29 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial
MONTRÉAL, April 29, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Aéro Montréal proudly announced today the launch of a new, innovative initiative that will provide 10,000 reusable masks to manufacturing SMEs in the aerospace sector. This project aims to support the continuation or resumption of their activities in a safe work environment.
This Montréal-made face mask will help protect thousands of qualified employees in the aerospace industry without jeopardizing supplies necessary for the proper functioning of health services. Companies in the aerospace industry have already deployed a wide range of health measures to ensure business continuity, and this new initiative by Aéro Montréal will complement what is already in place. The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented and will require the maintenance of these safety protocols for many months to come. Numerous companies are preparing for the resumption of operations and will undoubtedly face procurement challenges to ensure that they provide personal protective equipment to their employees, including masks.
Promoting a gradual and safe resumption by supporting local entrepreneurship
Aéro Montréal will draw on the strength of its network to offer reusable masks free of charge. Our team will be contacting our many SMEs over the next few days so that they can take advantage of this offer.
Inspired by the Panier Bleu program, this initiative also aims to support the local textile economy. This is why it is being implemented with the support of the Metropolitan Fashion Cluster mmode, and Quartz Co., a Montréal based coat supplier. The company Quartz Co. modified its production line to manufacture protective textile products. This inter-cluster collaboration will enable the supply of washable masks to be available in record time at very competitive costs. Once the 10,000 free masks have been distributed, aerospace SMEs wishing to purchase additional masks, will be able to do so by contacting Aéro Montréal.
"Through this initiative, Aéro Montréal is reaffirming its support for small and medium-sized enterprises, which play a crucial role in the supply chain. By working with local players, Aéro Montréal will help ensure a safe and efficient resumption of activities for a key sector that represents more than 42,100 direct jobs in Québec," stated Suzanne M. Benoît, President, Aéro Montréal
"Over the past months we have invested significantly in acquisitions of viable Quebec production plants. At Quartz Co., we believe in the importance of retaining and developing a local production force. Thanks to these efforts, we can contribute today to the fight against COVID-19, manufacturing masks among other items for our corporate clients," added Jean-Philippe Robert, President of Quartz Co.
About Aéro Montréal
Created in 2006, Aéro Montréal is a strategic think tank that groups all major decision makers in Québec's aerospace sector, including companies, educational and research institutions, as well as associations and unions.
The activities of Aéro Montréal are made possible thanks to the participation of the governments of Québec and Canada, the Montréal Metropolitan Community, as well as company members of the cluster.
SOURCE Aéro Montréal
For further information: Léa Guicheteau, Project Manager, Communications and Media Relations, Aéro Montréal, 514 550-7494, lea.guicheteau@aeromontreal.ca; Kaven Delarosbil, Director of Communications, Aéro Montréal, 514-743-2728, kaven.delarosbil@aeromontreal.ca
Related Links
1 août 2023 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Taiwan is trying to accelerate the development and production of military drones and countermeasures by expanding two national defense programs.
24 avril 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre, C4ISR
By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — In an effort to boost indigenous defense programs, Turkey is providing incentives, which include generous tax breaks, tax reductions and exemptions from import duties. The incentives include additional levies and soft loans. In just the first two months of 2018, the government incorporated 13 defense investment projects submitted by 12 companies into its incentives program. These investments are worth $350 million. The largest investment program benefiting from the incentives during the January/February time frame was Roketsan's new production line. The state-controlled missile maker's investment plan is worth $217 million. Military electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey's largest defense company, has won incentives support for its new $35 million investment in electronic systems and new $40 million investment in aerial and missile systems. Official figures show a boom in private defense investment, too. According to the Ministry of Economy, $1.9 billion of defense investment by private companies will be subsidized by government incentives this year. These investment plans include a total of $220 million for armored vehicles, a laser gun and unmanned land vehicles; and $125 million in diesel tank engines by armored vehicle producer BMC, a Turkish-Qatari private joint venture. Private firm Most Makina will receive government incentives for its planned $385 million investment in steel equipment for defense systems. Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI, will invest $1.2 billion in its TF-X program, an ambitious plan for the design, development and production of Turkey's first indigenous fighter jet. TAI is developing the TF-X with BAE Systems. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/04/16/turkey-provides-tax-breaks-loans-to-attract-investment-in-local-defense-programs/
21 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has kicked off a competition for one of its most highly anticipated tech programs, a drone known as Skyborg that will use artificial intelligence to make decisions in battle. The service released a solicitation May 15 for Skyborg prototypes, which will merge autonomous, low-cost aircraft with a suite of artificial intelligence capabilities. The Air Force envisions Skyborg as a family of drones — each designed for a specific mission or set of missions — with modular hardware and software payloads and a common AI backbone, which will allow software to be rapidly updated across the fleet. The Air Force intends to give multiple companies $400 million to develop different versions of the Skyborg system, although it reserves the right to award just one or no contracts. Proposals are due June 15, with awards projected around July 8, according to the solicitation. Once under contract, companies will “conduct research to develop, demonstrate, integrate and transition air vehicle, payload and autonomy technologies and systems that will provide affordable, revolutionary capabilities to the warfighter through the Skyborg program,” the Air Force said. The service previously intended to use experimentation and prototyping to have Skyborg operational by 2023. Skyborg will be what the service calls an attritable system, meaning that aircraft loss is expected and can be tolerated even though the system is not considered expendable and can be reused. Aircraft should “generate massed combat power with minimal logistical footprints,” with cost per unit and the price of operating and maintaining the air vehicles a “small fraction” for that of the Air Force's existing fighter inventory, according to the solicitation. Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper has compared Skyborg to R2-D2, the Star Wars droid that feeds Luke Skywalker helpful information while piloting an X-Wing. Skyborg would build up efficacy on its own via artificial intelligence by working with manned pilots, who would issue commands to the drone and provide feedback on the data presented by it. Last year, Roper told Defense News that the service was exploring the possibility of teaming Skyborg both with the Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Boeing F-15EX aircraft. The ability to team manned fighter jets with smart, autonomous drones could “open up the door for an entirely different way to do aerial combat,” he said in May 2019. “We can take risk with some systems to keep others safer,” he said at the time. “We can separate the sensor and the shooter. Right now they're collocated on a single platform with a person in it. In the future, we can separate them out, put sensors ahead of shooters, put our manned systems behind the unmanned.” Numerous aircraft companies are expected to bid on the Skyborg solicitation. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions is already working with the Air Force on its XQ-58A Valkyrie drone, which logged its fourth successful flight test in January as part of the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology program. Earlier this month, Boeing rolled out its own loyal wingman drone, the Airpower Teaming System. The Royal Australian Air Force has committed to buy three of those systems for experimentation under its Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program. General Atomics and Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works each plan to offer their own aircraft proposals, according to Air Force Magazine. In fiscal 2021, the Air Force intends to spend $157.6 million across its three “vanguard programs,” which includes the Skyborg effort. The service also included an additional $25 million for Skyborg on its unfunded priorities list, which would allow it to begin integrating UAVs with artificial intelligence software. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/05/20/more-than-one-company-could-get-cash-to-build-the-air-forces-ai-equipped-skyborg-drone