Aerospace EIIR (Engineering, IoT, Industry 4.0 and R&D) Trends Q-3 2019

How are aerospace enterprises leveraging R&D service providers? (Deals/Contracts/ Partnerships)

• 1

  Tech Mahindra is engaged by a leading aviation engine manufacturer for improving their manufacturing and supply chain processes leveraging artificial intelligence.

• 2

  Thales and Altran have signed a framework agreement to cooperate in Research and Software development for Thales projects in the Netherlands. Altran will support Thales programs with dedicated scrum teams that have embraced the Thales standards and way of working.

• 3

  United Technologies selects L&T Technology Services as a strategic partner for Collins Aerospace.

• 4

  Ricardo‘s Mobile Fuel and Energy Management system (MFEM) has successfully completed its participation in Phase 1 of the US Navy’s Fight the Naval Force Forward Advanced Naval Technology Exercise. The Ricardo MFEM provides the tools and information needed to understand fuel usage, distribution, and availability in the theatre of operations. Manual procedures for fuel management – measuring, collecting, aggregating, calculating usage, and projecting needs – are replaced with fully automated processes, significantly improving the commander’s ability to plan and monitor fuel use and status with the speed, accuracy, and efficiency needed for field operations.

• 5

  ESG joins Boeing’s H-47 Chinook Germany Industry Team. With this partnership, Boeing is expanding its in-service support network and leveraging ESG’s expertise in providing innovative and highly complex solutions to the German armed force

• 6

  Cyient inks pact with QinetiQ Target Systems for avionic products. Cyient will provide advanced manufacturing and electronics engineering solutions for QTS’ range of unmanned air, land, and sea target systems from its facilities in India.

• 7

  MSC Software‘s MaterialCenter has been selected by Airbus to reduce development lead time by implementing an End-to-End materials management platform, a one single material raw data database across its divisions. It guarantees that engineers use a consistent source of approved materials derived from traceable integrated processes, resulting in improved simulation fidelity, reduced data loss and elimination of tedious manual data management activities.

• 8

  A $15 million contract for Siemens PLM Software from Swedish Military.

• 9

  ALTEN Italy recently won an important contract with Leonardo’s Aircraft division that will strengthen and consolidate the presence of ALTEN in the field of military aircraft. ALTEN is already working intensively with Leonardo’s helicopter division in Milan to support their growth.

How are aerospace enterprises organizing their R&D? (GICs/ R&D Best Practices/Solutions)

• 1

  Euramec will offer design and production services to aircraft manufacturers requiring custom-made Flight Simulation Devices (FTD) for training and engineering purposes in China. The Euramec R&D Center will design and create FTDs for China’s Civil Aviation market as well as for China’s General Aviation and sporty Ultra-Light aircraft (ULM). These ULMs are lightweight, 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft — extremely light and are lightly equipped with avionics, making them inexpensive to purchase and maintain.

• 2

  KOSE formed with merger of Hyundai and Daewoo shipbuilding firms is now world’s largest shipbuilding firm with 21% market share. KOSE wants to invest in technology to retain its leadership. It plans to open a 5000 people R&D center in the new city of Pangyo in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. The mission of KOSE is to maintain its leadership by winning eco-friendly ship and futuristic smart ship orders.

• 3

  Orbion Space Technology raises funds for mass producing plasma thrusters for small satellites.

• 4

  Airbus increases IT insourcing. Opens 500 person development centre in Bengaluru.

• 5

  Australian satellite startup Fleet Space Technologies has raised funds to help launch its next generation of nanosatellites, extremely small satellites it employs to deliver Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to customers globally.

• 6

  Volocopter GmbH raises $55 million from GEELY.

• 7

  Spirit AeroSystems is able to reduce 30% cost and 5% weight of fuselage with its ASTRA composite fuselage skin.

• 8

  The Corvus team in Vancouver developed the groundbreaking battery solution that accelerated adoption of zero-emission and hybrid marine propulsion systems, particularly in Norway. The company is also expanding its Vancouver research and development (R&D) centre. It will continue manufacturing the prototypes and production runs of new products.

How are aerospace service providers developing their solutions and capabilities?

• 1

  AKKA Technologies’ revolutionary multimodal concept aircraft “Link & Fly” has successfully completed the validation of the flight physics during the maiden flight of its scale 1:13 drone near Toulouse, France. Link & Fly is revolutionary multimodal air transport system including a detachable cabin, a wing-propulsion carrier as well as a verticalized airport and in-city infrastructure aspects. To help reduce airport saturation, this single aisle, medium-haul aircraft optimizes rotation times from 50 min for similar sized aircrafts, to approximately 20 min.

• 2

  Cyient expands its delivery presence in Florida.

• 3

  QuEST Global expands its delivery presence in Hyderabad.

• 4

  ÅF acquires CTT Systems AB electronic unit which has expertise in electronics R&D and small scale production of products that regulate and control humidity in aircraft. Will more engineering service providers developing capability in small scale manufacturing?

• 5

  Belcan expands its operations at Heath, Cheshire.

• 6

  The ESG Group is working on a certifiable autonomous drone system which soon should be available on the market for safety and inspection applications. The centerpiece is the Intelligent Swarm Control, which, as the name suggests, is intended to control an entire swarm of drones.

• 7

  SEGULA Technologies and GPA Engineering join forces to meet the growing needs of naval engineering in Australia.

Aerospace industry news

• 1

  Lockheed Martin is working with three Indian startups in R&D space. Terero Mobility – Cargo ground buildup systems (CGBS) for remote locations without ground handling facilities. NoPo Nanotechnologies – Qualifying carbon nanotubes for lightning protection. Sastra Robotics – Robots for avionics testing.

• 2

  The 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook predicts that 769,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed to maintain the world fleet over the next 20 years. The forecast includes the needs of commercial aviation, business aviation and civil helicopters. Demand is driven by a mix of fleet growth, retirements and attrition.

• 3

  Japan’s NEC demonstrates VTOL or flying car.

• 4

  Rolls-Royce returns to profit after signing £350m fighter jets contract. The contract will support around 175 Rolls-Royce jobs in Bristol, RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray. The contract will provide maintenance support for the EJ200 engine up to 2024 as the Typhoon continues to form the backbone of the RAF’s fighter jet fleet.

• 5

  Investigators probing an engine explosion on an Air France A380 in 2017 are studying a possible manufacturing flaw in a recently salvaged cracked part in a move likely to trigger urgent checks on dozens of Airbus superjumbos. France’s BEA air accident agency said it had discovered a “sub-surface fatigue crack” on the recovered part and the engine maker was preparing checks. The suspect part was fabricated on behalf of consortium member Pratt & Whitney. Its engines power a total of 152 aircraft or just over 60 percent of the 237 A380s in service.

• 6

  Boeing sells $100bn-worth of aerospace equipment and services around the world and pays $45bn to other 13,600 American firms (its domestic suppliers). Boeing’s inventories have grown by $6bn so far this year. A rough estimate is that every quarter that 737 Max remains on the ground costs $4bn. Boeing can withstand the crisis but its suppliers are in difficult situation.

• 7

  Emirates throws down gauntlet to Boeing and Airbus. Carrier warns it will not take new planes until reliability of engines improves.

• 8

  Voom, an Airbus company brings on-demand helicopter service to US.

• 9

  UPSgets FAA nod for wide spread drone deliveries.

Aerospace resources: consultant/ analyst updates

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