January 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Rolls-Royce develops world-first electrical technology for next-generation Tempest programme

Over the last five years Rolls-Royce has been pioneering world-first technology that will contribute to the UK's next-generation Tempest programme. In an aim to be more electric, more intelligent and to harness more power, Rolls-Royce recognised that any future fighter aircraft will have unprecedented levels of electrical power demand and thermal load; all needing to be managed within the context of a stealthy aircraft.

Before the launch of the Tempest programme, Rolls-Royce had already started to address the demands of the future. Back in 2014, the company took on the challenge of designing an electrical starter generator that was fully embedded in the core of a gas turbine engine, now known as the Embedded Electrical Starter Generator or E2SG demonstrator programme.

Conrad Banks, Chief Engineer for Future Programmes at Rolls-Royce said:

"The electrical embedded starter-generator will save space and provide the large amount of electrical power required by future fighters. Existing aircraft engines generate power through a gearbox underneath the engine, which drives a generator. In addition to adding moving parts and complexity, the space required outside the engine for the gearbox and generator makes the airframe larger, which is undesirable in a stealthy platform."

Phase two of this programme has now been adopted as part of Rolls-Royce's contribution to the Tempest programme.

As part of this journey, the company has been continuously developing its capabilities in the aerospace market, from gas turbine technologies through to integrated power and propulsion systems. The goal being to provide not only the thrust that propels an aircraft through the sky, but also the electrical power required for all the systems on board as well as managing all the resulting thermal loads.

Rolls-Royce is adapting to the reality that all future vehicles, whether on land, in the air or at sea will have significantly increased levels of electrification to power sensors, communications systems weapons, actuation systems and accessories, as well as the usual array of avionics.

The launch of phase one of the E2SG programme saw significant investment in the development of an integrated electrical facility – a unique test house where gas turbine engines can be physically connected to a DC electrical network.

The launch of the second phase of the project in 2017 saw the inclusion of a second electrical generator connected to the other spool of the engine. It also included an energy storage system in the electrical network and the ability to intelligently manage the supply of power between all these systems.

The two-spool mounted electrical machines allows, by combination of operation as either a motor or a generator, the production of a series of functional effects on the engine, including the transfer of power electrically between the two spools.

As part of the E2SG programme, Rolls-Royce is investigating the feasibility of using dual spool generation to influence the operability, responsiveness and efficiency of the engine. Another key technology under development is the Power Manager intelligent control system, which uses algorithms to make real time intelligent decisions about how to supply the current aircraft electrical demand while optimising other factors including engine efficiency to reduce fuel burn or engine temperature to extend component life.

Throughout the Tempest programme, Rolls-Royce will be continuing to mature the electrical technologies demonstrated by the E2SG programme, with a third phase of testing likely to include a novel thermal management system being integrated with the overall system, as well as more electric engine accessories.

The company also intends to showcase a full-scale demonstrator of an advanced power and propulsion system. There will be new technologies in all parts of the gas turbine, including twin spool embedded generation to higher power levels, an advanced thermal management system, an energy storage system tailored to the expected duty cycle of the future fighter and an intelligent power management system which will be able to optimise the performance of both the gas turbine and the power and thermal management system.

Press release issued by Rolls-Royce plc Defence Aerospace on January 9, 2020

http://www.airframer.com/news_story.html?release=73226

On the same subject

April 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Erdogan says F-35 project would collapse without Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that an F-35 fighter jet project without Turkish participation was bound to collapse and would be an injustice to exclude Ankara over its plans to buy Russian air defense systems. Turkey's plans to buy the Russian S-400 missile defenses has strained its ties with Washington, which has said they would compromise the security of Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and warned of potential U.S. sanctions. Turkey is both a partner in production of the F-35s and a prospective buyer. It has proposed a working group with the United States to assess the impact of the S-400s, but says it had not received a response from U.S. officials. Speaking at a defense industry fair, Erdogan said those trying to exclude Turkey from the F-35 project had not thought through the process and that Ankara's allies had disregarded its defense needs. “We were surely not going to remain silent against our right to self-defense being disregarded and attempts to hit us where it hurts,” Erdogan said. “This is the kind of process that is behind the S-400 agreement we reached with Russia,” he added. “Nowadays, we are being subject to a similar injustice - or rather an imposition - on the F-35s... Let me be open: An F-35 project from which Turkey is excluded is bound to collapse completely,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey was also rapidly working to develop its own air defense systems. Erdogan's comments, his strongest challenge yet to warnings that Turkey could be removed from the F-35 project, came a day after he discussed the purchase of the S-400s and the working group proposal with U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call. Turkey said two weeks ago it expected Trump to use a waiver to protect it against penalties over its purchase of the S-400s, after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Ankara could face retribution for the deal under a sanctions law known as Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CATSAA). Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Dominic Evans https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-defence/erdogan-says-f-35-project-would-collapse-without-turkey-idUSKCN1S60RR?il=0
January 12, 2021 | International, Aerospace

Update: UK orders production of SPEAR3 for F-35
by Robin Hughes The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded MBDA in the United Kingdom a seven-year demonstration and manufacture contract for production of the SPEAR network-enabled stand-off air-to-surface weapon system. Designated SPEAR3 in UK service, the effector will be the primary medium-to-long-range strike weapon of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN) F-35B Lightning variant multirole combat aircraft, enabling them to engage and defeat challenging targets such as mobile long-range air defence systems at over-the-horizon ranges in all weathers and in highly contested environments. The placement of the demonstration and manufacture contract in late 2020 follows the successful implementation of the GBP411 million (USD536 million) four-year SPEAR Cap 3 Development Phase contract awarded to MBDA in March 2016, and the funding contract to BAE Systems from F-35 programme prime contractor Lockheed Martin in March 2019 for integration of SPEAR and MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile on the UK F-35B. UK Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Lightweight and Medium Attack Systems (LMAS) team leader Colonel Martin French said, “The placement of this contract marks the next major stage of the SPEAR3 weapon system's development and is a result of months of detailed negotiations between MBDA and the LMAS project team. “Building on the successes and technology achievements of the previous four years' work with MBDA, we now enter the exciting and challenging demonstration phase where we start to prove the system against the UK's requirements and ramp up activities to integrate this highly-capable weapon system onto the F-35B aircraft.” https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/update-uk-orders-production-of-spear3-for-f-35
June 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace

GMV SUPPLIES THE SPANISH MOD WITH SYSTEMS OF THE RPAS SEEKER
06/09/2020 GMV has won a contract under the Spanish MoD's RAPAZ program for the supply of four Class I Seeker RPASs, to be integrated into the intelligence units of the Paratrooper Brigade and the Tercio de Armada de Infantería de Marina (Marine Infantry Protection Force), thus providing them with the most advanced version of the unmanned aircraft Seeker. The UAS Seeker is an autonomous, rapid-deployment system developed by Aurea Avionics and supplied by GMV, providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities over a 15 kilometer range with a 90-minute endurance and a weight of 3.5 kg. This aircraft represents a qualitative leap forward for the armed forces, strengthening their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to ensure better operational capability and tactical superiority of Spanish troops. Seeker constitutes the core of a situational awareness system providing real-time intelligence. It is designed for rapid-deployment and high-mobility military applications carrying out low-level intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks. Within this project, due for delivery by October 2020, GMV will be running the design and manufacturing activities and also the various flight campaigns scheduled to check that the systems work properly before handover to the MoD. https://www.gmv.com/en/Company/Communication/News/2020/06/Seeker.html

All news