September 5, 2023 | International, Land
Germany ships first batch of new Gepard ammo to Ukraine
Rheinmetall modified existing 35mm ammunition from the main armament of an infantry fighting vehicle for use in the Gepard.
April 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Opinion: Aerospace Manufacturing In Time Of COVID-19
Vivek Saxena
“You never know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.”
I am reminded of Warren Buffett's words in the climate created by the coronavirus pandemic. Aerospace manufacturers that are lean, use enabling technologies and have a robust business continuity plan will stand tall in tough times. Conversely, inefficient companies that have ridden the gravy train of the aerospace supercycle will suffer.
I will share a few best practices that should help industry prepare for the long haul, using an admittedly unscientific survey of multiple manufacturers in various tiers to assess how the aerospace supply chain is coping with the triple whammy of reduced demand, weakened productivity and increased supply chain distress. I asked, how are they dealing with dwindling attendance, regulatory confusion and the decoupling of remote support staff from the production staff?
Leadership and communication matter more than ever. While liquidity remains the mantra, no factory can succeed without motivated employees. Shop floor attendance is dropping, depending upon the proximity to COVID-19 “hot spots” and, more important, the leadership's success in engaging with employees. We have already observed a 25% average drop in attendance at many suppliers.
On the other hand, Click Bond CEO Karl Hutter reports little impact and is even expecting a record month. He set up a mission control office early and deployed an intranet system to communicate with employees. He calls this a “high-fidelity single source of truth about our people and our operations.” Another innovation is mobile check-in/check-out for employees at each building, allowing for a quick triage if necessary. The CEO of a California forger reports a slight improvement in attendance despite the COVID-19 outbreak in the state, owing to “honest communication and employees taking pride in working at a designated critical service.”
The terms “critical infrastructure” and “essential business” have been thrown around without much explanation, sowing confusion among suppliers. Marotta Controls CEO Patrick Marotta took the lead in calming his suppliers. “Suppliers were especially appreciative when we communicated the [Defense and Homeland Security] memos classifying the defense industrial base as critical infrastructure,” Marotta said.
Lean enables social distancing. Plants with a deeper lean culture have already implemented manufacturing cells. Lean enables operators to run multiple machines in their dedicated cells with minimal interaction with other areas.
Consider Woodward's new plant in Rockford, Illinois, where instead of a large furnace, self-contained cells are situated with right-size furnaces. This design eliminates all unnecessary material and personnel movement at a shared service such as a large furnace. Additionally, closed-loop quality control preempts back-and-forth between inspectors and machinists.
Technology is a friend. Protolabs in Minnesota is a great example of digital manufacturing. Plants with lights-out machining capability can scale the technology across all shifts, filling in for absent employees. Machine monitoring and the Internet of Things are especially helpful for remote support staff. Shops with a higher degree of automation will obviously see less of an attendance impact. Data analytics dashboards are a great enabler for remote production meetings.
An OEM told us its supply chain organization was fully prepared to work remotely since its business continuity plan called for a system for executing and monitoring remote activities. A Tier 1 told us about a recent investment in information technology systems that is now paying off handsomely for remote operations.
Now is an opportunity to catch up and come out stronger. The industry will find a way, says Nycote President Marcie Simpson. She is “impressed with the level of communication and transparency. . . . It seems as though everyone is innovating ways to ensure supply chain continuity.”
The best-case scenario is that industry comes out of this crisis in about 12 months with moderately reduced demand and the Boeing 737 MAX back in service. The supply chain will then be functioning better, because the intervening period will have been used to catch up on past issues. For example, the engine supply chain can wrinkle out the kinks that have hobbled engine manufacturers. They can use the respite to address the early shop visit issues and develop much-needed repairs for new engines. Lower tiers would be well-advised to use this time to focus on operational excellence and technology implementation.
Vivek Saxena is the managing director at Advisory Aerospace OSC, a consultancy focused on operations and supply chain.
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February 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Raytheon chooses Tucson for headquarters of combined missiles/defense unit
Tucson will become the new headquarters for a combined business unit made up of Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems and a Massachusetts-based Raytheon business when parent Raytheon Co. and United Technologies Corp. finalize their merger. A Raytheon Missile Systems spokesman confirmed Friday that Tucson will become headquarters for the new Raytheon Missiles & Defense business, which will combine Missile Systems and Raytheon Integrated Defense, now headquartered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. “We shared with our employees that upon merger close, our consolidated businesses will be named Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Raytheon Intelligence & Space," Raytheon spokesman John Patterson said. "They'll be headquartered in Tucson, Arizona and Arlington, Virginia respectively. We look forward to sharing more information once the merger closes — anticipated early in the second quarter of this year.” Raytheon — Southern Arizona's largest employer — announced in late October that Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missile Systems since last March, will become president of the combined missile and integrated defense unit as part of the merged parent company, which will be called Raytheon Technologies Corp. Raytheon Intelligence & Space will be formed from Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems and Intelligence, Information and Services units, and UTC Mission Systems and Raytheon's Forcepoint cybersecurity unit. Together with two of UTC's current businesses — engine maker Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace — they will form the four main business units of the merged company. But the company said it would not announce the headquarters location of the new business units until the merger was finalized. The so-called "merger of equals" will create an aerospace and defense behemoth with annual revenues of $74 billion, second only to Boeing in the industry. Raytheon and United Technologies shareholders have approved the merger of the two companies, which is also contingent on United Technologies' successful spinoff of its Carrier heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business and its Otis Elevator subsidiary. The deal is also subject to federal anti-trust approval, which is expected after the Defense Department said it had few concerns about the merger. Raytheon is the Tucson region's largest employer with about 13,000 local workers. The company has been working to expand its campus at Tucson International Airport amid a plan to add more than 2,000 jobs. Raytheon also has significant operations at the University of Arizona Tech Park. The company makes many of the nation's front-line defense systems, including the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Standard Missile series of ship-defense and ballistic missile interceptors, and more recently has been working on hypersonic missiles and laser weapons to defeat drones and other threats. https://tucson.com/news/local/raytheon-chooses-tucson-for-headquarters-of-combined-missiles-defense-unit/article_ee884dfe-4489-11ea-8617-6b5185c6107b.html
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July 10, 2019 | International, Other Defence
MOD to develop cutting-edge laser and radio frequency weapons
From: Ministry of Defence, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP The Ministry of Defence is developing cutting-edge laser and radio frequency weapons which have the potential to revolutionise the battlefield The state-of-the-art weapons systems, known as Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), are powered solely by electricity and operate without ammunition. The systems could be fuelled by a vehicle's engine or a generator, significantly reducing their operating costs and providing unprecedented flexibility on the frontline. In a Prior Information Notice (PIN) published this week, the MOD announced it is seeking to develop three new DEW demonstrators to explore the potential of the technology and accelerate its introduction onto the battlefield. The laser weapons systems deploy high energy light beams to target and destroy enemy drones and missiles. Radio Frequency weapons are designed to disrupt and disable enemy computers and electronics. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt said: Laser and Radio Frequency technologies have the potential to revolutionise the battlefield by offering powerful and cost-effective weapons systems to our Armed Forces. This significant investment demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our Armed Forces operate at the forefront of military technology. The new systems are expected to be trialled in 2023 on Royal Navy ships and Army vehicles but, once developed, both technologies could be operated by all three services. The Armed Forces will use these exercises to get a better understanding of DEW, test the systems to their limits and assess how they could be integrated with existing platforms. The MOD aims to invest up to £130m in this package of Directed Energy Weapons, including the construction of the demonstrators, the creation of a new Joint Programme Office and the recruitment of personnel to manage the programme. These demonstrators are part of the MOD's “Novel Weapons Programme” which is responsible for the trial and implementation of innovative weapons systems to ensure the UK remains a world leader in military technology. They are expected to reach the frontline within 10 years. The MOD already has plans for initial trials of laser weapons systems, with the Dragonfire demonstrator commissioned by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to be tested later this year. The Dragonfire represents a world-first in laser weapons technology, combining multiple laser beams to produce a weapons system that is more powerful than its predecessors and resistant to the most challenging environmental conditions. The MOD also has over 30 years' experience in Radio Frequency DEW, during which time the UK has become a world leader in developing new power generation technologies and a global hub for the performance testing and evaluation of these systems. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mod-to-develop-cutting-edge-laser-and-radio-frequency-weapons