Back to news

August 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace

USAF To Equip KC-135s For ADS-B Position Reporting

by Bill Carey

The U.S. Air Force will install automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) position reporting capability on its fleet of 417 Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers beginning in September.

ADS-B Out is not part of the KC-135's current Block 45 avionics upgrade, but the functionality will be added to the four-engine refueling tanker, the service confirmed. Supplier Collins Aerospace said it will integrate ADS-B Out through its Flight2 avionics system for the KC-135, using the aircraft's Identification friend or foe (IFF) transponder to broadcast position.

Work is expected to take place at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma.

“We're very close to having the certification complete for that, and then the Air Force will begin the certification process to install on the aircraft,” Marc Ayala, Collins Aerospace director of Air Force sales and business development, told Aerospace DAILY.

“Our system will interface with the various components—the GPS position source and some of the aircraft state data that gets fed into the [IFF transponder], basically the ‘electronic handshake' for that box to work properly within the system,” Ayala said.

The Air Force has said that 2,936 military aircraft across all U.S. services will be fitted to signal their position by ADS-B Out as of the FAA's Jan. 1 compliance date. The number represents about one-fifth of the 13,596 aircraft operated by the Defense Department, according to Aviation Week's Military Fleet Discovery Tool.

The leading category of ADS-B-equipped aircraft will be helicopters (1,129), followed by air mobility and transport aircraft (923), command and control/intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft (259) and trainers (625), the Air Force said.

The 923 mobility and transport aircraft that will be equipped by January as part of ongoing updates include the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130J Super Hercules, KC-10 Extender and C-21 transport, the service said.

https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-equip-kc-135s-ads-b-position-reporting

On the same subject

  • Safran and MTU agree on way ahead for next-gen fighter aircraft engine

    December 6, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Safran and MTU agree on way ahead for next-gen fighter aircraft engine

    By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS — A 50-50 joint venture between France's Safran and Germany's MTU will be incorporated by the end of 2021 to manage the development and production of an engine that will power the Next Generation Fighter, a key segment of Europe's Future Combat Air System program, the companies announced this week. Safran Aircraft Engines will be the prime contractor, taking the lead in engine design and integration, while MTU Aero Engines, as the main partner for the first phase of research and technology, will take the lead in engine services. The industrial agreement is based on the principles that were set out in a letter of intent signed between the two companies last February. "This agreement is a major step forward, which reflects Safran Aircraft Engines and MTU Aero Engines' willingness to ensure a strong and effective management of the program relying on a balanced partnership and clear accountabilities,” Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines, and Michael Schreyögg, chief program officer of MTU Aero Engines, were quoted as saying in a joint statement. The agreement lifts the last impediments that were standing in the way of contracts being signed by the French, German and Spanish governments; now companies can get the Future Combat Air System program underway. Joël Barre, the director of France's procurement agency, the DGA, said on Oct. 2 that appointing Safran as prime contractor on the engine program with MTU Aero Engines as principal industrial partner was one of the two elements that remained before launching work on a technology demonstrator for the New Generation Fighter. The other element is organizing the entry of Spain into the program. Although Spain signed up for the program during the Paris Air Show last June, the industrial aspect of its participation has not been settled. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/12/05/safran-and-mtu-agree-on-way-ahead-for-next-gen-fighter-aircraft-engine

  • CC-177 Globemaster III aircraft flying in British Columbia - Terrace Standard

    July 9, 2021 | International, Aerospace

    CC-177 Globemaster III aircraft flying in British Columbia - Terrace Standard

    Prince Rupert is a potential stop for Canadian Air Forces training exercise

  • Poland to open HIMARS service centre in 2023

    May 4, 2023 | International, Land

    Poland to open HIMARS service centre in 2023

    Poland will establish a service centre for HIMARS rocket launchers in 2023 and is negotiating the details of an order for 500 more launchers, the Polish defence minister said on Thursday.

All news