JOHN MCHALE, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

The top Avionics stories on Mil-embedded.com for 2019 covered F-35 avionics, multicore for safety-critical applications, conformance with the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) standard, F-22 Raptor upgrades, and more. Check them out below.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

Spirit AeroSystems issued a notice under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of layoffs affecting approximately 2,800 employees at its Wichita, Kansas facility. Spirit says it is taking this action because of the 737 MAX production suspension and ongoing uncertainty regarding the timing of when production will resume and the level of production when it does resume.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Sierra Technical Services, Inc. (STS) completed the engine run testing on the 5th Generation Aerial Target (5GAT). The 5GAT contract is administered by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Contracting Office (USACE) and is managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (OSD/DOT&E).

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Northrop Grumman Corporation won a contract to develop and demonstrate a Software-Programmable Open Mission Systems (OMS) Compliant (SPOC) radio terminal for the U.S. Air Force.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

General Electric (GE) won a $318 million contract for the engine component improvement program for the U.S. Air Force, according to the Pentagon. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an expected completion date of Dec. 21, 2029.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

Kriya Shortt is the senior vice president of Global Customer Support for Textron Aviation. Last month at the NBAA convention in Las Vegas, Nev., Aviation Maintenance editor-in-chief, Joy Finnegan had the opportunity to sit down with her and discuss the challenges and opportunities of leading the global support effort for Textron Aviation, which now encompasses the Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker product lines and more than 3000 employees spanning the globe.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Bluescape, visual collaboration platform, announced the award of a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to advance technology innovations across global Air Force organizations. The solution was selected for its proven record with government and intelligence commercial agencies in improving strategic planning and situational awareness activities.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Parsons Corporation won a position and an initial task order on the $427 million multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Global Application Research, Development, Engineering and Maintenance (GARDEM) contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory. The seven-year cost plus fixed fee contract was a recompete for the company.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Perspecta Inc. announced that its applied research arm, Perspecta Labs, has demonstrated long-distance, high-bandwidth data streaming between a test aircraft and a fourth generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) ground network. The test was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base as part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Cellular Range Telemetry Network (CeRTN) program in collaboration with the DoD Test Resource Management Center.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

A squadron at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma completed its first live mission using the AN/TYQ-23A information system, the U.S. Air Force announced. Airmen of the 752nd Operations Support Squadron used the ground-based weapons system to connect with needed databases across the Air Force to monitor the aerial refueling of an F-16 fighter plane.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that High Cycle Testing of its Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system for Ford-class aircraft carriers was completed over a two-day period. High Cycle Testing was conducted on a single AAG system that is identical to the three systems aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. Five F/A-18E/F Super Hornets were involved in the testing to simulate the operational tempo of carrier flight operations at sea.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Lockheed Martin completed 2019 with $2.35 billion in five new contracts for the F-35 program. The award closely follows the company's announcement that it had delivered its 134th F-35 fighter plane, exceeding its goal of 131 for the year.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Raytheon Company won a U.S. Navy contract for the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy – Navy (MALD-N), as announced by the U.S. Department of Defense.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

THOMMEN AIRCRAFT EQUIPMENT announced the first deliveries of its digital Multi-Function Display (MFD) replacement solution for legacy CRT displays installed on AW129 helicopters.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

BAE Systems was awarded a $49.6 million contract modification to support the Air Vehicle Planning System for the U.S. Air Force, according to the Pentagon. The deal increases the funding ceiling for a previous contract, allowing the Air Force to order continued maintenance and support for new and modified weapons.