Category Archives: MRO’s

Leonardo’s BriteStorm May Be Future CCA Payload

The U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program may be a fit for a five and a half pound BriteStorm stand-in jammer that Leonardo said that it is developing to allow the U.S. and allies to counter integrated air defense systems and fly deep behind enemy lines.

BriteStorm’s Miniature Techniques Generator, paired with Transmit Receive Modules and antennas, “will deliver world beating stand-in jamming capabilities, protecting friendly forces against early warning, surveillance, and target tracking radars,” Leonardo said. “BriteStorm can act as a decoy to stimulate enemy air defenses. BriteStorm can also produce obscuration and confusion techniques to deny the enemy from building up a complete air picture.”

In the United Kingdom, the Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office has bought and flown BriteStorm in trials, and Leonardo views DoD as a “key potential customer for BriteStorm,” the company said.

“The BriteStorm payload is designed to be installed on the widest possible range of UAVs and launched effects,” Leonardo said. “It will equip each platform with an advanced array of digital deception techniques, deployable at long range.”

“Depending on the situation, BriteStorm’s effects can range from barraging the enemy system with electronic noise to more sophisticated techniques such as creating dozens of realistic ‘ghost’ fighter jet signatures, confusing and misdirecting the enemy response,” the company said.

The Air Force has said that the first CCAs will be air-to-air but that other CCAs could tackle other missions, such as jamming and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Anduril Industries and General Atomics may conduct first flights in the next year of their Fury and Gambit offerings for the first increment of CCA–first flights that could result soon thereafter in the beginning of developmental test (DT) under the Air Force CCA Experimental Operations Unit at Nellis AFB, Nev.’s 53rd Wing.

The long pole in the tent for CCA is full autonomy for launch, mission completion, and recovery. DT could aid in ironing out any wrinkles in autonomy.

The Air Force has talked about 3 to 5 air-to-air CCAs under the control of a Lockheed Martin F-35 or manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, but Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said last month that the conceptual number of CCAs per manned fighter is now higher, an indication perhaps of not only drones’ rising technological sophistication but of the possibility that the manned NGAD program may end or be significantly curtailed.

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

The post Leonardo’s BriteStorm May Be Future CCA Payload appeared first on Avionics International.

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U.S. State Department Clears $7.3 Billion for F-16 Viper Mid-Life Upgrade

The U.S. State Department has approved an up to $7.3 billion foreign military sale to Poland of the Lockheed Martin F-16 Viper Midlife Upgrade, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Wednesday.

“The proposed sale will allow Poland to modify and upgrade its existing F-16 aircraft to the new Viper configuration,” DSCA said. “The F-16 Viper Midlife Upgrade (MLU) will bolster Poland’s air defense and surveillance capabilities, support national security, and strengthen Poland’s defense and contributions to NATO.”

The MLU equipment includes 58 Improved Programmable Display Generators, a variety of test missiles, 58 Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Scalable Agile Beam Radars (SABR), 58 Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS) Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) or M-Code capability and Precise Positioning Service, and 73 Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suites (IVEWS), or 73 AN/ALQ-254V(1) L3Harris Technologies‘ Viper Shield advanced electronic warfare suites or an equivalent.

In 2022, the Air Force chose IVEWS over Viper Shield to equip the service’s F-16s, but L3Harris said that it believes Viper Shield is a good fit in the future for F-16s.

Last month, L3Harris said that its site in Clifton, N.J., recently began the build of 166 Viper Shields for F-16 fighters in six countries under a total Viper Shield backlog of $1 billion.

Jennifer Lewis, the head of L3Harris’ airborne combat systems business, said that L3Harris is in talks with other countries to address what it believes is an additional $1.5 billion in demand.

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

The post U.S. State Department Clears $7.3 Billion for F-16 Viper Mid-Life Upgrade appeared first on Avionics International.

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Anduril Adds To Autonomous UAS Portfolio With Bolt VTOL Family

Anduril’s Bolt-M small loitering munition. (Photo: Anduril Industries)

Maintaining a steady drumbeat of new product releases, Anduril Industries on Thursday unveiled its Bolt family of small, man-packable autonomous air vehicles that include surveillance and munition variants, which the Marine Corps is evaluating for its Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-Light) program.

Anduril’s commitment to artificial intelligence and autonomy is a key attribute of the new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including waypoint navigation and manual control in GPS-denied environments. The goal is to simplify operations by lessening the amount of thinking required for, and training needed by, an operator.

Using the example of remotely guided UAS that are “changing the battlefield” in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War to strike targets, Chris Brose, Anduril’s chief growth officer, said these first person view drones require skilled pilots and additional manual support.

“But at the same time, there’s those limitations to scale in terms of expert pilots, other manpower, and really what we’re trying to do with Bolt is make autonomous many of those core functions from the standpoint of a man-packable, AI-enabled strike system that can be very quickly by a single operator, set up, launched,” Brose told reporters on Wednesday.

A user display, be that a tablet, laptop, tactical assault kit, or some other control station gives an operator battlespace awareness and known and unknown targets can be tracked and followed at extended range, and struck based on an operator command, he said. The quadcopter can engage from any angle of attack, allowing it to strike the most vulnerable part of a target, the company said.

In addition to surveilling and striking ground targets, Bolt can be used for counter-maritime and counter-air missions, Brose said, highlighting the lineage to Anduril’s original counter-UAS drone, Anvil, which is a small quadcopter UAS that slams into its target in mid-air.

Bolt, the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) variant, and Bolt-M, the munition carrier, are both lightweight, 12.1 pounds for the former, and between 13 and 15 pounds for the latter depending on the explosive payload, which can weigh up to 3 pounds. Some of the capabilities of the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS include 45-plus minute and 40-plus minute flight times for the ISR and “M” variants, maximum ranges of over 12 miles, flight speeds of around 60 mph, and tool-less battery swapping.

Both variants include Anduril’s AI-based Lattice software system that enables autonomy, pre-flight and in-flight mission planning, and can be used in challenging and contested environments, day and night, Anduril said.

“It’s just now understood that sort of basic table stakes are the ability for those systems, autonomous aircraft, or other systems, to be able to operate in highly contested and often denied communications and electromagnetic spectrum environments,” Brose said of the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.

Bolt includes a two-axis electro-optical/infrared gimbal seeker, and Bolt-M also features the same gimbal seeker, an optical proximity fuze, and an electronic safe and arm device with safe return to base functionality.

Bolt has been in development for years and Anduril is delivering Bolt-M for the Marine Corp’s OPF-L for testing and evaluation over the next six months. The Marines are also evaluating systems provided by AeroVironment—bidding the tube-launched Switchblade 300—and Teledyne’s Teledyne FLIR segment—offering the Rogue 1 VTOL small UAS—for the loitering munition program.

Anduril is eyeing potential opportunities with the Army for loitering munitions. Brose said the service is “doing an enormous amount of thinking and sort of revising how it thinks” about its requirements for different “sizes and classes” of the lethal unmanned systems. He sees Bolt having the chance to compete in the small loitering munition space, highlighting Anduril’s focus on AI, autonomy, speed, and warhead as differentiators.

Bolt-M is modular and is designed to carry Anduril and third-party warheads for anti-personnel and anti-material attack. The company highlighted that it designed munition payloads with specialized kinetic solutions developer Kraken Kinetics.

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

The post Anduril Adds To Autonomous UAS Portfolio With Bolt VTOL Family appeared first on Avionics International.

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Avionics MRO Faces Growing Backlog, Weighing on Aircraft Readiness and Values

Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)

The growing challenge of avionics sophistication is affecting MRO demand, aircraft readiness, and airline profitability.

The backlog of avionics maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work is growing, with direct consequences for aircraft readiness and airline profitability. Furthermore, the MRO burden is having a ripple effect on aircraft base values and lease rates, altering the financial dynamics of the aviation market.

From flight management systems to navigation and communication devices, avionics have become more sophisticated, enhancing the capabilities of aircraft. However, these advancements are increasingly wreaking an unintended consequence—higher maintenance demands.

 As avionics systems grow more intricate, MRO work is becoming more intensive, leading to longer turnaround times, a backlog of MRO tasks, and consequentially, diminished aircraft readiness and profitability for airlines.

Avionics systems today are designed to handle an unprecedented level of automation and data management, which has improved flight safety, fuel efficiency, and real-time diagnostics. However, the complexity of these systems necessitates specialized maintenance.

In  the past, legacy avionics systems could be maintained and repaired by general engineers with a broad skillset. However, today’s modern avionics demand highly trained technicians with expertise in both hardware and software. Industry analysts predict that the MRO crunch for avionics will only worsen in 2025, as the global economy gains traction and airlines expand.

Increasingly, advanced avionics systems rely on software updates, complex diagnostics, and even artificial intelligence to predict and prevent system failures. This push toward digitalization, while beneficial in many respects, has also made these systems more susceptible to issues that require precise calibration, sensor replacement, or software debugging.

The frequency of such maintenance tasks has risen significantly, and so too have the downtime and costs associated with them.

Unlike the past, where mechanical issues could be resolved relatively quickly, modern avionics problems often require diagnostic time, spare parts that are more challenging to source, and specialized technicians to solve them.

Global MRO networks are feeling the pressure, as they struggle to keep up with demand. This is especially pronounced in regions experiencing high aviation growth, such as the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern markets. While airlines are investing in modern fleets to stay competitive, they are increasingly finding their aircraft grounded for longer periods due to avionics-related maintenance work.

Aircraft downtime due to avionics MRO work directly affects airline readiness and profitability. In an industry where aircraft are revenue-generating assets only when in operation, extended time on the ground due to maintenance delays can translate into significant revenue losses. Airline schedules become disrupted, leading to customer dissatisfaction, missed flight connections, and in extreme cases, penalties from airport authorities for delays or canceled flights.

Moreover, as airlines face operational challenges from MRO backlogs, they are often forced to adjust their fleet management strategies, increasing spare aircraft capacity or even “wet leasing” additional planes to meet demand. These measures add to operational costs, further squeezing airline profitability margins. (Under a wet leasing arrangement, the owner supplies the aircraft as well as at least one crew member.)

The avionics MRO backlog is not just an operational issue for airlines; it also has significant financial implications for aircraft lessors and owners. Aircraft base values and lease rates are intricately tied to an aircraft’s availability, condition, and future performance expectations. When avionics maintenance demands increase, leading to extended downtime and higher costs, the residual values of aircraft are adversely affected.

Aircraft with ultra-sophisticated avionics systems are often valued higher because of their advanced capabilities, efficiency, and long-term operational potential. However, if maintaining these advanced avionics becomes too burdensome, the financial attractiveness of these aircraft can be called into question. Potential buyers or lessees may factor in the cost and frequency of avionics MRO when considering a purchase or lease agreement, leading to downward pressure on base values.

Lease rates, in particular, are sensitive to maintenance burdens. Lessors often pass on MRO costs to lessees via maintenance reserves or higher lease rates to hedge against future avionics-related expenses. 

However, when MRO work becomes unpredictable and backlogs worsen, lessees become reluctant to commit to long-term leases for fear of incurring excessive maintenance costs, particularly if avionics MRO facilities are overwhelmed. As a result, lessors are forced to adjust their pricing strategies, creating downward pressure on lease rates to make their aircraft more attractive in the marketplace.

This article also appears in the October 21 issue of our partner publication Aircraft Value News.

John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News. You can reach John at: jpersinos@accessintel.com

The post Avionics MRO Faces Growing Backlog, Weighing on Aircraft Readiness and Values appeared first on Avionics International.

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Heads-Up Display (HUD) Avionics Systems Increasingly Prevalent in Cockpits

Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)

Heads-Up Display (HUD) avionics are increasingly being adopted across different aircraft models to enhance operational efficiency and safety, particularly during challenging flight conditions.

Based on current and future orders, a specific HUD product that’s increasingly adopted by several commercial airlines is the Rockwell Collins Head-Up Guidance System (HGS). This HUD technology provides critical flight information, such as altitude, speed, and navigation data, directly in the pilot’s line of sight, enhancing situational awareness and safety.

Alaska Airlines has been a notable early adopter of this system, integrating the Rockwell Collins HUD into its fleet. The HGS has been implemented in aircraft models such as the Boeing 737 family, including the 737-800 and 737 MAX models.

Delta Air Lines and FedEx also use HUD systems, notably on aircraft like the Airbus A330 and Boeing 767 for improved low-visibility operations.

Originally developed for fighter jets and other military aircraft, HUDs project critical flight information directly into the pilot’s line of sight on the windshield, allowing pilots to keep their eyes focused on the outside environment while still accessing essential data such as altitude, airspeed, and navigation details.

In commercial aviation, HUD systems have become increasingly popular, especially for improving safety in low-visibility conditions such as fog or heavy rain. Major aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing and Airbus, have integrated HUD technology into their latest models from inception on the assembly line.

The adoption of HUDs in commercial aircraft is part of a larger trend where military-grade avionics innovations—such as Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) and Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS)—are finding use in commercial cockpits. These systems significantly improve safety by providing pilots with real-time imagery and data in challenging environments.

HUD avionics systems, when integrated into an aircraft’s cockpit, enhance both the base values and lease rates of that aircraft model due to several factors related to operational efficiency, safety, and market demand:

Aircraft equipped with HUDs can operate in low-visibility conditions, such as fog or heavy rain, more safely. This capability allows airlines to minimize delays and cancellations, leading to better utilization of the aircraft, increased revenue potential, and higher operational reliability. This boost in operational efficiency translates into higher base values and lease rates for aircraft outfitted with HUD-enable avionics.

HUD systems reduce pilot workload and provide real-time data that enhances safety during critical flight phases, such as takeoff, landing, and approach. This makes the aircraft more attractive to airlines prioritizing safety, particularly in regions with stringent regulatory standards.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations increasingly mandate advanced avionics for certain operational capabilities, such as Category III landings (a stringent type of precision instrument approach). Aircraft equipped with HUD systems are better positioned to meet these regulatory requirements, making them more desirable in the marketplace and, consequently, more valuable.

Airlines tend to prefer aircraft with cutting-edge avionics, because it improves operational reliability and reduces pilot training costs. Aircraft with integrated HUD systems often receive higher demand from premium airlines, as these carriers seek aircraft that provide advanced safety and operational features.

This article also appears in the October 21 issue of our partner publication Aircraft Value News.

John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News. You can reach John at: jpersinos@accessintel.com

The post Heads-Up Display (HUD) Avionics Systems Increasingly Prevalent in Cockpits appeared first on Avionics International.

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OEMs, Airlines Are Increasingly Adapting Avionics to a WiFi-Connected Sky

Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)

How inflight connectivity is reshaping cockpits and airline strategy.

The modern traveler’s expectations have evolved significantly over the past decade, with inflight Internet connectivity becoming a critical component of the passenger experience.

No longer is WiFi a luxury—it’s a necessity for business professionals, families, and entertainment seekers alike. As passengers demand seamless and high-speed Internet during flights, airlines are scrambling to meet this growing need.

However, the ramifications of increasing connectivity extend beyond passenger convenience and entertainment. This surge in demand for inflight WiFi is having a profound impact on avionics.

Airlines have recognized that inflight connectivity is essential for staying competitive, and they’ve invested heavily in satellite-based systems to provide fast, reliable Internet access at cruising altitudes.

Early iterations of inflight Internet relied on ground-based towers, which limited both speed and coverage, particularly over oceans. Today, satellites—particularly those in low earth orbit (LEO) constellations—are revolutionizing the inflight WiFi landscape, offering near-global coverage and faster speeds.

Airlines like Delta, United, and American Airlines have partnered with satellite providers like ViaSat and Inmarsat to roll out faster WiFi across their fleets. However, this isn’t a simple plug-and-play system. The integration of WiFi systems affects aircraft design and performance, requiring updates to the avionics systems pilots rely on in the cockpit.

To accommodate the growing demand for WiFi without compromising the safety and reliability of cockpit systems, avionics manufacturers have been forced to innovate. They are developing advanced filtering systems and ensuring that WiFi signals don’t interfere with sensitive cockpit electronics.

Airbus and Boeing have recently initiated different approaches to integrating connectivity into their new-generation aircraft. Airbus, for example, has integrated WiFi systems more seamlessly into the avionics of its A350 and A320neo families, while Boeing has focused on upgrading its 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner fleets with advanced connectivity solutions.

As inflight entertainment systems (IFE) become more sophisticated, they place additional demands on aircraft systems. Today’s passengers expect personalized, on-demand streaming services, sometimes directly to their devices. This increasing data load puts further pressure on the inflight WiFi infrastructure, requiring more powerful hardware and software solutions.

Avionics systems are increasingly sharing the aircraft’s bandwidth with these IFE systems. This has become a delicate balancing act for airlines, particularly on long-haul flights where the use of both WiFi and entertainment systems is prolonged.

Airlines are taking proactive steps to ensure that inflight WiFi enhancements don’t jeopardize cockpit functionality. For example, Delta Airlines recently announced a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, aiming to provide high-speed WiFi across its entire fleet.

Starlink’s low-latency Internet service would not only improve passenger experience but also help provide real-time data to pilots and crew in ways that were previously impossible. United Airlines, on the other hand, has focused on upgrading its WiFi equipment to more advanced antennae that ensure better connectivity without compromising cockpit operations.

This article also appears in the October 21 issue of our partner publication Aircraft Value News.

John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News. You can reach John at: jpersinos@accessintel.com

The post OEMs, Airlines Are Increasingly Adapting Avionics to a WiFi-Connected Sky appeared first on Avionics International.

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L3Harris and Northrop Grumman Moving Ahead on F-16 Electronic Warfare Suites – Sept. 19

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—L3Harris Technologies said that its site in Clifton, N.J., several weeks ago began the build of 166 AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield all-digital electronic warfare (EW) suites for F-16 fighters in six countries under a total Viper Shield backlog of $1 billion.

During the Air and Space Forces Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber conference here, Jennifer Lewis, the head of L3Harris’ airborne combat systems business, told reporters that L3Harris is in talks with other countries to address what it believes is an additional $1.5 billion in demand.

The Viper Shield’s small 3U form factor enables installation of the system on multiple F-16 configurations–either within the aircraft or on an external pod, the company said.

“This flexible approach uses software-defined technology to enhance the offensive and defensive capabilities of F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft,” according to L3Harris. “By design, Viper Shield is engineered to allow for future capability upgrades, ensuring it can counter evolving threats.”

While U.S. post-9/11 military involvements have taken advantage of U.S. air dominance and EW was a lower priority, “I believe that is changing with what we’re seeing in the current conflicts and even what you’re hearing from the government,” Lewis said. “Electronic warfare really is a cross-cutting enabler across all the [Air Force] operational imperatives.”

For U.S. F-16s, the Air Force in March 2022 chose Northrop Grumman’s ultra-wideband architecture AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS), but L3Harris has said that it believes Viper Shield could one day go on U.S. F-16s.

Northrop Grumman said that IVEWS recently finished Air Force testing in the service’s Joint Preflight Integration of Munitions and Electronic Sensors (J-PRIMES) facility at Eglin AFB, Fla.

“During a series of rigorous tests, AN/ALQ-257 IVEWS was subjected to accurate representations of complex radio frequency spectrum threats in the J-PRIMES anechoic chamber,” Northrop Grumman said. “The system demonstrated the ability to detect, identify and counter advanced radio frequency threats while operating safely with other F-16 systems. The successful completion of this regimen allows AN/ALQ-257 IVEWS to begin flight testing on Air Force F-16 aircraft.”

In a conference interview, James Conroy, the vice president of Northrop Grumman’s electronic warfare and targeting business, said that IVEWS “was designed, from the ground up, with advanced threats in mind.”

“We know the RF [radio frequency] threats are changing,” he said. “We know how they’ve been evolving over time. They’ve moved where they are in the frequency. They’ve gone higher and lower in frequency. This system was designed to cover that whole bandwidth so you’re not gonna have them running away from you and hiding in a different part of the frequency…We can stare over a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.”

The post L3Harris and Northrop Grumman Moving Ahead on F-16 Electronic Warfare Suites – Sept. 19 appeared first on Avionics International.

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