Monthly Archives: March 2024

Army Is ‘Biggest Participant’ By Quantity In First Round Of Replicator, Bush Says – March 20

The Army will be “the biggest participant” for the first round of the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative to field thousands of attritable autonomous systems by August 2025 “in terms of quantity,” according to the service’s acquisition chief.

“In the Army’s case, we had something that we were already working on that was similar [to Replicator’s requirements]. So we nominated that and luckily that made the cut. And so that was a win-win for the Army. Those are the ideal situations I think, when it’s something that the service needs to do, can’t quite get through its own system, [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] (OSD) is doing its cross-look oversight and accelerating where they believe it’s necessary for the enterprise. I think that’s the best use of an OSD-led system approach like Replicator,” Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said on Wednesday.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks first announced the Replicator initiative last August, detailing the effort to produce and field thousands of “all-domain attritable autonomous systems, or ADA2 capabilities, over the next 18 to 24 months “to help us overcome [China’s] biggest advantage, which is mass.”

Bush did not offer further details on what capability will be scaled up as part of the initiative, which is in line with the department’s approach to not disclose specific Replicator details to the public.

“That’s a choice the department’s made to keep it rather buttoned up. Those in industry that we’re working with of course know [details], but there’s going to be a bit of a gap [for] those that aren’t involved directly just because of the classification structure they put around it,” Bush said during a panel discussion at the Reagan Institute’s National Security Innovation Base Summit in Washington, D.C.

In December, Bush said the Army had nominated three candidate systems for Replicator, confirming they were unmanned systems that are “bigger than a quadcopter but smaller than a MQ-1 [Predator drone].”

Gen. James Slife, the Air Force’s vice chief of staff, joined Bush on the panel and said his service has “several compelling programs” that are being considered for Replicator.

“They’re not quite as technologically mature as some of the Army programs that are going to be in the [first round] of this. But we’re excited, frankly, about the prospects of Replicator,” Slife said. 

Hicks confirmed last week that the Pentagon plans to spend $1 billion over the next two years on Replicator, to include $500 million in FY ‘24 that will either be supported by a reprogramming request or included in the final defense appropriations bill and another $500 million included in its FY ‘25 budget submission.

“We need to see that [FY ‘24 funding] come to fruition. [The appropriators] have been very positive about it. But, of course, we don’t have an [FY ‘24 appropriations] bill and the reprogramming request continues to move through as an alternative path,” Hicks said during a separate discussion at the Reagan Institute event on Wednesday. 

“If the Ukrainians and Russians can put out thousands of UASs every month — every month — and we are having heart attacks over whether the Defense Department of the United States of America can put out multiple thousands over 18-24 months, if we can’t do that we have a much bigger problem than whether Replicator was a good success. And we say we want us to take risk, this is a good example,” Hicks added.

A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.

The post Army Is ‘Biggest Participant’ By Quantity In First Round Of Replicator, Bush Says – March 20 appeared first on Avionics International.

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Major Investors Expect First Commercial eVTOL Passenger Routes to be Operational by 2026 – February 27

New Horizon Aircraft Ltd., doing business as Horizon Aircraft (“Horizon Aircraft” or the “Company”), a leading hybrid electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft developer, publishes new global research* that indicates global investors are anticipating the first commercial passenger routes of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to be operational in the next few years as the Future Air Mobility market continues to advance rapidly. 

Its global study with senior executives at leading investment firms in Japan, the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia responsible for more than $1.787 trillion assets under management reveals increasing optimism about the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market with two in five (40%) investors stating they think the first commercial UAM routes will be operational by 2026. Only 4% of professional investors believe the debut date for commercial passenger routes will extend beyond 2030. 

This study also revealed that nearly all (96%) professional investors agree that the growing demand for better and more efficient transportation systems across the world, combined with the need to reduce the environmental impact caused by more vehicles on the road and advances in technology improving the safety and viability of eVTOLs, will drive improvements in the regulatory framework and fuel investment in the sector over the next five years. Only 1% of investors did not agree that overcoming any potential obstacles would inevitably see increased investment in the eVTOL market. 

The main factors concerning the eVTOL market that will need regulation highlighted by professional investors are Information and Communications Networks followed by Air Traffic Control and Security.

Horizon is targeting the future production of a manned seven-seat capacity hybrid electric eVTOL called the Cavorite X7 which includes room for a pilot and six passengers. It has been developed in response to demand from potential customers in the medevac, business aviation and commercial cargo sectors.

Brandon Robinson, CEO of Horizon Aircraft, said: “Private equity, venture capital and family office investors have been closely monitoring the Future Air Mobility sector for some time, but are now seeing an acceleration towards the launch of the first commercial eVTOL passenger routes. The sector has already attracted significant investment, and we anticipate that this will only increase as ongoing developments in technology and regulation provide new investment opportunities in this rapidly expanding market that has the potential to revolutionise transportation.” 

Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7 hybrid eVTOL aircraft is anticipated to carry 1,500 lbs of useful load at speeds up to 250 miles per hour and have an average range of over 500 miles with fuel reserves. Horizon believes that this experimental aircraft, if eventually licensed for commercial use, would be well-positioned to excel in medical evacuation, critical supply delivery, disaster relief, and special military missions. The Company believes that the proposed aircraft would also be attractive for Regional Air Mobility – moving people and cargo 50 to 500 miles.

Unlike many in its category, the Cavorite X7 is being designed with a hybrid electric power system such that it could, after its vertical takeoff, re-charge its batteries enroute when it is flying in a configuration like a traditional aircraft. After a vertical landing and completion of a mission, the aircraft is being designed to recharge its battery array in under 30 minutes in order to be ready for its next mission.

Horizon believes that its innovative approach and technology will allow the Cavorite X7 to fly 98% of its mission in a very low-drag configuration like a traditional aircraft. The Company believes that flying most of the time as a normal aircraft is also safer and will make the aircraft easier to certify than other radical new eVTOL designs. The Company is continuing the testing of its 50%-scale aircraft that it believes will reduce technical risk moving forward as it continues to develop its full-scale aircraft

* Horizon Aircraft commissioned the market research company PureProfile to survey 200 senior private equity, venture capital and family office professionals representing institutions managing with more than $1.787 trillion assets under management to capture their views on their eVTOL market. Respondents were based in Japan, Canada, the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The survey was conducted online in November 2023.

The post Major Investors Expect First Commercial eVTOL Passenger Routes to be Operational by 2026 – February 27 appeared first on Avionics International.

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Joby Acquires Facility in Ohio, Begins Hiring to Support Initial Manufacturing Operations – March 5

Joby Aviation, Inc., a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has acquired an existing facility at Dayton International Airport and begun hiring in support of the Company’s initial manufacturing operations in Dayton, Ohio.

The facility acquired by Joby will be fitted out to support initial manufacturing operations in Dayton, which are expected to begin later this year. The facility will be used for the manufacturing of aircraft parts in support of Joby’s Pilot Production Line in Marina, California.

Joby’s acquisition of the on-airport facility is the first step in the Company’s plan to develop facilities capable of building up to 500 aircraft per year in Dayton, which is expected to include the design and construction of a larger greenfield factory.

“We’re pleased to be able to acquire an underutilized facility at Dayton International Airport and repurpose it as a modern, high-tech manufacturing center to serve as our initial manufacturing footprint in the region. Later this year, we expect to begin subtractive manufacturing of titanium and aluminum aircraft parts as we continue to grow our workforce in Dayton,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby.

“I am deeply appreciative to the Dayton community, and Ohio more broadly, for the warm welcome we have received as well as the high level of interest in joining our team. We look forward to continued collaboration and to growing our presence in the Miami Valley region as we build the future of flight in the birthplace of aviation.”

Joby announced in September 2023 that it had selected Dayton, Ohio, as the location for its scaled manufacturing facility, capable of producing up to 500 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft per year, with plans to invest up to $500 million and create up to 2,000 high-quality, clean manufacturing jobs in the region.

Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

The post Joby Acquires Facility in Ohio, Begins Hiring to Support Initial Manufacturing Operations – March 5 appeared first on Avionics International.

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