The Air Force completed a successful test flight that demonstrated the ability of two fifth-generation aircraft and an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) to communicate in their secure native languages without the need for legacy tactical data connections. (Air Force)

The Air Force completed a flight test that demonstrated the ability of two fifth-generation aircraft and an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) to communicate in their secure native languages without the need for legacy tactical data connections, according to a Dec. 9 U.S. Air Force press release. The test flight also marked the first time the XQ-58A Valkyrie, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), conducted a semi-autonomous flight with the F-35 and F-22.

The success of the test flight is the next step toward an Air Force element of the military Internet of Things (IoT). The test flight occurred at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and involved an F-22 Raptor, F-35A Lightning II, and an attritableONE XQ-58A Valkyrie. The F-22 and F-35A communicated through gatewayONE, according to the release. 

"The gatewayONE payload really showed what's possible and helped us take a big step towards achieving (Joint All-Domain Command and Control)," Lt. Col. Eric Wright, a 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron F-35 pilot, said in a press statement. "This critical capability provides additional connections between our advanced fighters and other forces and battle managers across all domains. The future is promising, and gatewayONE will allow the F-22 and F-35 to connect to and feed data sources they’ve never before accessed. Those future connections will bring additional battlefield awareness into the cockpit and enable integrated fires across U.S. forces."

GatewayONE allows battle managers on the ground and air to manage operations. Using this platform, the position data of each platform was pushed outside of the aircraft's close proximity formation, according to the release. The communication occurred not only between the ground and air but also between the aircraft. 

The success of the test flight is the next step toward a military Internet of Things (IoT). The test flight occurred at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and involved an F-22 Raptor, F-35A Lightning II, and an attritableONE XQ-58A Valkyrie. (Air Force)

"If fifth-generation platforms are going to be quarterbacks of a joint-penetrating team, we have to be able to communicate with those quarterbacks in an operationally relevant manner and enable data sharing between them, to them, and from them. For years people said it couldn't be done. Today the team turned another page toward making the impossible possible," Preston Dunlap, Air and Space Force's chief architect, said in a press statement. "In just 12 months, the team has opened the door to a world where we can put the power of an operations center into the cockpit at the tactical edge."

The XQ-58 Valkyrie completed the test flight alongside the F-22 and F-35, which was also the first semi-autonomous flight for the UCAV. However, while the gatewayONE payload was integrated on to the UCAV, the communications were lost shortly after takeoff. 

"Testing is all about pushing the limits of what's possible, finding out where the toughest challenges are, and adapting creative solutions to overcoming difficult problem sets," Lt. Col. Kate Stowe, gatewayONE program manager at the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, said in a press statement. "The real win of the day was seeing the gatewayONE establish a secure two-way translational data path across multiple platforms and multiple domains. That's the stuff ABMS is all about."

The post Fifth Generation Flight Test Demonstrates Military IoT with XQ-58A and gatewayONE Platform appeared first on IIOT Connection.

David Fox is the VP of in-flight connectivity and services for Deutsche Telekom.

On this episode of the Connected Aircraft Podcast, David Fox, vice president of in-flight and connectivity services for Deutsche Telekom joins to discuss how his company has been expanding its presence in supporting cabin internet and mobile network access in-flight across Europe and other regions of the global commercial airline market.

With David, we discussed how Deutsche Telekom is expanding its presence in providing in-flight connectivity and services for airlines, and David provides some perspective on how they're trying to make the process for airline passenger journeys transitioning from one airport, to the aircraft and then on to the destination airport and the way that passengers stay connected in each of those phases.

We also ask David how Deutsche and others are trying to make that process more seamless, as well as some other in-flight connectivity related topics they're working on.

Have suggestions or topics we should focus on in the next episode? Email the host, Woodrow Bellamy at wbellamy@accessintel.com, or drop him a line on Twitter @WbellamyIIIAC.

Listen to this episode below, or check it out on iTunes or Google Play If you like the show, subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as soon as they're released.

The post PODCAST: Deutsche Telekom VP of IFC and Services Talks Connecting Mobile Devices In-flight appeared first on IIOT Connection.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a new permanent unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration initiative called BEYOND. (FAA)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a new permanent commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) airspace integration initiative, BEYOND, that will focus on three challenge areas: beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, leveraging industry, and focusing on community engagement, according to an Oct. 30 press release.

BEYOND will replace the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) which ended on Oct. 25. The BEYOND program will work with eight of the state, local, and tribal governments that participated in the IPP, according to the release.

"The IPP propelled the American drone industry forward, allowing for unprecedented expansions in testing and operations through innovative private-public partnerships across the country," U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said in a press statement. "Now, the BEYOND program will build upon this success, tackling the next big challenges facing drone integration."

The BEYOND program's BVLOS operations will focus on infrastructure inspection, public operations, and small package delivery, according to the release. The FAA will look to use industry operations to analyze and quantify the societal and economic benefits of UAS while taking into account community concerns by collecting and analyzing community engagement.

"We will build on our relationships with the partners from the pilot to continue to collaborate on challenges that we identify and support innovation in the industry," the FAA told Avionics International. "This includes tackling safe, repeatable, scalable, and economically-viable UAS flights beyond the pilot's visual line of sight as well as better understanding the societal and economic benefits of UAS and developing best practices for community engagement."

Eight IPP participants were selected to participate in BEYOND including Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority of Virginia, Kansas Department of Transportation, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Dakota Department of Transportation, City of Reno, Nevada, and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Following the lead of the IPP, the FAA will use BEYOND to support its COVID-19 response.

"The FAA is proactively taking steps to help address the widespread economic and health effects that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the aviation industry," the FAA said. "Specific to the IPP, at the onset of the pandemic, many of the participants were able to pivot from their original missions to support the COVID-19 response and recovery, demonstrating the increasing value of drone operations in this new environment."

The FAA said the BEYOND program will work under established rules rather than issuing periodic operational waivers.

"Approving operations through waivers enabled us to gain valuable knowledge and data as operators built their safety cases and flew thousands of missions," the FAA said. "To scale this to the type and number of UAS operations we expect in the future though, we need to craft rules, policy, and guidance that would enable future safe, routine operations without the need for the labor-intensive waiver requirements. That could include all of the provisions that currently require a waiver under Part 107."

Moving forward the FAA will review proposed concepts of operations that were submitted by the eight lead participants in the BEYOND program. Once those plans are finalized, testing will begin with BVLOS strategies.

The FAA confirmed to Avionics that it is still on track to release a UAS remote ID ruling next month which will be crucial to integrating unmanned aircraft for commercial and civilian operations into the national airspace.

The post FAA Makes New Beyond Unmanned Aircraft Initiative Permanent appeared first on IIOT Connection.

Commercial

IAG Outlines COVID-19 Impact on Passenger Traffic, Revenue in Third Quarter Results

The International Airlines Group (IAG) published its third quarter results on Oct. 30.

International Airlines Group (IAG) published its results for the first nine months of the year, showing passenger capacity down by 64 percent between January and September, according to an Oct. 30 press release.

"In quarter 3 we're reporting an operating loss of €1,300 million before exceptional items compared to an operating profit of €1,425 million last year. The total operating loss was €1,918 million, including exceptional items relating to fuel hedges plus restructuring costs at British Airways and Aer Lingus,” said Luis Gallego, IAG’s CEO.

“We are calling on governments to adopt pre-departure testing using reliable and affordable tests with the option of post flight testing to release people from quarantine where they are arriving from countries with high infection rates. This would open routes, stimulate economies and get people traveling with confidence. When we open routes, there is pent up demand for travel. However, we continue to expect that it will take until at least 2023 for passenger demand to recover to 2019 levels,” he added.

Overall passenger revenue fell by 71 percent for the first nine months of the year across IAG’s airlines. Passenger revenue during the third quarter was down by 86 percent, according to IAG.

Dubai International Airport Gets Vision-Box Biometric Technology

Emirates is using touchless biometrics scanning at Dubai International Airport. (Emirates)

Emirates Airlines’ Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport will integrate biometrics technology supplier Vision-Box's Orchestra Digital Identity Management Platform, according to an Oct. 26 press release.

The implementation will be made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and it will create a touch-less and contactless passenger processing experience, according to the press release. The Orchestra Digital Identity Management Platform features touchless identification, contactless security checks for clearance, digital travel document authentication, touchless lounge access, and touchless boarding.

"The need for touchless identity management and seamless passenger flow management is the new reality," Miguel Leitmann, the CEO of Vision-Box, said in a press statement. "As air travel dynamics have evolved under the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of a safe contactless passenger experience is paramount to the industry's revival. Emirates has been one of the first in the world to recognize the need for contactless digital technology for passenger safety and have sought to swiftly implement the most advanced technology with Vision-Box's touchless and contactless technology."

Air Traffic Management

EASA Publishes Updated Easy Access Rules for Air Navigation Services

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published its updated Easy Access Rules for Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Services (ATM/ANS) on Oct. 27.

According to the agency, the updated rules contain “the applicable rules for the providers of ATM/ANS and other Air Traffic Management network functions.” Described a revision from October 2020, the update also incorporates European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/469. That implementing regulation includes new requirements for ATM services, design of airspace structures and data quality as well as runway safety data.

According to EASA, the updates will make “Easy Access Rules for Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Services (Regulation (EU) 2017/373” applicable as of January 27, 2022.

FAA Issues Record of Decision on Florida Metroplex

he Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact-Record of Decision for the South-Central Florida Metroplex, which is the agency's plan to modernize air traffic procedures for 21 airports in the southern half of the state, according to an Oct. 26 update published by the agency.

The agency posted the document and the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Florida Metroplex Environmental website.

The decision enables the FAA to move forward with new satellite-based procedures that will enhance safety and efficiency. New procedures are scheduled for implementation in mid-2021.

The project includes new arrival and departure procedures for Miami, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and St. Pete/Clearwater international airports and 15 other smaller airports.

Connectivity

Inmarsat, GD Technics Develop New GX Aviation In-flight Connectivity Terminal

Inmarsat has a next generation terminal developed in collaboration with GDC Technics support its new North American in-flight connectivity network. (Inmarsat)

Inmarsat unveiled a next generation terminal for its GX Aviation in-flight connectivity (IFC) network in an Oct. 29 press release.

The terminal, developed in collaboration with GDC Technics, includes a flat panel antenna provided by Thinkom that has been integrated with smart dual aero modem technology that supports Inmarsat's new GX+ North America service, announced with Hughes Network Systems last week.

"The global in-flight connectivity market is fast evolving and we have enjoyed working with Inmarsat to develop this next-generation terminal for GX Aviation, which is not only lightweight and low drag, but also boasts one of the lowest engineering failure rates in the market. We are hugely excited about the partnership and look forward to working with Inmarsat and its partners to bring this new terminal to airlines across the world,” said Brad Foreman, Chief Executive Officer of GDC Technics.

The new GDC Technics terminal has been certified and is now flying on Boeing 737-700 aircraft. Additional retrofit and line-fit certifications are currently in progress and expected to be available by the end of this year, including retrofit options for the Airbus A320/330 family, and the Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

Space

NASA is Crowdsourcing Cargo Solutions for Lunar Landers

NASA launched a competition on HeroX to find innovative ways for cargo to be unloaded from lunar landers and other spacecraft while operating in a lunar environment. (HeroX)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched a competition on HeroX, a social network for crowdsourced solutions, to find innovative ways for cargo to be unloaded from lunar landers and other spacecraft while operating in a lunar environment, according to an Oct. 29 press release.

The competition, NASA's Lunar Delivery Challenge, is open to anyone over 18 who lives in a country not sanctioned by the United States. NASA will select six winners who will share a total prize of $25,000.

“We are looking for broad concepts from the public, so this is not an engineer-specific challenge. We want to hear from everyone,” Paul Kessler, Aerospace Vehicle Design and Mission Analyst at NASA, said in a press statement. “We are interested in concepts that range from simple to complex. We don’t yet know what will work best, and that’s why we’re interested in every proposal. We are excited to see what people have to offer and to have them contribute to NASA’s ambitious mission. This is the stuff that makes history.”

NASA expects to use this challenge to support its Artemis program, which looks to land the first woman and second man on the moon in 2024. The solutions created through this program will have to account for a wide variety of cargo types and weights supporting everything from small scientific instruments to large rovers.

“Replicating our everyday activities on the Moon continues to be a challenge," Christian Cotichini, CEO of HeroX, said in a press statement. "Finding ways to do these things in a lunar environment is crucial to the success of a sustained human presence on the Moon. The unloading of payloads is a critical part of that overall effort. NASA hopes it can once again leverage the brilliance of the crowd so that astronauts have access to the equipment and supplies they need.”

NanoAvionics Gets a UK Expansion

NanoAvionics engineers assembling satellite subsystems. (NanoAvionics)

The nanosatellite bus manufacturer, NanoAvionics, is expanding in the United Kingdom moving to a larger facility for satellite assembly, integration, and testing. NanoAvionics will also expand its sales, technical support, and research and development activities, according to an Oct. 29 press release.

NanoAvionics announced a 300 percent revenue increase in the last 12 months, according to the release. Their products are used by NASA, ESA, and MIT and use a modular design and low-cost preconfigured nanosatellite buses.

"Following the establishment of our first office at Harwell Campus last year, NanoAvionics is now further expanding its business in the UK by investing in this new AIT facility, creating jobs and by developing a technology cluster and supply chain, similarly to what we have done in Lithuania and the USA," Vytenis J. Buzas, CEO of NanoAvionics, said in a press statement. "To grow our Satellite production capabilities locally, we are going to connect with companies in Britain such as printed circuit board suppliers, electronics manufacturers, cable assembly providers, producers of mechanical components and surface treatment providers."

Air Taxi

Canada Launches Air Mobility Consortium

The Canadian Air Mobility and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) are launching a multi-stakeholder group for research, development, and commercial operations in the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium. (CAAM)

The Canadian Air Mobility and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) are launching a multi-stakeholder group for research, development, and commercial operations in the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM). The announcement was made in an Oct. 28 press release.

CAAM has more than 20 partners including TransLink, Helijet International, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Bell Textron. It will create an AAM innovation hub to expand the sector and spur new technology.

“We’ve established an outstanding group of strategic members to support the design, integration, and implementation of Advanced Air Mobility in Canada,” JR Hammond, Founder & CEO of Canadian Air Mobility and Executive Director of CAAM, said in a press statement. “We look forward to demonstrating the economic viability, environmental benefits and social inclusivity factors of this technology and making Canada a world leader in AAM. To that end, we welcome additional members who share our vision that AAM provides the path toward a safer, healthier, and more efficient mode of transportation.”

AAM includes the use of zero-emission, electric, or hydrogen fuel cells and vertical take-off aircraft. It will provide transportation to rural and urban areas and could complete tasks like emergency medical response, and natural disaster assessment, according to the release.

Unmanned

HorseFly Delivery Drone Sends Type Certification Application to the FAA

The Workhorse Group Inc submitted a type certification application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its HorseFly UAS. (Workhorse)

The Workhorse Group Inc, a technology company that makes electric drones, submitted a type certification application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its HorseFly unmanned aerial system (UAS), according to an Oct. 28 press release. Type certification takes about one to two years and signifies the airworthiness of a category of aircraft.

The HorseFly can deliver parcels, carry sensors and cameras, and operate autonomously, according to the press release. It has a payload of ten pounds for up to10 miles.

“FAA Type Certification is the only path to scaling meaningful, long-term commercial revenue operations in the U.S., and we believe our Aerospace division is firmly on that path,” Workhorse CEO Duane Hughes said in a press statement. “We first started developing our unmanned aerial system over four years ago and have come a very long way in that time. Workhorse Aerospace has flown hundreds of live package deliveries in multiple states. With direct operating costs of the aircraft coming in at less than three cents per mile, package delivery integrated via drone represents a true step function improvement in terms of cost and efficiency. While there is much work ahead, this formal application is a milestone achievement for our team. We will continue to work diligently over the coming months as we progress through the various stages of the approval process.”

The post What’s Trending in Aerospace – November 1, 2020 appeared first on IIOT Connection.

Commercial Aviation 

United Airlines Starts COVID-19 Pilot Testing at San Francisco International Airport

United Airlines has begun a new pilot program using rapid testing at San Francisco International Airport. (United Airlines)

United Airlines started its COVID-19 pilot testing program for passengers traveling from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii on Oct. 15, 2020. Passengers who return a negative result to the test will be able to bypass Hawaii’s mandatory quarantine requirements.

Two tests will be made available to passengers traveling to Hawaii, including a “a rapid test option taken at the airport on the day of travel or a drive-through test conducted at the airport 48-72 hours before departure,” United said in an Oct. 15 press release.

“Customers who produce a negative test result through either option will be exempt from quarantine requirements in Lihue, Maui and Honolulu. Customers traveling to Kona will be required to take a second complimentary test when they arrive to the island to avoid quarantining,” according to United.

“There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has changed the travel experience, and United is committed to innovating to help customers continue to travel where they want to go in a way that is safe,” said Toby Enqvist, Chief Customer Officer at United. “In partnership with the San Francisco Airport, we look forward to helping re-open the Hawaiian economy, and look forward to making testing options more broadly available to our customers so we can continue to connect people and unite the world.”

Military 

U-2 Spy Plane Receives Software Code Update In-Flight

Jeannine Abira, U-2 Federal Laboratory director of advanced mathematics and algorithm development. and Jesse Angle, U-2 Federal Laboratory technical director, work on a computer, Sept. 21, 2020, at Beale AFB, Calif. The U-2 Federal Laboratory is a 15 U.S.C. compliant organization that promotes "edge development," a concept to develop new software integration on operational systems. (U.S. Air Force)

The U.S. Air Force updated software code on a Lockheed Martin U-2 reconnaissance plane in-flight on Oct. 16, according to Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper.

"Friday, a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane updated code during flight–a military first!" Roper said via Twitter on Oct. 19. Roper said that the two updates involved a "docker containment generating log files" and "improved target recognition algorithms."

The Air Force's Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va., has been testing a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) that uses open-source container-orchestration systems, such as the Cloud Native Computing Foundation's (CNCF) Kubernetes, originally designed by Google, for improving cybersecurity through the automation of computer application deployment, scaling, and management.

Check out the full story as first published on Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics International.

Orange Flag Exercise Sees Results with Data Engagement

Orange Flag is an exercise born from a need to maximize resources across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains to include joint and coalition forces. The exercise aims to bring test as close as possible to the warfighter through combat relevant testing early in the development cycle. (Air Force)

In September, a total of 40 aircraft and five land units joined other space and cyber capabilities for a multi-domain, large force test series exercise, Orange Flag. During this exercise, they accomplished a dramatic change in how test professionals engage with test data, made progress in connecting F-35 Lightning IIs directly to Army fires without human-in-the-loop intervention, and made improvements to the way complex kill webs are analyzed, according to an Oct. 19 press release.

Orange Flag, which took place at Edwards Air Force Base, aimed at using joint and coalition forces to maximize resources across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains, according to the press release.

According to the press release, the Air Force focused the Orange Flag exercise on data-driven assessments of interoperability, lethality, and survivability.”Orange Flag is an opportunity for participants to integrate technology into operationally representative scenarios at any and all technology readiness levels," Maj. Brandon "Siphon" Burfeind, Orange Flag director, said in a press statement. "Our goal is to disrupt traditional test timelines and expose technologies to difficult situations early and often."

These exercises happen three times per year and test aircraft in environments similar to their operations to achieve test objectives for COCOMs and participating units, according to the release.

"Large force, multi-domain test requires new ways to interact with data and report results," Christopher Valentino, Orange Flag engineering lead, said in a press statement. "We are generating interactive, app-based reporting tools as a means of ushering in next-gen data engagement."

Two Companies Selected as Technology Suppliers for GA-ASI MQ-9B

Two companies were selected from GA-ASI’s Blue Magic Belgium. (GA-ASI)

Hexagon's Geospatial division and ScioTeq have been selected by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to be technology suppliers in the development of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), according to an Oct. 20 press release. The industry solicitation event, Blue Magic Belgium (BMB), took place virtually during the week of Sept. 21.

Hexagon's Geospatial division, which provides software solutions and geospatial tools for visualizing location intelligence, and ScioTeq, which provides advanced visualization solutions, competed with 18 other companies in interviews and deep-dive engineering panel reviews during BMB, according to the release.

According to the release, ScioTeq will be studying the feasibility of a vision-based navigation capability for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Hexagon's Geospatial division will be working on enhancement to the auto-routing capability that is currently being developed.

"We were very impressed by the many talented companies that participated in Blue Magic Belgium, and particularly by the innovative concepts presented by the two companies selected," Tommy Dunehew, vice president of International Strategic Development for GA-ASI, said. "Belgium's decision to acquire the MQ-9B speaks to the strength of the NATO alliance, and the importance of interoperability."

Connectivity

Seamless Air Alliance Publishes Release 2.0 OpenIFC Standard

The Seamless Air Alliance has published Release 2.0, which the organization defines as “provided by each network component, enabling suppliers to design and build OpenIFC products using the modular architecture and open interfaces from its first release.”

Seamless Air Alliance is an industry coalition of airlines, in-flight connectivity service providers, avionics suppliers and mobile communications companies looking to “seamless roaming” into the in-flight Internet passenger experience.

"Seamless Release 2.0 completes the blueprint needed for the industry to scale the deployment of future-proof, OpenIFC systems," Jack Mandala, CEO of Seamless Air Alliance, said in an Oct. 20 press release. "This breakthrough will allow airlines to purchase best-of-breed components in a multi-vendor ecosystem, improving the efficiency of deploying, operating, and maintaining inflight systems – which is especially important as recent events have highlighted the critical role of connectivity."

Embedded Avionics

Aitech's SOSA-Compliant Single Board Computer Offers Cybersecurity

Aitech Systems created a new single-board computer (SBC), U-C8770, that is aligned with Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA). (Aitech Systems)

Aitech Systems created a new single-board computer (SBC), U-C8770, that is aligned with Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), and will offer users a proprietary cybersecurity framework for I/O-intensive data processing applications commonly used in the military and aerospace markets, according to a press release. Aitech Systems provides rugged boards and system-level solutions for military, aerospace, and space applications.

U-C8770's proprietary cybersecurity framework, AiSecure, allows secure transmission and storage of sensitive data, enables firmware and data protection, and prevents reverse engineering and tampering, according to the press release.

The SOSA aligned 3U I/O-intensive SBC Slot Profile will be able to transport large amounts of uncompressed video and sensor data quickly because it supports PCle4x and 40GE data plane options, according to the release.

"The emerging SOSA standard is designed to facilitate interoperability as well as simplify integration and innovation," Pratish M. Shah, General Manager US for Aitech, said in a press statement. "By ensuring our proven SBC technology aligns with the standard guidelines, we are able to quickly offer solutions that help our military and defense customers build and deploy their products faster and more efficiently."

ATM Modernization 

Bosnia and Herzegovina Introduce New Air Traffic Services System

Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation, BHDCA, introduced Air Traffic Services Message Handling System (AMHS) to replace the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN) and enhance airspace communication.
The AMHS system enables of all types of ground-to-ground aeronautical messages such as flight plans, meteorological messages and NOTAM messages to be sent and received in accordance with the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Continuous and secure flow of aeronautical messages is crucial to safe air traffic management. The system for BHDCA consists of a location-independent, redundant operating system (OPS), contingency system (CONT) and a training and testing system (TRAINING/TEST) and has been successfully operational since May 2020.

The AMHS system is a process of communication system that represents a central point of access to international AMHS networks and data, linking user terminals of operational services and units of BHDCA into the world exchange of data and information.

Unmanned

EASA Delivers New Commercial Drone Operator Data System

EASA has introduced a new web-based drone operations registration system. (EASA)

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has delivered a digitalized and secure system for the exchange of drones registration data among the national authorities of the Member States, putting the technical framework in place to allow registered users to fly their drones anywhere in the European Union with a single registration.

Commercial drone operators in Europe will use a new web-based system unveiled by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last week to register and manage the certification, oversight and other regulatory aspects of their operations.

Operators will be required to register their drones on a “broker system” managed by EASA that acts like a hub between individual European Union member states where their information and data can be transferred and analyzed securely by regulators. The solution, launched by EASA on Oct. 15, 2020 is “a broker system based on open web technologies and secured standards,” the agency said in an Oct. 22 press release.

"Drones are a new entrant to busy urban environments in particular, and it is important that the aviation authorities know who is using them and for what purpose, to ensure that citizens who are going about their daily business feel, and indeed are, safe, even if drones are flying nearby," said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky.

"We want to make this process as straightforward as possible for the users. The repository allows information registered with one authority to be shared with others, creating the basis for seamless drone usage across the European Union without the need to register in separate Member States,” Ky said.

Drone users will be required to register as users of their drones with their national aviation authorities starting Dec. 31, 2020, when the EU’s 2019/947 regulation takes effect. 2019/947 was originally slated to become effective on June 30, 2020, but its applicability was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Initially, it calls for the mandatory registration of drone operators and of "certified" drones, which are typically the larger drones used for business purposes,” according to EASA.

Nuuva V300 Gets Honeywell Fly-By-Wire System

A computer-generated rendition of Pipistrel’s Nuuva V300 being loaded with a forklift. (Pipistrel)

Honeywell, a technology company delivering industry-specific solutions, has been selected to provide the Nuuva V300 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a compact fly-by-wire system that is about the size of a backpack to provide stability and performance capabilities to the UAV, according to a press release. The Nuuva V300 UAV is made by Pipistrel, a small aircraft designed and manufacturer.

The compact fly-by-wire system was designed specifically for small UAVs and urban air mobility (UAM). The Nuuva V300 can carry up to 300 kilograms for approximately 186 miles.

“One of the toughest challenges logistics companies face today is meeting the demand for same-day delivery," Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager of UAS/UAM at Honeywell Aerospace, said in a press statement. "Vehicles like Pipistrel’s Nuuva V300 are going to be a real breakthrough in the race to solve this problem. We listened to our customers and built a product that meets the unique needs of this segment, and we’re extremely proud that our Compact Fly-By-Wire system will be guiding these vehicles as they take to the skies.”

Honeywell makes a full line of avionics equipment including flight controls, navigation, and radar that are designed for piloted vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAM, according to the release.

“After years of excellent cooperation in the UAM sector, we chose to work with Honeywell in the development of the Nuuva V300 as well,” Ivo Boscarol, founder and CEO of Pipistrel Group, said in a press statement. “We see this cargo aircraft paving the way for the passenger-carrying Pipistrel 801, our proposed air taxi for Uber Elevate, as both aircraft share similar architectures. Honeywell’s expertise and the proven capabilities of its Compact Fly-By-Wire system will provide airliner levels of safety for our novel air vehicles.”

The post What’s Trending in Aerospace – October 25, 2020 appeared first on IIOT Connection.

James Pavur is a Rhodes Scholar and PhD student at Oxford University in the Centre for Doctoral Training on Cybersecurity.

On this episode of the Connected Aircraft Podcast, James Pavur, an Oxford cybersecurity researcher and Ph.D. student provides insights into his experience performing satellite eavesdropping on aircraft in-flight Internet data.

Pavur was part of a team of European experts that used home television equipment and specialized software to enable satellite eavesdropping on in-flight passenger Internet data, as Pavur demonstrated during a live presentation at Black Hat 2020. The team's setup included a Selfsat satellite dish with a TBS-6983/6903 PCIe card/Digital Video Broadcast-Satellite tuner computer card.

Using the dish and tuner in combination with a program called EBS Pro that enables personal computer users to find and view satellite television feeds, Pavur’s team was able to analyze 4 terabytes of data on signals from 18 satellites in geostationary orbit.

Have suggestions or topics we should focus on in the next episode? Email the host, Woodrow Bellamy at wbellamy@accessintel.com, or drop him a line on Twitter @WbellamyIIIAC.

Listen to this episode below, or check it out on iTunes or Google Play If you like the show, subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as soon as they're released.

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Inmarsat is partnering with Hughes Network Systems to make its GX satellite network, pictured here, and Hughes’ Jupiter available as GX+ North America. (Inmarsat)

Inmarsat and Hughes Network Systems have established a new strategic collaboration that will see their two satellite networks available as "GX+ North America" in-flight connectivity (IFC) for airlines flying in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Under the new partnership, GX+ North America will combine the Hughes Jupiter satellite fleet–the largest Ka-band satellite capacity over the U.S.–with Global Xpress (GX), the aviation satellite network launched by Inmarsat in 2016. Inmarsat will provide end-to-end management of the GX+ North America, which will be enabled by a Thinkom Ka-band flat panel antenna and a “dual aero modem,” according to an Oct. 20 press release.

“This unique strategic collaboration leverages the full power of the JUPITER System, including the depth of capacity of our Ka-band High-Throughput Satellite fleet, as well as our JUPITER gateways and modems,” Paul Gaske, Executive Vice President and General Manager, North America division at Hughes, said in a statement.

The modem is capable of choosing the “optimal satellite path with no service interruption or delay for passengers,” according to Inmarsat.

Philip Balaam, president of Inmarsat Aviation, told Avionics International that GX+ North America will not require any aircraft modifications or upgrades to existing aircraft equipped with Inmarsat connectivity. The combination of their GX satellites with Jupiter will bring a leap in capacity available to airliners that is “orders of magnitude” above what is available today, according to Balaam.

“Technologically it’s really not that complicated,” Balaam said. “The onboard technology remains the same, what you have now is a new layer that will enable you to work either on one satellite network or the other. You can switch from one to the other with no interruption."

GX+ North America is the result of Inmarsat’s new collaboration with Hughes Network Systems. (Inmarsat)

According to Inmarsat, prototype flights for GX+ North America are expected to begin later this year, with commercial availability scheduled for 2021. The Hughes partnership also comes as Inmarsat continues to expand its existing GX network.

The company plans on launching new GX satellites, including their sixth through ninth generation satellites by 2023. Balaam said the partnership was driven by what they see as a need for expanded availability of capacity for IFC to allow more streaming and usage of modern Internet services in-flight.

“What this will do is it will bring a very significant increase in capacity to the aircraft. What that really does is to allow the airline to unlock their ambitions in terms of providing services to passengers. Today they're not really providing the services they want, they're not providing the full fast and free Internet to the whole cabin at the moment in the way they desire. The legacy systems are just too capacity constrained and they're going to remain capacity constrained,” Balaam said.

The increase in regional operations compared to international flying due to unpredictable changes in border policies under the COVID-19 pandemic is also well aligned to the regional coverage that GX+ North America will provide. While the number of passengers flying onboard aircraft right now is significantly lower on a global basis compared to 2019, those who are flying are connecting more than ever according to Balaam.

“We've been looking at this, what we're seeing from the airlines with whom we currently work is that passenger behavior has changed during COVID, we're seeing far higher usage per passenger per session when they get on an aircraft now,” Balaam said. “We have examples elsewhere in the world where we have carriers providing full free capacity to their passengers and you can stream on that without a problem. Often we have take-up rates of 40 percent on some of the long-haul flights, streaming, audio, video, browsing, etc. We want to bring that to the U.S. market because we feel that the North American market in particular is absolutely ready for that."

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A drone scans a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 for maintenance repairs.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has completed its first aircraft structural inspections using a drone in an effort to speed up inspection times.

According to an Oct. 20 press release, the inspection was completed using a custom-built drone supplied by New Jersey-based technology startup Luftronix. Ukrainian aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider MAUtechnic–a sister company to UIA–helped conduct the inspections at its Boryspil International Airport hangar in Kiev.

“After years of working day and night to ensure safety and precision of our scanning equipment, we see our cooperation with MAUtechnic and UIA as a major milestone in introducing our technology to the aviation industry,” Klaus Sonnenleiter, President and CEO at Luftronix, said in a press statement. “We see this as a chance to preserve the result of each inspection, make them comparable and have inspections conducted much faster and much more efficiently than it was possible in the past.”

UIA is not the first airline to use drones for structural inspections. U.K.-based low cost carrier Easyjet became one of the first operators to start seriously evaluating the concept back in 2015. American Airlines, Air New Zealand and Austrian Airlines have all run trials using drones aimed at reducing structural inspection times as well.

The scans taken by the drones can measure the distance from the surface and curvature of the object for precise measurements and guarantee a consistent surface resolution, according to Luftronix. These scans can also be saved to analyze change over time.

The drones have built-in redundancies for critical instruments and can even account for safety-relevant scenarios and unexpected events, such as foreign objects, ladder, ropes, or other drones, according to the release. The drones also use multiple fallback systems to prevent in-flight accidents caused by equipment failures.

“Our focus is always on the quality of our maintenance, safety of passengers and flawless operation of all aircraft systems,” Volodymyr Polishchuk, Quality Assurance Manager at MAUtechnic, said in a press statement. “It was encouraging to see the Luftronix team sharing the same values and perspectives.”

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Commercial Airlines

Delta plans to continue accelerating its fleet retirement plans and making adjustments to aircraft purchasing plans due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Delta Air Lines)

Delta Air Lines Reports $5.4 Billion Loss in Third Quarter

Delta Air Lines reported a $5.4 billion loss for the third quarter of 2020 in an Oct. 13 press release.

The Atlanta-based career attributed $4 billion in losses directly to the impact of COVID-19 “and the company’s response, including fleet-related restructuring charges and charges for voluntary separation and early retirement programs for Delta employees, which were partially offset by the benefit of the CARES Act grant recognized in the quarter,” Delta said.

“With a slow and steady build in demand, we are restoring flying to meet our customers’ needs, while staying nimble with our capacity in light of COVID-19,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s president. “While it may be two years or more until we see a normalized revenue environment, by restoring customer confidence in travel and building customer loyalty now, we are creating the foundation for sustainable future revenue growth.”

Operating revenue was down 79 percent and capacity was reduced by 63 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The company has announced plans to accelerate retirements of nearly 400 aircraft by 2025, including more than 200 in 2020.

Lufthansa Plans Transfer of Airbus A350-900s to Frankfurt this Winter

Lufthansa will be transferring four of its parked A350s to Frankfurt this winter. (Lufthansa)

Lufthansa will be deploying four of the Airbus A350-900s currently parked in Munich to its hub in Frankfurt this winter.

“Over the next few months the A350-900 will be serving Chicago and Los Angeles from Frankfurt, by temporarily replacing the Boeing 747-8 for this period of time. From December onwards, the ultra-modern A350-900 will also be flying from Frankfurt on the route to Tokyo/Haneda instead of the Airbus A340-300,” the airline said in a Oct. 13 press release.

Lufthansa's A350-900 fleet currently encompasses 16 Munich- based aircraft. Due to the sharp reduction in the number of flights offered as a result of the corona pandemic, only seven A350-900s will initially be operated at Munich in the winter timetable of 20/21 on routes to North America and Asia.

Commercial Space

FAA Issues New Rule For Launchers Allowing Single License

(FAA)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rolled out a new rule on Oct. 15 that it says takes a new, streamlined approach for commercial spaceflight.

The biggest change is that it allows launchers to use a single license for multiple launches and reentries, from multiple launch sites, valid up to five years. It allows for early review for applications submitted in increments. The rule also allows operators to request to have a means of compliance approved to accommodate customized operations, changing technologies and innovation.

Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Wayne Monteith said in a webcast announcing the update that the new rule is a set of flexible, performance-based regulations, and streamlined operational approvals. The former rule was mostly developed in the 1990s, and hadn't had a significant update since 2006.

Check out the full story on Via Satellite, a sister publication to Avionics.

NASA Awards Lockheed Martin, ULA, SpaceX Contracts for Moon, Mars Technologies

(NASA)

NASA has chosen 14 companies for contract awards to develop technologies for Artemis operations on the Moon, including about $260 million to a group including Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance (ULA), andSpaceX to develop cryogenic fluid management. The awards, announced Wednesday, have an expected combined award value of more than $370 million.

For cryogenic fluid management technology demonstrations, small business Eta Space will receive $27 million for a small-scale flight demonstration of a complete cryogenic oxygen fluid management system, which will be the primary payload on a Rocket Lab Photon satellite. Lockheed Martin will receive $89.7 million for an in-space demonstration mission using liquid hydrogen. SpaceX will receive $53.2 million for large-scale flight demonstration to transfer 10 metric tons of cryogenic propellant, specifically liquid oxygen, between tanks on a Starship vehicle. And ULA will receive $86.2 million to demonstrate a smart propulsion cryogenic system, using liquid oxygen and hydrogen, on a Vulcan Centaur upper stage.

Check out the full story on Via Satellite, a sister publication to Avionics.

Military 

AESA Radar for F-16s Achieves Full Operational Capability

District of Columbia Air National Guard members prepare an F-16D Fighting Falcon for flight at Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, as part of Guardian Shield 20-02, Sept. 21-25 (U.S. Air Force)

The Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 scalable agile beam radar (SABR) for U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters by Lockheed Martin has achieved full operational capability (FOC), Northrop Grumman said on Oct. 15.

The radar is to provide 5th generation radar features akin to those on the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35 for the legacy fighter, which first flew in 1974.

Such new, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) features include beyond line of sight, longer range air-to-air and air-to-ground targeting of multiple targets, such as air defense radars and cruise/surface to air missiles, and all-weather, high-resolution, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ground mapping for improved strike.

JCO Looks to Use Counter UAS for Threats and Hazards

Ascent Vision Technologies’ XMADIS Marine Air Defense Integrated System. (AVT)

The Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) is looking to technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and spoofing for the Pentagon's joint counter-drone defense systems, Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, director of the Army-led JCO, told reporters on Thursday, Oct. 15.

The JCO is set to announce industry requirements for Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft (C-sUAS) at an open house on Oct. 30.

Gainey said the use of AI in JCO strategy is critical. The JOC wants to use AI/ML to reduce operator stress by increasing response reaction, increasing systems compensating technologies, and reducing complexity, Col. Marc Pelini, division chief for capabilities and requirements in the JOC, told reporters. Reducing complexity will allow counter UAS to be used by more operators.

"They want a MOS or military specialty agnostic capability that soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, pick up intuitively so everyone is a counter UAS operator," Pelini said.

Check out the full story on Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics.

Thales Launches New Compact Airborne Surveillance Radar

Thales released a new compact airborne surveillance radar, AirMaster C, that has a 30 percent lowers SWaP (size, weight, and power) with enhanced target detection capabilities. (Thales)

Thales has released a new compact airborne surveillance radar, AirMaster C, that has a “30 percent lower SWaP (size, weight, and power) with enhanced target detection capabilities for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), according to a press release.

The AirMaster C weighs less than 20 kilograms and is able to self-cool because it has programmable 2D active antenna based silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology. The radar can select optimal settings to maximize detection performance on missions by using multi-polarization and it works similar to the human eye using short-range and long-range detection capabilities, according to the release.

"With this new product, Thales offers an optimized surveillance solution for a broader array of platform types and operators, ensuring they benefit from the highest levels of mission performance as they face the new challenges ahead," Hervé Hamy, Vice President for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) at Thales, said of the new radar.

The AirMaster C can be used in any environment and is set to be tested on the Airbus H160M Guépard.

Digital

GE Digital and Microsoft Partner with Alteia to Streamline AI Adoption

Alteia, an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) platform focused on visual intelligence, partners with GE Digital and Microsoft, according to a press release. Both companies will use Aleia's capabilities to streamline AI adoption for inventory, energy management, predictive maintenance, and equipment reliability issues.

GE Digital, a subsidiary of General Electric, will be utilizing AI solutions for its analytics software portfolio, which will save time and value for mission-critical solutions, according to the release.

"Predictive analytics and Network Digital Twins are changing the way digital utilities make business decisions as the benefits of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are recognized across the industry," Sean Moser, Senior Vice President of Product Management for GE Digital's Grid Software business, said in a statement. "Management of vegetation in transmission and distribution corridors is key to providing a reliable supply of electricity to ensure public and worker safety. Our Visual Intelligence solution will provide data-driven insights to reduce operational costs of survey data management, increase reliability and safety, and reduce liability risk."

Microsoft will use Alteia's capabilities to enhance its cloud infrastructure and marketplace. Alteia will be utilizing Microsoft Azure for infrastructure and elastic computing capabilities.

"Through this partnership, Microsoft and Alteia will help our customers accelerate their digital transformation and find new ways to drive innovation with AI thanks to the Alteia platform based on Microsoft Azure,"Agnès Van de Walle, Director OCP at Microsoft France, said in a statement. "Alteia, with its recognized expertise in imagery analysis and visual intelligence, is a strategic partner for Microsoft, and together we will help customers across a number of industries address their maintenance, productivity, and management issues."

Gray Eagle ER Gets New Laptop-Based Interface

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV (General Atomics Photo)

A new laptop-based interface, Scalable Command & Control (SC2), is coming to the Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to reduce operator workload and automating more mundane tasks, according to a press release. SC2 is created by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an American energy and defense corporation.

SC2 works through automated checklists and optimizes operator steps for everything from pre-flight to status monitoring and payload control by using a collection of software applications, according to the press release. This allows operators to focus on more complex mission objectives.

"SC2 incorporated significant automation and cognitive workload reduction for GE-ER operators, allowing them to focus on mission tasks," GA-ASI President, David R. Alexander, said in a statement. "SC2's pre-flight automation reduces emplacement and mission launch timelines by 75 percent from the currently-fielded Ground Control Station (GCS)."

The new laptop-based interface will allow for fewer logistical burdens when operating GE-ER UAS because 100 percent of the functionalities of the Ground Control Station (GCS) shelter can be hosted on the SC2.

The Army will be able to reduce its logistical footprint of the GE-ER platoon using SC2.

"This capability will eliminate over 100,000 pounds of Army vehicles in each GE-ER platoon, providing maximum flexibility to unit commanders on the MDO battlefield," Alexander said.

eVTOLs

Eve is the first urban air mobility company to graduate from the EmbraerX program. (Embraer)

Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, Inc. (Eve) has been launched as a new, independent company dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem, according to an Oct. 15 Embraer press release.

André Stein, former head of strategy for EmbraerX, has been appointed CEO of Eve. The company has been tasked with the progression and certification of Embraer’s first electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL), the associated comprehensive services and support network, and the creation of urban air traffic management solutions.

The post What’s Trending in Aerospace – October 18, 2020 appeared first on IIOT Connection.

Brad Grady, principal analyst at Northern Sky Research, gave an insightful presentation on satellite connectivity along with Vivek Prasad during the recent Cabin Chats 2020 virtual event.

On this episode of the Connected Aircraft Podcast, Brad Grady, principal analyst for Northern Sky Research (NSR), gives some updates and insight on how COVID-19 is continuing to impact in-flight connectivity, antenna technology, the concept of free in-flight Internet, and more.

Grady has given presentations at the Global Connected Aircraft Summit in recent years and leads a group of NSR Analysts focused on Aeronautical and Land-Mobile opportunities, and authors NSR's Maritime [satellite communications] SATCOM Markets, Energy SATCOM Markets, and Government and Military satellite technologies, according to his profile.

Have suggestions or topics we should focus on in the next episode? Email the host, Woodrow Bellamy at wbellamy@accessintel.com, or drop him a line on Twitter @WbellamyIIIAC.

Listen to this episode below, or check it out on iTunes or Google Play If you like the show, subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as soon as they're released.

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