10 Mar 21. IFS launches IFS Cloud.
- IFS Cloud brings all IFS industry capabilities and functionality depth together on a single API-based platform
- Embedded digital innovation will deliver fast time-to-value and new capabilities, whether customers chose best-of-breed or the entire IFS Cloud platform
- Built for the cloud, but deployable anywhere—customers get choice
IFS, today launches IFS Cloud™, a single platform that innately connects all its products to deliver the end-to-end capabilities a company needs to orchestrate its customers, people and assets and deliver amazing Moments of Service. Customers can choose to deploy best-of-breed or leverage the power of connecting their value chains across capabilities such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management (HCM), asset management (EAM) and field service (FSM).
With IFS Cloud, IFS offers a unique and single technology platform with one common user experience, one data model and one consistent support offering. IFS Cloud brings simplicity, choice and innovation to organisations that need to evolve to new business models, control costs, expand faster and serve their customers better. By implementing IFS Cloud, companies can easily scale and simply switch on new functionality (such as additional modules or new innovative capabilities) when the time is right for their business.
Likewise, customers can choose how and where they deploy IFS Cloud, which has been engineered for the cloud but can be deployed on-premises with a choice of residency. Unlike many offerings, IFS customers will benefit from the same solution functionality and delightful user experiences, regardless of their deployment choice, without compromise.
As a departure from competing, legacy suites and software portfolios that rely on complex and costly integrations, IFS Cloud is designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for customers to buy, deploy, run, and update their enterprise software. IFS Cloud marks the start of twice-yearly feature releases, giving customers the choice to move to the latest version as and when their business is ready.
Darren Roos, IFS CEO, commented, “The path to digital transformation is not a simple one. Most businesses are complex and have intricate value chains, which is why few organisations succeed and even fewer vendors provide the tools to truly enable it. At IFS, our single most important goal is to deliver value to our customers, and we want to provide a clear path for them to evolve to new business models, compete and win.
Roos continued, “Customers have told me that their main goals are to drive efficiency, control costs and to develop better products and services. We know that to achieve this, cloud is a pre-requisite. Digital innovations need to be easily consumable and embedded into daily business operations, which is why I am confident that IFS will succeed where others have not. IFS Cloud is unique and delivers on customer centricity and experience as well as capabilities. I am proud to say we are again keeping our promise to deliver value so that customers can deliver on their Moment of Service.”
With digital innovations embedded, IFS Cloud’s architecture also includes new and improved application services for intelligent and autonomous business that can be natively leveraged across IFS products and across industries. This makes it practical and affordable for customers to take advantage of technologies such as machine learning (ML), augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR), artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT), ready to use ‘out of the box’.
IFS Cloud is being adopted by a number of pioneer customers across IFS focus markets of Aerospace & Defence, Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, and Service industries. One such customer is Cimcorp Group, a world-leading manufacturer of robotics and automation systems.
Commenting on the benefits of IFS Cloud, Cimcorp Technology Director Jyrki Anttonen said, “The manufacturing and manufacturing service industries are very dynamic and highly competitive, which means we are constantly looking for technologies that will allow us to work smarter and faster than our competitors. Company growth is certainly a goal, but we are a global business and therefore we need to have visibility into our operations globally so that we can target efficiencies, control costs and devise new ways to create value for our customers. IFS Cloud is a platform with next-generation technology built for our industry and this gives us the confidence we need to achieve this and flank the competition.”
IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen said, “IFS Cloud was designed and built to respond to customers’ needs when shifting to digital business models; something we never lost sight of over the last two years.” Pedersen continued, “We recognise that IFS Cloud will be pivotal in bringing success in a customer’s business and this shaped our approach in several areas: being able to make fast and informed decisions based on a single data model, being completely open with native APIs and providing one single upgrade experience so that customers can focus on what is important, which is to deliver exceptional Moments of Service to their customers.”
Also released today is the first instalment of the IFS application lifecycle management capability, IFS Lifecycle Experience. IFS Lifecycle Experience features a portal that puts users in control of their application by fusing multiple touch points, to give them access to information, tooling, code, and permissions.
10 Mar 21. Pentagon, Lockheed Martin reach settlement on F-35 spare parts fees. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have settled over hundreds of millions of US dollars in labour costs that the armed services incurred in managing non-ready-for-issue (non-RFI), or installation, spare parts for its fleet of F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs).
Lockheed Martin will invest USD70.6m in the F-35 programme as compensation for its failure to deliver RFI spare parts, House Oversight and Reform Committee chairperson Carolyn Maloney of New York, and House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee chairman Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said in a 8 March joint statement. The pair said while they believe that Lockheed Martin should have paid a greater share, this is a step in the right direction. Maloney and the Pentagon did not return requests for comment prior to publication.
Maloney and Lynch applauded the Pentagon for its efforts to hold Lockheed Martin accountable for failing to meet contract requirements for F-35 spare parts. The company is required to provide RFI spare parts, which means that spare parts are ready to install and have an electronic equipment logbook (EEL) assigned that includes information such as part history and remaining life. Spare parts such as wheel, seat, and window assemblies without an EEL are considered non-RFI. (Source: Jane’s)
09 Mar 21. Honeywell Develops Power Source for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft.
Honeywell announced that it is developing a power source for hybrid-electric aircraft, planned for demonstration later this year.
At 280 pounds, the Honeywell 1-Megawatt generator weighs about the same as a motor scooter but delivers enough energy to power an entire neighborhood block. This generator will be combined with the Honeywell HGT1700 auxiliary power unit, currently flown on every Airbus A350 XWB, to form a turbogenerator 2.5 times more powerful than the version the company unveiled in 2019.
The new turbogenerator from Honeywell will be able to run on aviation biofuel, including Honeywell Green Jet Fuel, which is chemically similar to fossil fuel but made from more sustainable alternatives, as well as conventional jet fuel and diesel. Honeywell’s turbogenerator can be used to operate high-power electric motors or charge batteries and can satisfy missions from heavy-lift cargo drones to air taxis, or commuter aircraft. The first demonstration of this turbogenerator system will occur in the third quarter of 2021, with ongoing development and qualification to follow.
“There is an inherent need for electric and hybrid-electric power as the urban air mobility segment takes shape and unmanned aerial vehicles enter service,” said Stephane Fymat, vice president and general manager for Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility at Honeywell Aerospace. “Our turbogenerators provide a safe, lightweight package to serve these burgeoning segments, and we’re designing our solutions to meet the unique needs of customers developing aerial vehicles of the future.”
Traditionally, aircraft use fuel-burning engines to mechanically turn rotors, propellers or fans. Many new designs, however, use a distributed electric propulsion architecture, in which many electric motors can be tilted or turned off for vertical takeoff and horizontal flight. A Honeywell turbo generator can provide electric power for multiple electric motors anywhere on an aircraft.
“Honeywell’s unrivaled legacy in the manufacturing of auxiliary power units and larger gas turbine engines gives us the ability to create unique power systems for future vehicles,” said Taylor Alberstadt, senior director of Power Systems Business Development at Honeywell Aerospace. “We think the future of aviation will include many new types of propulsion and power systems, and Honeywell is prepared to lead the way in their development.”
In December, Honeywell signed a memorandum of understanding with British startup Faradair Aerospace to collaborate on systems and a turbo generation unit that will run on sustainable aviation fuel to power Faradair’s Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft (BEHA). Faradair intends to deliver 300 hybrid-electric BEHAs into service by 2030, of which 150 will be in a firefighting configuration. Honeywell is in advanced discussions with several other potential turbogenerator customers, working to help define power requirements based on mission profiles required by various manufacturers.
Honeywell unveiled its first turbogenerator for urban air mobility (UAM) at the 2019 HAI HELI-EXPO in Atlanta. It combined Honeywell’s HTS900 turboshaft engine with two 200-kilowatt generators. Since then, the company continues to grow its role in the UAM segment, highlighted by advancements in electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems.
Honeywell is a major player in the emerging UAM segment, offering a full line of avionics, propulsion and operational systems—all tailored for piloted and autonomous vertical take-off and landing UAM and cargo vehicles. Honeywell also offers aerospace integration and certification expertise for enabling the commercialization of these vehicles.
Honeywell pioneered the sustainable aviation fuel market with its UOP Ecofining process. Honeywell Green Jet Fuel produced by this process is blended seamlessly with petroleum-based jet fuel at commercial scale. When used in up to a 50% blend with petroleum-based jet fuel, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel requires no changes to aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight. (Source: UAS VISION)
10 Mar 21. RAAF delivers vehicles to Antarctica ahead of Operation. The RAAF delivered additional vehicles to Australia’s Antarctic Division ahead of Operation Southern Discovery.
The Royal Australian Air Force completed another delivery of vehicles last month to Australia’s Antarctic Division ahead of Operation Southern Discovery.
The vehicles, which include a Challenger snow tractor and Pathfinder snow groomers, were carried aboard the C-17A Globemaster III on separate missions from Hobart International Airport.
The mission was supported by the RAAF Combat Support Group in Hobart and capabilities from Antarctica’s Casey Station, including a Navy meteorologist attached at Casey.
Operation Southern Discovery will provide researchers with critical data on the world’s climate, and will require a 1,200-kilometre journey to acquire ice core samples. The vehicles will assist in building a portable inland station for the operation.
Wing Commander Dion Wright, Commander of the Australian Contingent for Operation Southern Discovery, said, “Support from Defence has provided AAD with an overland traverse capability, enabling the premier science project in Antarctica, the retrieval of the million-year ice core.
“This has been accomplished across complex and challenging seasons, which have been affected also by COVID-19 restrictions
“The feedback from the million-year ice core project team is that it could not envisage the overland traverse vehicles being delivered with the challenges they’ve faced.”
Anthony Hull, who oversees the Australian Antarctic Division’s Traverse Project, noted, “The speed at which this procession will travel is approximately 10 kilometres an hour.
“To do this for approximately 1,200 kilometres, you’re looking at about 12 to 14 days of solid travel.” (Source: Defence Connect)
04 Mar 21. NATO and EU must co-operate on military mobility ‘at highest levels’, report says. NATO and the EU should now engage “at the highest levels” to push forward military mobility (MM) in Europe to deter threats, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, DC, argues in a new report. Pointing to civil-military infrastructure standards and the need to resurrect national territorial commands as among the priorities for MM, the report says NATO-EU engagement “is both an urgent military requirement and a political necessity”.
A year in the making, the 72-page report, ‘Moving Mountains for Europe’s Defence’, was released and reviewed during a virtual forum by its authors and guest speakers on 3 March. The document’s analysis included two months of interviews with more than 100 stakeholders spanning NATO and the EU’s security communities to test five mobility scenarios across Europe.
“Deterrence only works if you can prove you can react on short notice,” General Jörg Vollmer, commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, told the CEPA debate. He said dual-use infrastructure standards must be a priority to enable military mobility. “We need standardisation as much for civil projects that fulfill military requirements as for the latter themselves.”
Julian Lindley-French, chairman of The Alphen Group and one the report’s three co-authors, agreed. “Europe’s defence and deterrence will stand on military mobility and, to the largest extent, civil-military co-operation,” he said.
The report’s two other authors are Heinrich Brauss, former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, and General Ben Hodges (rtd), CEPA’s head of strategic studies and formerly commander of US Army Europe. (Source: Jane’s)