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Article

Airbus Helicopters VSR700 makes first fully-autonomous flight

2018-12-28

The flight established compliance with demanding regulatory and safety systems necessary for future unmanned flight in France. During the exercise the VSR700 demonstrator performed a 30-minute flight, successfully executing a variety of flight patterns before landing in an autonomous mode.

Article

Sikorsky, Boeing debut future vertical lift dual-rotor design with SB>1 DEFIANT helicopter

2018-12-27

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE:LMT), in Stratford, Connecticut, and Boeing Defense, Space & Security (NYSE:BA) in Berkeley, Missouri, are introducing the SB>1 DEFIANT helicopter designed to fly with advanced agility and maneuverability at twice the speed and range of current conventional helicopters. Jointly developed for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role technology demonstrator program, the new rotorcraft design is intended to help inform the next generation of military helicopters as part of the U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

Article

NATS will test AI at Heathrow to reduce weather-related flight delays

2019-01-28

By processing ultra-high-definition (UHD), 4K resolution camera images with state-of-the-art AI and machine learning systems at a new £2.5 million ($3.3 million) “digital tower laboratory,” NATS is investigating whether these technologies can improve Heathrow’s landing capacity during low-visibility periods and reduce flight delays.

Article

Poland’s PGZ to collaborate on new Leonardo attack helicopter

2018-07-31

Leonardo and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. intend to collaborate on the new AgustaWestland AH-249A attack helicopter – also referred to as the AW249. PGZ’s involvement comes during the Polish Army’s continued search for 32 new helicopters under Poland’s own attack helicopter procurement program in an effort to replace aging Russian Helicopters Mi-24 military rotorcraft.

Article

First Airbus Helicopters H160 takes flight

2018-12-20

The first serial Airbus Helicopters H160 medium utility helicopter to roll off the brand-new assembly line in Marignane, France and performed its first flight in a unique “signature” livery.

Article

Boeing to modernize Spanish Chinook fleet with autonomous-ready avionics and flight control systems

2019-01-07

The digital automatic flight control system can be programmed for autonomous operations such as flight stabilization and unmanned flight to set checkpoints; however, Boeing is currently working with the Canadian military to increase the Chinook’s autonomous capabilities.

Article

BendixKing and Airwork are developing cockpit upgrades for the often overlooked small- and medium-sized helicopter market

2019-07-22

The upgrade, which will leverage BendixKing’s AeroVue Touch Integrated Flight Deck – now qualified to be installed on Part 27 light helicopters – provides near-4K resolution and access to critical flight data.

Article

Like a good neighbor, Impossible Aerospace flew over to a nearby construction fire to help locate hotspots for first responders

2019-07-08

When a four-alarm fire started burning at a Santa Clara, California construction site down the street from Impossible Aerospace Corporation, the startup sent one of its US-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone equipped with thermal and optical sensors to help ground crews battle the blaze.

Article

Lockheed Martin’s next-gen, 360-degree vision system flies on the Bell V-280 Valor

2019-04-18

The imagining system, or Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system, is designed to enhance situational awareness and threat detection for pilots and auxiliary personnel in visually degraded environments.

Article

Next-generation Honeywell turboshaft engine could power Sikorsky-Boeing’s Future Vertical Lift family

2019-04-15

The latest version of Honeywell Aerospace’s seven-stage axial compressor T55 turboshaft engine is nearing the final phase of development. Designed with next-generation technology to increase reliability, power, and fuel economy, the Honeywell T55-L-71X will find a home onboard the medium-lift Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant compound helicopter demonstrator.

Article

AIA predicts flying air taxis, supersonic air travel, and space industry for 2050

2019-03-15

In the “What’s Next for Aerospace and Defense: A Vision for 2050” study, AIA, New York City-based McKinsey & Company, and other industry partners reveal a comprehensive 30-year, Industry 4.0 forecast of air travel and spaceflight based on improvements in automation and digitization, next-generation materials, alternative energy sources and storage, and increased data throughput.

Article

Sikorsky-Boeing’s FVL contender takes flight

2019-03-25

The Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant (stylized as “SB>1 DEFIANT”) compound helicopter flew for the first time at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach, Florida facility. Unlike current rotorcraft, the SB-1 Defiant’s propulsion system includes a rear-mounted pusher propulsor in addition to two coaxial main rotors. This unique setup allows the Defiant to reach speeds and a service range far beyond that of modern helicopters.

Article

Phase three of DARPA’s ALIAS aircraft automation system continues

2018-10-30

The autonomous software and hardware, which was installed on an optionally piloted helicopter, executed various scenarios including automated takeoff and landing, LIDAR- and camera-based obstacle avoidance, LIDAR-based automatic landing zone selection, and low-level contour flying.

Article

US Army tests avionics in effort to upgrade Black Hawk helicopters from analog to digital glass cockpit

2018-09-19

US Army officials and engineers continue work to modernize the defense organization’s fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a more modern digital cockpit, conducting a Limited User Test with two prototype aircraft at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. They selected for a Limited User Evaluation (LUE) a Crew Mission Station (CMS) aligned with The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) technical standard that combines Core Avionics & Industrial Inc.’s (CoreAVI’s) compositor and graphics suite, Avalex smart display, Intel hardware, Wind River operating system, and Presagis server.

Article

US Government Accountability Office finds gaps in military helicopter mishap data

2018-08-24

This month, during an ongoing review of military training for rotary-wing aircraft, the GAO published a report highlighting gaps in the Department of Defense’s approach for collecting, reporting, and analyzing aviation mishap data to inform aviation risk-management decisions.

Article

Subaru’s new ‘souped up’ vehicle is a Bell helicopter

2018-08-17

Bell Helicopter is partnering with Subaru to collaborate on a commercial enhancement of the Bell 412 EPI twin-engine utility helicopter, which was type-certified this month as the 412 EPX, in support of the Japan UH-X program.

Article

Russian Helicopters successfully develops helicopter ditching system

2018-11-08

Specialists at Kazan Helicopters have completed testing of an Ansat light helicopter equipped with a ditching system or emergency flotation system. The Ansat’s ditching system is designed to save passengers and crewmembers in case of an emergency water landing.

Article

General Atomics moves towards global RPA flight certification for MQ-9B SkyGuardian

2019-04-10

A General Atomics Aeronautical System, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) was controlled – from takeoff to landing – by an operator using a GA-ASI certifiable ground control station (CGCS), marking the first time a CGCS was used to control an end-to-end flight and the first step in type-certifying the unit.

Article

Curtiss-Wright black boxes receive European approval

2019-02-19

Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s Fortress line of combined cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) and flight data recorders (FDRs) are now have European Technical Standard Order (ETSO) approval. The devices, commonly referred to as “black boxes,” will surpass the requirements of an upcoming 2021 European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate that requires CVRs are capable of recording for up to 25 hours per flight.

Article

The GE T901 will be the U.S. Army’s next gen helicopter engine

2019-02-05

While GE Aviation’s T700 turboshaft engine has powered the U.S. Army’s Apache and Sikorsky helicopters for more than 46 years, the U.S. Army will replace the T700 with GE Aviation’s fully modular T901-GE-900 engine as part of the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the U.S. Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program.