking on a series of major upgrades that could give the B-52 another 30 years of service. According to National Defense, a key improvement will be re-engining the big bomber. Each B-52 still operates eight original TF-33-103 engines. Not only are those engines generations behind the state of the art, but their age, and the difficulty to source spare parts, puts their future use in jeopardy—a problem Popular Mechanics covered last year. Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and GE Aviation have all expressed interest in the new B-52 engine, but only Pratt and Whitney has actually chosen a potential replacement: the PW815 engine used in the Gulfstream G500 passenger jet. The Air Force would like to replace the bomber's APQ-166 terrain following and mapping radars, which are essential for low-level flight. A bomb bay upgrade will allow the B-52 to carry JDAM satellite-guided bombs and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) in its internal bay. Storing weapons internally reduces drag, increasing range. Alternately a B-52 could carry both internal and external stores. A single B-52 can carry eight JASSMs internally and twelve externally, for a total of 20 of the precision attack missiles. Full article: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a23066191/b-52-bombers-fly-until-the-2050s

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  August 9, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Studies Seek to Industrialize Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace

  Lindsay Bjerregaard Oerlikon is partnering with Boeing and Lufthansa Technik to research standardization and qualification of additive manufacturing processes. Oerlikon is pairing up with major aerospace players to make additive manufacturing (AM) a more feasible option for industrialization. The Swiss technology and engineering group has signed agreements this year with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) and Boeing to collaborate on research into ways AM for aerospace can be more easily standardized and qualified. The most recent of these agreements is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with LHT, which aims to establish “robust and repeatable processes for AM in the aircraft MRO industry.” According to a spokesperson for Oerlikon, the collaboration's research seeks to understand what process variability exists when the same component geometries are built on the same machine using the same powder batch, heat treatment, testing conditions and build parameters in different global locations. Oerlikon and LHT will print these components using an Oerlikon-produced IN718 powder alloy on identical printers at LHT Hamburg and Oerlikon's locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Barleben, Germany. Once the variables are identified, the study's objective is to understand how they can be controlled to achieve repeatable processes—which will ensure that all parts meet quality requirements and reduce the cost of recurring quality validation, according to Oerlikon. The company says this repeatability could also provide potential savings in procurement, warehousing and supply chain management. For now, the partnership is set for a one-year period, but the companies say the scope and timeframe is likely to increase. Meeting the challenges of qualifying AM materials and processes for aerospace is also at the heart of Oerlikon's collaboration agreement with Boeing. The five-year agreement, which was signed in February, seeks to develop standard materials and processes for metal-based AM. The collaboration's research will initially focus on industrializing titanium powder bed fusion AM. The companies say that in addition to meeting qualification challenges, it will enable them to “provide a route for the adoption of AM with a qualified supply chain that achieves quality and cost targets.” Full Article: https://www.mro-network.com/emerging-technology/studies-seek-industrialize-additive-manufacturing-aerospace

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  September 11, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Elbit Systems Awarded $109 Million Contract by BAE Systems Hägglunds to Supply Iron Fist Active Protection System for the CV90 Platform

  The Iron Fist APS is characterized by low volume, weight and power requirements