The Pentagon wants self-sufficient search-and-rescue drones

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  September 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  GA-ASI and SENER Aeroespacial Team to Develop New NATO Pod for MQ-9

  SAN DIEGO, Sept. 1, 2020 /CNW/ -- Since General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the engineering and technology firm SENER began collaborating in 2008, the international partnership has resulted in significant agreements regarding the MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for Spain and its adaptation to the requirements of the Spanish Armed Forces. The latest joint development effort is a NATO Pod, designed and built by SENER Aeroespacial, part of the SENER Group. GA-ASI will integrate the NATO Pod onto the MQ-9 aircraft line to increase its configuration and payload options. NATO Pod development is driven by GA-ASI's initiative to provide customers with a customizable pod for carriage of sovereign, cross-domain Intelligence, and Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors that can be integrated onto GA-ASI-built MQ-9A and MQ-9B RPA Systems. GA-ASI is working with European suppliers to add sensor capabilities to the new European-built payload pod that meets NATO airworthiness standards. The NATO Pod is a flexible, scalable, certifiable, aerodynamic, and low-cost enclosure that enables customers to add sovereign sensor capabilities developed in their respective countries using a common set of interfaces to the aircraft system. This approach reduces integration time and cost. "With the NATO Pod, European sensor suppliers will be provided a standard Size, Weight and Power (SWAP) and Interface Control Document (ICD) to the aircraft system to efficiently integrate their payloads. This offers our customers a broader range of ISR capabilities and makes ISR-system upgrades faster," said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. "Interface standardization also allows sovereign containment of payload hardware and data by customers, when required." Andrés Sendagorta, president of the SENER Group, said: "Since the beginning in 2008, the relationship between GA-ASI and SENER has been based on the existence of a common corporate philosophy where the technological component represents a fundamental link. This has led to an alliance in which the development of value-added products and technology by SENER has been applied to meet the demanding needs of GA-ASI over the years and, particularly, now with the NATO Pod that will be integrated onto the MQ-9 line. As we have stated on previous occasions, and once the first system of this type has come into operation in Spain, SENER reiterates its commitment to make available to the Spanish Ministry of Defense its capabilities and strengths in support of national industry through alliances, industrial cooperation and the development of an increasingly wide range of products." Having successfully completed the system definition and specification phase, the conceptual and preliminary design phases, as well as the Critical Design Review at the beginning of the summer, SENER Aeroespacial is currently working for GA-ASI on the detailed design phase of the NATO Pod. SENER Aeroespacial is designing the NATO Pod from the ground up to be certifiable, having established a wide set of certification base requirements that will fulfill the vast majority of demands from European certification agencies. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator® RPA series and the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar. With more than six million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com. SkyGuardian, SeaGuardian, Predator and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. About SENER Aeroespacial SENER Aeroespacial has been a leading supplier of high-performance aerospace systems for Defense, Space and Science for more than 50 years, with high added-value technological developments. In Defence, it develops electromechanical systems, COMINT (communications intelligence), and communications links (D-Link), as well as helicopter modernization services. In Astronomy and Science, it produces precision mechanical equipment for terrestrial telescopes and engineering services. And, finally, its ATC & Broadcast division is a supplier of antennas and passive units. In Space, SENER Aeroespacial is participating in the main programs of ESA and in the Space commercial market, as a key supplier for the leading international manufacturers of communications satellites. SENER Aeroespacial is part of the SENER engineering and technology group, founded in 1956. The SENER Group has 2,300 professionals in offices in four continents and the group's operating revenue exceeded 589 million Euros (2018 data). CONTACT: GA-ASI Media Relations General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. +1 (858) 524-8101 ASI-MediaRelations@ga-asi.com Related Images ga-asis-mq-9a-remotely-piloted.jpg GA-ASI's MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft GA-ASI and SENER's international partnership has resulted in significant agreements regarding the MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for Spain and its adaptation to the requirements of the Spanish Armed Forces. The latest joint development effort is a NATO Pod. SOURCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. Related Links http://www.ga-asi.com https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ga-asi-and-sener-aeroespacial-team-to-develop-new-nato-pod-for-mq-9-866418525.html

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  February 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  General Electric wins $517 million contract to build engines for Army’s next generation helicopters

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — General Electric Aviation beat the Advanced Turbine Engine Company — a Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney team — to win the $517 million award for the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the Improved Turbine Engine Program, or ITEP. “We are honored to be chosen by the Army to continue powering their Black Hawks and Apaches for decades to come,” said Tony Mathis, president and CEO of GE Aviation's military business. “We've invested the resources and infrastructure to execute immediately, and our team is ready to get to work on delivering the improved capabilities of the T901 to the warfighter.” The fierce competition started more than a decade ago, and its outcome will influence Army rotorcraft for decades to come. GE's T901 engine is now set to replace the T700 used by the Army's legacy utility and attack helicopters, but could also potentially outfit the Army's next generation reconnaissance helicopter in the Future Vertical Lift family of systems. “The requirements documents for the [Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft] specifiesTHE ITEP engine. It has got the FVL stamp of approval,” Jim Thomson, Jr., acting deputy director for the Army's future vertical lift cross functional team, told Defense News in a recent interview. ITEP answers a number of problems that emerged as the Army operated Apaches and Black Hawks during combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The AH-64 and UH-60 became heavier as the service added armor and other upgrades during wartime, and they flew in hotter conditions and higher altitudes than would normally be optimal. “The helicopters were originally designed to work at 4,000 feet on a 95-degree day, and they were flying them much higher than that,” Mike Sousa, GE's business development leader for advanced turboshaft engines, told Defense News in December 2018. “When you do that, you just don't have as much power from the engine.” The Army's requirements for ITEP were clear throughout the process: Design a 3,000 shaft horsepower engine that reduces fuel consumption by 25 percent and increases its service life by 20 percent compared to the T700, a 2,000 shaft horsepower engine. Both companies were awarded risk reduction contracts in August 2016, with ATEC getting $154 million and GE Aviation getting $102 million to further refine their designs. Both companies had already spent years conceptualizing new engines and developing novel tech. GE, the incumbent manufacturer of the T700, offered a single spool engine. Sousa said that configuration would help the company meet weight requirements while removing cost and complexity from the design. “Our fundamental approach there was how do we keep this engine as affordable as possible and as low weight as possible,” he told Defense News in 2018. “Helicopters are unique in that they fly into very dirty environments, very austere environments, unprepared landing strips, unprepared surfaces,” added Ron Hutter, GE's executive director of the T901 program. “They generate a lot of dust. You really want to look at the simplicity of the architecture in terms of maintainability. That's another aspect that drove us to stick with the single-spool configuration.” GE estimates that it's spent $9 billion in testing technologies relevant to the T901. ATEC had proposed a double spool engine it dubbed the T900. “We were disappointed to learn that the U.S. Army did not select our offering,” said Craig Madden, president of ATEC. “We believe that we offered the most advanced, capable and lowest risk engine for ITEP for the Army to improve the overall performance of its Apache and Black Hawk fleets.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/02/02/general-electric-wins-517-million-contract-to-build-engines-for-armys-next-generation-helicopters

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  August 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR, Security

  How the Space Force is preparing its ground systems for ‘dynamic’ ops

  The Space Rapid Capabilities Office is leading an effort to develop and integrate a modernized suite of tools to perform dynamic space operations.