Aerospace & Defense Technology

Pratt & Whitney is using a new robot named Alfred to assemble high-pressure compressor rotors for its GTF PW1100G-JM engine that powers the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.

In September, the aircraft engine manufacturing company published a blog post describing how Alfred is helping to reduce the assembly process time for GTF engines.

On this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, Kevin Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Aftermarket Global Operations, Pratt & Whitney, explains how they're using Alfred today. Kirkpatrick also discusses how the company will expand its use of robotics in the future.

The Department of Defense (DoD) recently announced a new $20 million award to Kraus Hamdani Aerospace for its Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program. Under the contract, Kraus Hamdani, the California-based drone as a service manufacturer, will use the funding to support the scaling of production of its K1000ULE unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

The K1000ULE is a solar-powered glider drone that has demonstrated the ability to fly non-stop for 26 hours, and has been evaluated by DoD for a wide variety of defense applications over the last two years.

On episode 4 of season 6 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, Fatima Hamdani, co-founder of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace explains what the APFIT program is and how it will help the company scale production of its autonomous drone that also can be used as a flying cell tower.

Unusual Machines CEO Allan Evans is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.  

Headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Unusual Machines describes itself as a "classic American technology company born from garage tinkerers and hobbyists, focused on serving the emerging drone industry with unique and innovative products." The company recently launched a new low cost flight controller for drones, the Riot Brave F7, that achieved "Blue UAS" certification from the Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in August.

Over the last year, DoD launched its new "Replicator" initiative, which is focused on the deployment of thousands of new low cost or "attributable" autonomous systems such as drones. On this episode of the podcast, Evans provides some perspective on Replicator, how the war in Ukraine is reflecting the effectiveness of low cost modified drones in modern warfare, and the future of low cost drones and drone components manufactured in the U.S.

The U.S. Army has been establishing a new cross-functional team focused on exploiting the fusion of deep sensing data for decision-making in long-range targeting throughout 2024.

During this episode, we present some of the comments made by U.S. Army leadership during the 2024 AUSA conference and exhibition. One feature of AUSA is the "Warriors Corner" where panel discussions are hosted to discuss how the Army is using new technology.

Listen to this episode to understand how the U.S. Army wants to use AI and ML for processing, exploitation and dissemination to become more data-driven and efficient in the way they operate aircraft, ground vehicles, drones and other weapons and technologies.

The three Army discussions are given in the following order in this episode, with audio courtesy of the U.S. Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division:

1. LTG Anthony R. Hale, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, U.S. Army

2. BG Rory Crooks, Director, Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team, U.S. Army Futures Command

3. Brandon Vanorden, Division Chief, Operations, Headquarters, Department of the Army, G-2

On the first episode of Season 6 of the podcast, Michael Amori, CEO and co-founder of Virtualitics, is the guest to explain how the U.S. Air Force is using the company's "Integrated Readiness Optimization" AI applications to deploy a data-driven weapon sustainment strategy.

Season 6 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast is focused on the rise of AI, autonomy and robotics across the aerospace and defense industry.

During the Association of the U.S. Army's annual AUSA conference and exhibition, the conference featured a panel titled "Army Space Vision: Delivering Effects for Combat Ready Formations."

On the fourth and final episode of Season 5, we feature Colonel Pete Akinson's presentation and question and answer session from his participation in this panel. Atkinson is the Principal Space Advisor for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. He provides a basic overview of new space-focued personnel and technology deployments that the Army has been focused on this year.

Atkinson also provides a brief update on the first year of the Army's new SATCOM as a Managed Service (SATaaMS) project involving Intelsat and SES earlier this year.

On Oct. 7, Hera, the European Space Agency's first "planetary defense spacecraft," was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, riding aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. ESA has tasked Hera with investigating the aftermath of NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which altered the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022.

The spacecraft, along with two cubesats (named Milani and Juventas), will assess the impact crater and study Dimorphos’ surface and internal structure, as well as the gravity conditions, with the goal of improving planetary defense strategies. Beyond the unique mission it has been tasked with, Hera is another space exploration mission that reflects the growing trend that has emerged in recent years where government agencies are increasingly relying on private companies for space launches and missions.

Kevin Lausten, President of German spacecraft electric propulsion system provider Morpheus Space, is the guest on this this episode of Season 5 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast. Austen breaks down the Hera mission and also discusses future trends to watch in space mobility. Season 5 of the podcast features interviews focused on next generation satellite and space technology.

Dan Laubach, Raft LLC's Senior Director of Programs, is the guest on episode 2 of season 5 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast. Season 5 is focused on next generation satellite and space technology.

 

In June, Raft LLC was one of 20 companies selected by the U.S. Space Force to for an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) multi-year contract for the development of ground-systems software. The agency's Spacewerx technology development arm is also currently working on the "digital spaceport" initiative with a focus on three areas, the infrastructure layer, data layer and application layer with an overall goal of digitally modernizing the way the Space Force accesses and manages data.

On the first episode of Season 5 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, the guest is Joshua Cryer, President and CEO of Reticulate Micro. 

Season 5 of the podcast, "Next Generation Satellites and Space Technology," will feature interviews focused on satellite and space technology industry trends and insights such as low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, software-defined satellites, tracking hypersonic missile threats and other new satellite and space technologies.

Reticulate Micro has emerged as a unique new commercial and defense company providing video compression technology that makes it possible to send or receive video and high-resolution imagery practically anywhere in the world, over any network, to anyone. In March for example, the company performed an industry first, by streaming live video over a UHF TACSAT radio link.

The aerospace and defense industry has adopted the use of the digital twin as a revolutionary design tool for several decades. Digital twins effectively provide a virtual representation of a product, system or technology that allows companies other than design and test new products before building them physically.

 

Will the A&D industry ever get to a point where virtual prototypes completely replace physical ones? How are companies using digital twins to improve existing product designs? Dale Tutt, Vice President of Industry Strategy at Siemens Digital Industries Software, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to answer these questions and more.

Art Sellers, SparkCognition Government Systems President and General Manager joins the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain their new partnership using AI to improve supply chain efficiency for the U.S. Air Force.

In February, Cadence launched a new generation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with the introduction of the Millennium M1 CFDSupercomputer.

Millennium M1 is a graphics processor unit (GPU)-based hardware system that is also available with no hardware completely in the cloud. What is a CFD supercomputer, how does it work and what could it provide for engineers and designers of complex aerospace and defense electronics and mechanical systems?

 

Frank Ham, Vice President of Research and Development at Cadence, joins the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to answer these questions and more.

The U.S. Army recently provided the following definition for "digital engineering," in the article "A Matter of Course," that explains how the Army is developing a new digital engineering course. Here's how the Army describes digital engineering:

"Digital engineering is the process of digitally designing military equipment, such as future combat vehicles or other military hardware, to be designed and built in a virtual environment where it can be tested, analyzed and can engage with Soldiers before a single piece of iron is bent to build the prototype. While digital engineering has become the norm in many commercial manufacturing settings, it is still a relatively new concept to the Army, and this knowledge gap has created a need for professional education inside the force."

On the second episode of Season 4, we highlight some of the digital transformation and new digital technologies and capabilities being developed and adopted by three of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. The chief executives from each of these industry giants highlighted show they're using digital design tools, developing new digital capabilities and adopting artificial intelligence (AI) during their respective second quarter earnings calls.

This is the first episode of the fourth season of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, where the topical focus is the impact of digital engineering and how the use of new digital tools are re-defining aerospace and defense systems design. This 4-episode season will be published weekly in August.

 

The first episode features Tyler Saltsman, CEO of EdgeRunner AI, a new startup that is focused on enabling the concept of “Generative AI at the Edge.” EdgeRunner AI recently participated in the Act4Aero Conference at Stanford University, where the U.S. Air Force and Space Force announced new partnerships with AI pioneers such as Saltsman’s startup.

 

In July, EdgeRunner AI emerged from stealth and announced its official launch  with a $5.5 million seed funding round led by Four Rivers Group with participation from Madrona Ventures. The startup describes its mission as developing small, task-specific Ultra-Efficient Language Models (UELMs) that operate without needing internet access, and providing an industrial type of Generative AI that can run locally on any device or hardware.

Established in 2018 by four ex-Airbus engineers who led the development of an all-electric plane but believed that batteries alone would not be enough to decarbonize aviation, Ascendance is one of France's fastest growing startups. Ascendance is currently developing both a hybrid electric propulsion system, STERNA, and a winged hybrid electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft called ATEA.

Jean-Christophe Lambert, Ascendance Co-founder and CEO, joins the podcast to discuss why the use of a hybrid electric propulsion system could extend the range of future electric aircraft and how it provides an easier near-term path to certifying and enabling passenger-carrying eVTOL flight operations.

Check out www.eVTOLtechusa.com for details on SAE Media Group’s first eVTOL Technology USA conference happening October 28-29 in Arlington, Virginia.

Helios Horizon, an initiative to develop a stratospheric electric airplane, recently concluded its latest flight test campaign having surpassed the altitude record for multi-seat electric aircraft.

Over a series of flights in April and May near Bishop, Calif., Helios Horizon progressed from 17,500 to 24,000 feet, all while using less than 60% of the aircraft’s total battery capacity.

On this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology Podcast, Miguel Iturmendi, Helios Horizon Founder and Chief Test Pilot, explains the project's goals and how their modified Pipistrel has been setting world records in altitudes achieved by an electric aircraft over the last year.

The Helios Horizon team includes engineers and test pilots from some of the world’s most well-known sustainable aviation initiatives, including Perlan Project, Solar Impulse and Solar Stratos. Iturmendi has been a test pilot for all three projects, and he has soared to more than 65,000 feet in the zero-emission, engineless Perlan 2.

For its stratospheric flights, Iturmendi designed and built his own partial pressure suit, which has been tested to 45,000 feet in the hypobaric chamber at the University of North Dakota’s Aerospace Physiology Department.

SAE Media Group has launched a new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) conference, "eVTOL Technology USA," occurring October 28-29, in Arlington, VA. Go to eVTOLtechusa.com for more information.

Archer Aviation, Lilium and Joby are three of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers that have been making major progress in this growing new are of aviation over the last year.

In this episode, we highlight some of the latest flight testing advancement, international expansion and regulatory progress being made by these three eVTOL companies right now and why they're the top three to watch in this space over the next year.

SAE Media Group has launched a new eVTOL conference, "eVTOL Technology USA," happening October 28-29, 2024 in Arlington, VA. Go to www.eVTOLTechUSA.com for more details about the event and register to attend.

As several major electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) development programs — Archer, Joby and Lilium to name a few — are approaching the final stages of certification and eventual entry into service, the performance of the batteries that power those aircraft remain the key enabling this burgeoning new segment of aviation to takeoff in the near future.

 

Amprius Technologies continues to be one of the leading suppliers to the eVTOL market with batteries that have already demonstrated their ability to enable flight in drones, eVTOLs and high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS), while also achieving several battery energy density breakthrough achievements over the last year.

In April, AIBOT, a California-based developer of artificial intelligence-powered eVTOLs and drones, selected the Amprius Silicone Anode battery to power the drone and six-passenger eVTOL aircraft that it is currently developing.

Ronnie Tao, Vice President of Business Development for Amprius Technologies, joins the Aerospace & Defense Technology Podcast to discuss the AIBOT battery selection and what to expect in the future development of eVTOL battery technology. He also explains how far most eVTOLs can fly on Amprius and other comparable aircraft batteries today.

 

Check out www.eVTOLtechusa.com for details on SAE Media Group’s first eVTOL Technology USA conference happening October 28-29 in Arlington, Virginia.

The U.S. Army has shown increased interest in the use of different technologies for hybrid and electric-powered non-tactical and tactical vehicles in recent years. The most prominent example being their 2022 sustainability strategy that outlined ambitious goals for developing an all-electric, light-duty, non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2027 and an all-electric, non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2035.

Rick Kewley is Vice President, Product Development and Advanced Engineering for GM Defense LLC. Kewley leads all aspects of engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and program execution to meet global defense and government requirements. He joins the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to discuss the company's latest research and development of new concepts, applications, and prototypes for hybrid and electric-powered military ground vehicles today and in the future.

In December, Neya Systems was one of three companies selected to participate in the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Ground Expeditionary Autonomous Retrofit System (GEARS) project. Under the GEARS project, the three companies are developing autonomous navigation kits for the Army's Palletized Load System (PLS) vehicles. Kurt Bruck, Division Manager, Neya Systems, is the guest on this episode of Season 2 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to discuss how the company has moved into the testing phase of this prototyping initiative.