EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Northrop Grumman Corporation has expanded its Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) Capability Block 1 (CB-1) solution team with the addition of proven structure supplier CPI Aero, Inc. based in Edgewood, N.Y.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

Twenty years ago this month I sat quietly in the NTSB’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Laboratory listening to the final 31 minutes of Alaska Airlines flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) MD-83 airplane that had crashed off the coast of Ventura, California. Assigned to lead the “Systems Group” for the NTSB go-team, I needed to understand the crew conversations, cockpit alerts and switch clicks related to what we suspected was a horizontal stabilizer trim system failure.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The U.S. Navy, with support from Northrop Grumman Corporation, commenced flight testing of the MQ-8C Fire Scout equipped with the Leonardo AN/ZPY-8 radar.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems will supply 5th generation Litening-5 and RecceLite systems to equip Leonardo’s M-346FA light combat aircraft. This is the first integration of 5th generation EO pods to Leonardo’s M-346FA platform.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Orbit Communication Systems Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Orbit Communication Systems Ltd., provider of airborne communications solutions, announced that Boeing selected its Orion Audio Management System (AMS) for the U.S. Air Force's new T-7A Red Hawk advanced pilot training system.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) contracts with Delta Digital Video for delivery of rugged airborne video encoders in support of continued production for the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) avionics, datalinks and software.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

After reaching a definitive agreement in January, BAE Systems has now completed the acquisition of Raytheon Technologies Corporation’s Airborne Tactical Radios (Airborne Radios) business, intended to bring products and capabilities into the company’s Electronic Systems portfolio.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Raytheon won a $325 million contract for repair of the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared System (ATFLIR) in the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft for the U.S. Navy, according to the Pentagon.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has partnered with Australia-based Conflux Technology on the development of a heat exchanger. The part is being developed using a metal Additive Manufacturing process for possible integration onto GA-ASI’s line of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

DCS Corporation has received an award from long-time customer NAVAIR PMA-281 for the development of Weaponeering and Stores Planning (WASP) software, version 5.0. The total value of this award is $7.5 million with a 20-month period of performance. The WASP 5.0 task order was received under a recently-awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) from PMA-281.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Lockheed Martin expects lower sales and slower deliveries for some of its programs in in the coming months — particularly the F-35. In an earnings call, Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed's chairman, president, and CEO, said the company has reduced its 2020 sales expectations due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Northrop Grumman Corporation supplied digital cockpit upgrades to the integrated avionics suite for the U.S. Army’s UH-60V Black Hawk, which recently completed initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E). The completion of IOT&E marks a milestone for the UH-60V program on the pathway to full-rate production.

EMMA HELFRICH, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Airbus has achieved an automatic air-to-air refueling (A3R) operation with a boom system. The flight test campaign, conducted earlier in the year over the Atlantic Ocean, involved an Airbus tanker test aircraft equipped with the Airbus A3R solution, with an F-16 fighter aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force acting as a receiver.

AVIATION MAINTENANCE MAGAZINE

Airlines are like pumps. Money pumps. I have used this analogy to explain how airlines can go from billions in profits to the brink of disaster in seemingly no time at all. I cannot take credit for it but I don’t remember where or who to attribute it to. But it is so relevant right now.