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13 June 19. Bangladesh Navy’s Dornier 228 aircraft arrives at RUAG for MRO work. The first of two Bangladesh Navy (BN) Dornier 228-212 special mission aircraft has arrived at RUAG MRO International’s production and assembly site at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. RUAG is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the Dornier 228 aircraft. The company delivered the first two Dornier 228s to BN in June 2013. A second order was placed in 2017 to deliver two more aircraft to the navy to support maritime air patrol and rescue missions.
RUAG received a contract in April this year to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) support for two BN Dornier 228-212 aircraft.
The first Dornier arrived at the OEM’s site on 26 May as part of this contract for a 72-month inspection.
RUAG MRO International Dornier 228 Customer Support director Michael Franz said: “We are pleased to have Bangladesh Navy confirm their trust in us as a reliable partner. Providing support for their aircraft enables their active operations for safeguarding their nation’s key resources.”
Under the contract, RUAG will also provide maintenance training to BN maintenance technicians during the MRO inspection period.
The Dornier 228s are used by BN to support surveillance and patrol flights for maritime security, exclusive economic zone control, and search-and-rescue (SAR) operations.
Bangladesh Navy Purchase director commodore Zahir said: “Our efforts in these naval and coastguard surveillance activities help ensure our nation’s safety and economic strength. Our mission schedules are rigorous, our flight plans demanding and availability must be guaranteed 24 hours a day.
“We are confident that entrusting these heavy inspections to RUAG is essential to secure the reliability and performance we continue to expect from our aircraft, as we focus on these priorities on behalf of the Bangladesh people.”
The Dornier 228 has long-range, high utilisation rates and high payload, and can be used as special mission, commuter or cargo transportation aircraft. It is equipped with the Honeywell TPE-331-10 single shaft engine. (Source: naval-technology.com)
13 June 19. NIAR wins US AFRL contract for fleet sustainment programme. Wichita State University’s (WSU) National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has received a $23.5m contract from the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to lead the fleet sustainment programme.
The ‘Modeling for Affordable, Sustainable Composites’ (MASC) contract will seek to develop a certification framework to pave the way for advanced materials and structural concepts for automated manufacturing.
Through the programme, the airforce is looking to expand the framework for developing innovative in-service inspection technologies for advanced structures and bonded joints.
The expanded framework will also cover validating composite repair analysis techniques, as well as life extension of ageing composite structures and structural enhancements.
US Senator Jerry Moran said: “The fleet sustainment programme signifies the immense value NIAR provides to our airforce and national defence.”
The programme will be led by NIAR’s new Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) and include partnerships between AFRL researchers, defence contractors, and universities.
ATLAS is designed to develop manufacturing protocols for automated fibre placement (AFP) and automated tape laying (ATL) for aircraft systems.
Construction on this facility has started and is expected to be completed in mid-2020.
The project will focus on enhancing tools for design-manufacture-certify advanced integrated structures.
To achieve this, researchers and project partners will use machine-learning and artificial intelligence algorithms coupled with automated technologies to manufacture next-generation composite airframes.
WSU interim president Andy Tompkins said: “Wichita State has strategically invested in technology to assist the aviation and manufacturing industries become more competitive and efficient while providing applied learning opportunities for our students.
“This extended partnership with the Department of Defence (DoD) and AFRL is an endorsement of the high-calibre capabilities and expertise at this university and we’re honoured to have the opportunity to work with them in this capacity.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)
11 June 19. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has launched the latest version of RELY3D®, an advanced visualization and training tool for Apache AH-64 sensor system maintainers. RELY3D originated from an employee idea to improve maintenance efficiency through interactive training content. The tool leverages capabilities from popular commercial gaming technology to transform training into advanced visualization modules, reducing training time by up to 60 percent.
“RELY3D is an invaluable tool for our new employees who are just learning about our sensors, as well as field maintainers. With this tool, maintainers can troubleshoot and perform maintenance on the flight line, dramatically reducing cost and increasing system availability,” Lockheed Martin Apache Fire Control Program Director Matt Hoffman said. “As the industry pushes to advance training capabilities, we continue to innovate advanced technology and deliver affordable solutions for the Apache aviation community.”
RELY3D reduces maintenance and repair time through its intuitive interface on the Apache Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight and Pilotage Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) and LONGBOW® Fire Control Radar (FCR) systems by placing high fidelity, technically accurate 3-D models into the hands of maintainers via a mobile tablet or laptop. The tool is also being developed for use on other rotary and fixed-wing aircraft sensors and weapons systems.
M-TADS/PNVS provides Apache helicopter pilots with long-range, precision engagement and pilotage capabilities for mission success and flight safety during day and night, and in adverse weather conditions. To date, Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 1,400 M-TADS/PNVS systems and spares to the U.S. Army and 16 international customers in 15 nations.
LONGBOW® FCR, developed by the LONGBOW Limited Liability Company (LBL) – a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman – automatically searches, detects, locates, classifies and prioritizes multiple moving targets to 16km, or stationary targets, on land, on the water, or in the air, in clear or adverse weather, and in obscured battlefields – giving commanders the precision engagement capabilities necessary to win the battle. LONGBOW has delivered nearly 500 systems to the U.S. Army and 13 international customers in 12 nations.
Lockheed Martin also provides training and simulation systems for aircraft maintainers supporting numerous U.S. and international platforms including the C-130J, F-16, F-35, and basic flight training courses in countries such as Australia and the U.K.
10 June 19. Interserve receives UK MoD infrastructure support contract extension. The UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded a contract extension worth up to £500m to Interserve Group. The contract extension will give the opportunity for Interserve to continue providing infrastructure support for the British Armed Forces’ four strategic international bases in the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Cyprus and Ascension Island. Awarded on behalf of the Joint Forces Command (JFC), the contract will see Interserve continue to perform planned and reactive work to maintain the sites.
Interserve Group CEO Debbie White said: “I am delighted the Defence Infrastructure Organisation has chosen to extend this important contract with Interserve.
“We are uniquely equipped to meet the varied and changing facilities management requirements of the UK Armed Forces across the defence estate, helping to ensure critical infrastructure is serviced and maintained effectively.
“This contract win is illustrative of our extensive defence facilities management expertise and aligns with our strategy to developing long-term relationships with clients such as the DIO.”
Site-specific services include aircraft handling at Ascension Island, power generation, water treatment and plant management in the Falklands, as well as support for visiting vessels in Gibraltar.
The company has performed the permanent joint operating bases contracts with the DIO and JFC for 20 years in the South Atlantic and more than a decade in the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, Interserve is a provider of facilities services at the US Air Force’s UK estate.
The company also handles other projects that include providing support services for the DIO’s military training estate.
In June 2017, the construction firm secured a two-year contract extension for the provision of infrastructure support for British Armed Forces bases. (Source: army-technology.com)
10 June 19. Immuta and LMI to develop analytics environments for US DoD. Immuta has partnered with government consultancy LMI to develop compliance analytics environments for the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Analytics environments will contribute to improved decision making surrounding weapons system readiness and sustainment, according to Immuta. The company’s automated data governance platform is a key feature of an integrated data analytics platform designed and managed by LMI for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The Maintenance and Availability Data Warehouse (MADW) hosts data related to availability, cost, inventory, and transactions.
It comprises more than one billion maintenance records from 46 authoritative data systems on almost all DoD weapons system and readiness.
By integrating availability, cost, inventory, maintenance, and supply data, DoD leaders will have several analyses at their disposal that would assist them in their key decision making, Immuta stated.
LMI data visualisation and product development director Joseph Norton said: “Partnering with Immuta has enabled data scientists to leverage government data in compliance with appropriate governance regulations and privacy safeguards more quickly.
“Given the size of these data sets, Immuta has been a force multiplier in accelerating the delivery of insight to LMI’s clients. We value our partnership with Immuta and look forward to our clients reaping the benefits.”
The partnership will deliver benefits to LMI and its customers, including granular, as well as dynamic control of who is accessing data and for what purpose.
The Immuta platform ensures data is accessed in compliance with all applicable regulations.
Furthermore, the ability to deliver faster predictive insights will enhance the ability of DoD leaders to address critical military readiness challenges.
Immuta CEO Matthew Carroll stated that machine automation is required to augment human processes and support decision making.
Carroll added: “It can provide mission-critical insight that humans alone could not have found or at least could not have discovered in the timeframe necessary. This is especially true for our military and the agencies governing our defence.
“We’re proud to work with LMI to ensure the compliant and ethical use of data in the development of analytic environments that improve the stature and readiness of the US military.” (Source: army-technology.com)
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About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and life cycle sustainment services. For decades Oshkosh has been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition, Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4® independent suspension systems, TerraMax™ unmanned ground vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us at www.oshkoshdefense.com.
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