Germany to end Patriot air defence system deployments in Poland, Slovakia this year

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  9 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Studies Seek to Industrialize Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace

  Lindsay Bjerregaard Oerlikon is partnering with Boeing and Lufthansa Technik to research standardization and qualification of additive manufacturing processes. Oerlikon is pairing up with major aerospace players to make additive manufacturing (AM) a more feasible option for industrialization. The Swiss technology and engineering group has signed agreements this year with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) and Boeing to collaborate on research into ways AM for aerospace can be more easily standardized and qualified. The most recent of these agreements is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with LHT, which aims to establish “robust and repeatable processes for AM in the aircraft MRO industry.” According to a spokesperson for Oerlikon, the collaboration's research seeks to understand what process variability exists when the same component geometries are built on the same machine using the same powder batch, heat treatment, testing conditions and build parameters in different global locations. Oerlikon and LHT will print these components using an Oerlikon-produced IN718 powder alloy on identical printers at LHT Hamburg and Oerlikon's locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Barleben, Germany. Once the variables are identified, the study's objective is to understand how they can be controlled to achieve repeatable processes—which will ensure that all parts meet quality requirements and reduce the cost of recurring quality validation, according to Oerlikon. The company says this repeatability could also provide potential savings in procurement, warehousing and supply chain management. For now, the partnership is set for a one-year period, but the companies say the scope and timeframe is likely to increase. Meeting the challenges of qualifying AM materials and processes for aerospace is also at the heart of Oerlikon's collaboration agreement with Boeing. The five-year agreement, which was signed in February, seeks to develop standard materials and processes for metal-based AM. The collaboration's research will initially focus on industrializing titanium powder bed fusion AM. The companies say that in addition to meeting qualification challenges, it will enable them to “provide a route for the adoption of AM with a qualified supply chain that achieves quality and cost targets.” Full Article: https://www.mro-network.com/emerging-technology/studies-seek-industrialize-additive-manufacturing-aerospace

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  11 février 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  La Suède affirme avoir construit un avion «tueur» de chasseurs russes Sukhoi

  Les avions de chasse Saab Gripen sont conçus pour «tuer» les redoutables chasseurs russes Sukhoi en combat aérien et ils possèdent une «ceinture noire» dans ce type de combat, a déclaré le commandant de l'armée de l'air suédoise. Le chasseur suédois Gripen est fait pour détruire les Sukhoi russes et sa furtivité n'y est pour rien, a annoncé le commandant de l'armée de l'air suédoise Mats Helgesson. «Le Gripen, en particulier le modèle E, est conçu pour tuer les Sukhoi. Nous avons une ceinture noire», a déclaré Mats Helgesson cité par Business Insider. Selon le média, les avions de chasse russes Sukhoi ont acquis une sorte de statut légendaire en raison de leur capacité à déjouer les avions de combat américains lors de combats aériens et à réaliser des acrobaties dangereuses et agressives, mais le Gripen a peut-être déchiffré son énigme. «Le Gripen ne peut pas porter un plus grand nombre d'armes, n'a pas de furtivité réelle et n'est pas un avion avec un véritable rayon d'action. Il n'est pas le plus rapide ni même le moins cher. Mais il dispose d'une particularité qui en fait un cauchemar pour les avions de combat russes», affirme Business Insider. Justin Bronk, expert au Royal United Services Institute, a déclaré à Business Insider que le Gripen était au-dessus des autres en termes d'efficacité de la lutte électronique et de brouillage de radars. «Il y a plusieurs années, les pilotes du Gripen étaient fatigués de se voir ridiculisés par les pilotes allemands de Typhoon. Ils ont alors mis en marche leurs moyens de guerre électronique et ont fait passer un sacré coup dur aux Allemands», a relaté Justin Bronk. Selon lui, un Gripen aurait «pu apparaître sur l'aile gauche d'un Typhoon sans être détecté en utilisant sa capacité de brouillage». «Pour vaincre les redoutables chasseurs et missiles sol-air russes, les États-Unis se sont largement tournés vers les avions furtifs. La furtivité coûte une fortune et doit être intégrée à la forme de l'avion», signale Business Insider ajoutant que si la Russie déchiffre le code de détection des avions furtifs F-35 américains, le système d'armes le plus cher de l'histoire sera perdu. «Mais Saab a adopté pour ses avions une approche différente et moins chère pour lutter contre les chasseurs et les missiles russes en se concentrant sur l'attaque électronique, ce qui leur confère un avantage sur la furtivité, car ils peuvent faire évoluer le logiciel sans une reconstruction totale», a résumé Justin Bronk. Le chasseur polyvalent Su-57 de cinquième génération, connu auparavant sous le nom de T-50 PAK FA, a effectué son premier vol en 2010. L'appareil est destiné à détruire des objectifs aériens, terrestres et navals. Il est également capable de déjouer les systèmes de défense aérienne existants et en développement. En février 2018, le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou a révélé que deux Su-57 avaient été testés en Syrie. Dans la conception de l'appareil, qui combine les fonctions de chasseur et d'avion d'attaque au sol, des technologies furtives et des matériaux composites sont utilisés. Selon l'annonce du président de la Compagnie aéronautique unifiée, Youri Slioussar, la livraison du premier avion fabriqué en série pour les Forces aérospatiales russes est prévue pour 2019. https://sptnkne.ws/kEHG

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  20 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Thales Alenia Space wins two contracts from ESA to study future upgrades to Europe’s EGNOS Navigation System

  Cannes, May 18, 2020 – The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded two contracts to Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), concerning EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service). These contracts, fully financed under the European Commission H2020 programme concern study phases on the system evolution. They will call on Thales Alenia Space's expertise as program prime contractor for over 25 years to study and develop upgrades for the EGNOS satellite navigation system. The first contract concerns possible upgrades for EGNOS aeronautical services, designed to improve performances in order to increase landing safety under limited visibility conditions (from current CAT-I to CAT-II), over the current EGNOS footprint, focused on Europe. The second contract will study changes required to extend its aeronautical services worldwide. Based on state-of-the-art technologies, this upgrade will call on the A-RAIM (Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring) concept and the global coverage of the Galileo satnav constellation. RAIM is an already deployed technology that assesses the integrity of signals in the receivers that are part of a global positioning system, mainly GPS. Galileo will now be incorporated in the advanced version of this concept, A-RAIM, to provide enhanced horizontal guidance performance, not possible with RAIM using only GPS. The new concept would thus provide “safety of life” aeronautical services, including approaches with vertical guidance, thanks to inputs from GPS and Galileo via EGNOS. “Today's contracts are key for satellite navigation in Europe and bolster Thales Alenia Space's European leadership in state of art satellite navigation systems, including Safety of Life services”, said Benoit Broudy, head of the Navigation business at Thales Alenia Space in France. He added: “Our successes on export markets, as in South Korea, validate our innovative approach that allows us to offer increasingly powerful and agile solutions to meet the evolving requirements of customers from around the world.” About EGNOS EGNOS, a European Union flagship program, is a satellite navigation system designed to improve positioning signals delivered by GPS. Developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, EGNOS was first deployed in 2005, began operating in open service mode in 2009 and provided Safety of Life service starting in 2011. The GNSS R&D activities are financed by the European Commission H2020 programme. They are managed by the European Space Agency through a delegation agreement from the European Commission. Safety of Life service, a success in export markets The EGNOS Safety of Life service is used to carry out precision airport approaches, especially landings, without requiring ground guidance systems. Building on its expertise in this field, Thales Alenia Space won a contract in 2016 from the Korean space agency to supply the Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS). With its Safety of Life capability, KASS is a regional Korean navigation system that will initially be used for aviation. It will provide critical services at several points of each flight, especially landing, so that, airports no longer need ground landing aid facilities. Along the same lines, in early 2019 ASECNA, the air navigation safety agency for Africa and Madagascar, chose Thales Alenia Space to handle a Phase B project that will include the supply of a pre-operational service in 2020 for a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in sub-Saharan Africa, to provide an optimized satellite-based solution to support the growing air traffic in this region. The project recently took a major step forward, with validation of the system's architecture and main performance characteristics. This study is being carried out jointly by ASECNA and Thales Alenia Space, with funding from the European Union, as part of an ambitious program to develop the aviation sector in Africa. Set for completion by the end of the year, it also includes the supply of a pre-operational service, along with demonstrations of how to use the service in conjunction with partner airlines. Thales Alenia Space has now completed acceptance testing of the demonstrator, which will subsequently be deployed at various sites. ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies' Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 2.15 billion euros in 2019 and has around 7,700 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com THALES ALENIA SPACE – PRESS CONTACTS Sandrine Bielecki Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com Catherine des Arcis Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 72 82 catherine.desarcis@thalesaleniaspace.com Marija Kovac Tel: +39 (0)6 415 126 85 marija.kovacsomministrato@thalesaleniaspace.com View source version on Thales: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/thales-alenia-space-wins-two-contracts-esa-study-future-upgrades