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Navy Issues RFI To Expand Unmanned ISR

A Textron Aerosonde Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (UAS) vehicle, named Buck G, returns to the Expeditionary Sea Base ship USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB-4) from a 10- hour night surveillance in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 26, 2020. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Megan Roses/Released)

The Navy this week issued a  Request for Information (RFI) that aims to increase the number of partners to provide small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the Navy and Marine Corps.

The Jan. 21 RFI said the Navy is working to ultimately competitively procure Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO) services to provide UAS ISR services for the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (STUAS) Program Office (PMA-263).

This follows the Navy’s initial notice on the issue in December, when it previewed a January virtual industry day, which was planned to be followed by two RFI’s to assess potential vendors capable of meeting current ISR requirements and future ISR requirements, respectively. The latest RFI covers expanding current requirements.

The industry day occurred on Jan. 16, after it was postponed from Jan. 8. 

The latest notice pointed out the current COCO UAS ISR services are being delivered under March 2021 performance-based Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) with Boeing’s Insitu, Inc. and Textron Systems. It said these firm-fixed-price contracts will expire in March 2026 and the RFI aims to award more BOAs to follow the current contract periods.

The RFI said contractors will be responsible for resources to produce sensor data like trained personnel, non-developmental UAS equipment, certifications, operation and maintenance, spares and product support.

“Contracted services would be in direct support of ISR missions requiring around the clock imagery and other sensor capability in support of those missions. Contractors shall be capable of providing ISR services on a normal and surge basis, day and night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” the notice said.

The notice updated minimum requirements for the ISR services, including maintaining a 75 nautical mile range from a ground control station at land-based launch sites with a single vehicle or sea -based operations, 10-hour time on station at maximum range, ability to operate in a GPS-contested or degraded situations up to a minimum of 74dB for all flight phases, operate with commonly available fuels at forward-deployed locations, and operate at technology readiness level (TRL) eight. 

Interested parties are to submit brief capability statement packages by Feb. 5. 

The submissions should list factors including experience with ISR services; TRL of a candidate UAS; system anti-jam capabilities; details of air vehicle operations, range, and fielding requirements; software information; infrastructure requirements and provide sparing requirements based on 9,000 flight-hours per year per site for land-based and 2,400 flight-hours per year for ship-based ISR services.

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

The post Navy Issues RFI To Expand Unmanned ISR appeared first on Avionics International.

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Lockheed Martin Plans to Integrate New Defensive System on F-22

Two F-22 Raptors fly above Florida’s Tyndall Air Force base. (U.S. Air Force, photo by Thomas Meneguin)

Lockheed Martin said on Wednesday that it has received a $270 million U.S. Air Force contract to integrate the Infrared Defensive System (IRDS) on the company’s fifth-generation F-22 Raptor fighter.

The company said that IRDS has a number of “newly developed” tactical surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking sensors “to enhance aircraft survivability and lethality.”

“In addition to managing integration of IRDS on the F-22, the company will also support integration on other platforms,” Lockheed Martin said.

While the Air Force’s manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter has an uncertain future, the service is moving forward with upgrading sensors on the F-22.

Last August, the Air Force awarded RTX‘s Raytheon a nearly five-year contract that could be worth more than $1 billion for work in McKinney, Texas to upgrade sensors for the F-22.

The Air Force plans to retire its older, 32 Block 20 F-22s, but is undertaking a program to upgrade the remaining 154 F-22 Raptors with new cryptography, an expanded open architecture, new weapons, the infrared search and track sensor, and a “Project Keystone” effort to install an advanced threat warning receiver.

The program is to cost more than $4.3 billion between fiscal 2023 and 2029.

“The F-22 team is working really hard on executing a modernization roadmap to field advanced sensors, connectivity, weapons and other capabilities that are relevant to the INDOPACOM theater,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Jason Voorheis, the program executive officer for fighters and advanced aircraft, said last July.

“The Raptor team recently conducted six flight test efforts to demo and assess advanced sensors on the F-22 required to complete an ongoing rapid prototyping MTA for the program,” he said. “That will lead to a decision on the rapid fielding MTA in the near future.”

MTA refers to Middle Tier of Acquisition, which is also a reference to rapid prototyping.

Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet has pushed back on the views of the world’s richest man and top Trump adviser Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, who has said that manned fighters are a relic in the age of drones.

“I’m pretty sure that a $25,000 drone will have no effect on a Chinese J-20 [fighter] jet,” Taiclet said at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., last month. “When you see 400 J-20s coming across the Taiwan Strait, you better have 200 NGADs or F-35s or F-22s to meet them, or you will lose, and you will lose right away.”

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

The post Lockheed Martin Plans to Integrate New Defensive System on F-22 appeared first on Avionics International.

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Social Media Takes Flight: The Digital Edge in Avionics Engagement

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

Social media is no longer just a platform for personal connection; it has become a vital business tool for airlines and aviation companies to engage with customers, enhance brand image, and refine operational strategies. Avionics is a surprising beneficiary of this digital transformation.

Enhancing Customer Experience

Airlines are leveraging social media to provide real-time updates on flight statuses, gate changes, and delays. By integrating avionics data with social media platforms, they ensure timely and accurate communication, reducing passenger anxiety and improving travel experiences.

Managing Brand Image

Social media allows airlines to showcase their commitment to cutting-edge avionics, sharing updates on new aircraft equipped with the latest technologies. This not only strengthens brand loyalty but also attracts tech-savvy travelers who value innovation and safety.

Data Analytics: The Hidden Advantage

Perhaps the most significant impact of social media lies in data analytics. Airlines analyze customer interactions, feedback, and sentiment on social platforms to gain insights into passenger preferences and pain points. This data can influence avionics upgrades, such as enhancing in-flight entertainment systems or improving Wi-Fi connectivity.

Addressing Customer Concerns

Social media has become a crucial channel for customer service. Airlines use platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to address passenger complaints and resolve issues promptly. This responsiveness, supported by avionics-enabled operational transparency, helps build trust and loyalty.

By integrating social media with avionics strategies, the aviation industry is creating a more connected and customer-centric ecosystem. As 2025 unfolds, social media will continue to redefine how airlines and aviation companies engage with the world, bringing passengers and technology closer together.

The Collaboration of Avionics Engineers

Social media message boards have become a dynamic forum for aviation engineers, significantly influencing the development and deployment of avionics systems. Platforms like Reddit, Discord, and specialized forums such as Airliners.net serve as hubs for collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving.

These digital communities allow engineers, technicians, and enthusiasts from around the globe to exchange ideas, troubleshoot technical issues, and discuss the latest advancements in avionics technology.

One of the most profound impacts of these message boards is their role in accelerating innovation. Engineers often share insights on emerging technologies, such as autonomous flight systems or enhanced flight management software. By pooling knowledge in real-time, they can identify and address challenges more efficiently than traditional siloed development methods.

For example, discussions on optimizing autopilot algorithms or integrating cutting-edge sensors can lead to immediate improvements in avionics design.

These platforms also foster a culture of transparency and cross-industry collaboration. Engineers working on diverse aircraft types, from commercial jets to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), can share lessons learned and best practices. This exchange not only reduces redundancies in research but also ensures a broader application of advancements across aviation sectors.

However, the use of social media message boards is not without challenges. The informal nature of these discussions can occasionally lead to the dissemination of incomplete or inaccurate information. Proprietary or sensitive data shared inadvertently could pose risks to intellectual property or cybersecurity.

Despite these concerns, the collaborative potential of these platforms is undeniable. As avionics systems become more complex, the collective intelligence harnessed through social media message boards is poised to play an increasingly critical role in shaping the future of aviation. By leveraging this digital connectivity, the aviation industry can continue to advance toward safer, more efficient, and innovative avionics solutions.

The post Social Media Takes Flight: The Digital Edge in Avionics Engagement appeared first on Avionics International.

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Advances in CAD/CAM: Shaping the Future of Avionics Design

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

The aerospace industry has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, and the latest advances in computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) are reshaping avionics development. These tools are driving unprecedented precision, efficiency, and creativity in designing and manufacturing avionics components.

From Concept to Cockpit: A Digital Transformation

Modern CAD systems allow engineers to create intricate 3D models of avionics systems with remarkable detail. These designs incorporate real-world simulations, enabling engineers to test performance under various conditions before physical prototypes are built. This not only reduces development time but also minimizes errors, leading to safer and more reliable systems.

On the manufacturing side, CAM technologies are enabling the production of complex components with great accuracy. Advanced robotics and additive manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, are streamlining production, reducing waste, and cutting costs.

A Ripple Effect on Aircraft Values

These technological advances are significantly impacting the market dynamics of aircraft values. Aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art avionics designed and manufactured through CAD and CAM systems are commanding premium base values and lease rates. Their enhanced efficiency and reliability are attractive to airlines looking to optimize operational performance.

CAD technology enables precise and efficient aircraft design, allowing manufacturers to optimize aerodynamics, weight distribution, and fuel efficiency. For example, the Airbus A350 family, developed using advanced CAD tools, boasts a lightweight composite structure and superior fuel efficiency. These attributes not only make the aircraft more environmentally friendly but also reduce operational costs for airlines, boosting its market demand. Consequently, the base values and lease rates of such aircraft models remain robust, even in volatile economic conditions.

Similarly, Boeing has leveraged CAD advancements for its 787 Dreamliner, enhancing its design to prioritize passenger comfort and efficiency. These improvements, driven by CAD, make the aircraft highly appealing to lessees, sustaining its lease rates despite Boeing’s broader regulatory challenges.

CAD/CAM innovations lead to cost savings that manufacturers can pass on to operators, enhancing the appeal of newer aircraft models. For example, the Airbus A220 also benefits from CAM advancements, allowing it to offer a competitive mix of performance and affordability. As a result, its base values and lease rates have remained attractive, particularly among regional carriers.

Aircraft models that leverage these technologies are better positioned to meet evolving regulatory and environmental standards, a critical factor driving lessee preferences. This trend accelerates the depreciation of older models, creating a widening gap between the base values and lease rates of next-generation aircraft and their predecessors.

Conversely, aircraft with legacy systems are becoming less desirable. In particular, as more airlines adopt cutting-edge avionics, older models face reduced demand, pressuring their market values.

As CAD and CAM technologies continue to evolve, they are not only enhancing avionics but also paving the way for more sustainable and efficient aircraft. These tools are instrumental in the industry’s pursuit of greener aviation, enabling the design of systems that optimize fuel consumption and reduce emissions.

The post Advances in CAD/CAM: Shaping the Future of Avionics Design appeared first on Avionics International.

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The Microchip Revolution: Avionics at the Speed of Light in 2025

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

As 2025 approaches, the aviation industry stands on the cusp of a technological revolution fueled by the introduction of super-fast microchips. These advanced semiconductors are set to redefine avionics, delivering unprecedented processing power, efficiency, and reliability.

Faster, Smarter, Safer Avionics

Super-fast microchips, developed with cutting-edge nanotechnology, are enabling avionics systems to process complex data streams in real time. For pilots, this means quicker access to critical information, such as weather patterns, air traffic data, and engine performance metrics. Enhanced real-time analytics not only improve situational awareness but also facilitate faster decision-making, ensuring safer skies.

Enabling Next-Generation Autonomous Systems

One of the most transformative impacts of these microchips is their role in advancing autonomous flight systems. With superior processing power, aircraft equipped with these chips can execute intricate algorithms for navigation, collision avoidance, and landing with minimal human intervention. Autonomous capabilities are no longer confined to test programs but are becoming a mainstream reality for cargo and passenger flights alike.

Connectivity and the IoT Revolution

The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining significant traction in aviation, with aircraft becoming highly connected ecosystems. Super-fast microchips underpin the seamless integration of avionics systems with ground control and cloud-based platforms. This

connectivity enhances predictive maintenance by analyzing performance data in real time, reducing downtime, and lowering operational costs.

Implications for Aircraft Values

As avionics systems evolve, the adoption of these microchips is already influencing aircraft valuations. Models equipped with next-gen avionics are seeing higher base values and lease rates, as airlines prioritize aircraft that promise enhanced performance and operational efficiency. Conversely, older aircraft with outdated systems face accelerated depreciation.

The Airbus A350-1000, already a leader in avionics innovation, is positioned to benefit substantially. Its state-of-the-art systems are compatible with next-generation microchip upgrades, enhancing its appeal to operators seeking cutting-edge performance and fuel efficiency.

Similarly, the Boeing 777X family, including the 777-9, stands to gain as its avionics suite incorporates high-speed processing capabilities, supporting its long-haul operations and pilot-assist systems. The 777X is a twin-engine, widebody, long-range jetliner that’s one of the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jets.

Narrowbody aircraft such as the Airbus A321XLR (Extra Long Range) may also see increased demand, particularly among carriers requiring enhanced operational efficiency on medium-haul routes. These advancements are expected to attract premium lease rates as operators seek the economic advantages tied to enhanced avionics.

The A321XLR is a groundbreaking aircraft in the narrowbody segment, designed to serve routes traditionally dominated by widebody planes. The A321XLR offers a maximum range of approximately 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 km), significantly farther than its predecessor, the A321LR (Long Range), which has a range of about 4,000 nautical miles.

The extended range of the A321XLR enables airlines to operate long-haul routes previously inaccessible to narrowbody aircraft, such as transatlantic flights and routes connecting secondary cities. Accordingly, the technology in the cockpit of the A321XLR disproportionately benefits from ultra-sophisticated tech.

Older aircraft models with limited upgrade potential could face declining demand, exacerbating disparities in market valuations and highlighting the growing importance of technology in determining aircraft competitiveness.

With super-fast microchips redefining the capabilities of avionics, 2025 promises to be a transformative year for aviation, setting the stage for faster, smarter, and safer skies.

This article also appears in 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 The Microchip Revolution: Avionics at the Speed of Light in 2025 appeared first on Avionics International.

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BAE Systems and Airbus collaborate on sustainable aircraft technology

BAE Systems has signed an agreement with Airbus to provide the energy storage system for Airbus’ microhybridization demonstration project for commercial aircraft. The two companies will advance sustainable aviation by maturing and integrating electrification technologies that can reduce aviation’s carbon footprint.

BAE Systems will develop, test, and deliver energy storage packs for electric aircraft in the megawatt power class, offering two hundred-kilowatt-hour energy capacity to enhance energy efficiency and performance. The energy storage system will provide electric propulsion assist to the engine during various phases of flight.

As part of the agreement, BAE Systems will provide energy storage systems to Airbus for lab testing and system integration for hybridization technology demonstration.

“Our collaboration with Airbus will help future developments in air travel—advancing sustainable aviation with leading-edge energy management solutions,” said Ehtisham Siddiqui, vice president and general manager of Controls and Avionics Solutions at BAE Systems. “BAE Systems’ experience in flight-critical systems and vehicle electrification equips us to meet aerospace’s unique demands, allowing us to optimize performance, work towards more responsible aircraft operations, and address safe electric flight.”

BAE Systems has made investments in aircraft electrification and energy management, leveraging its expertise in safety-critical systems to mature technologies that meet energy storage system performance and certification requirements. The company’s technology is certifiable, fault-tolerant, and designed to address the highest levels of safety, including solutions for thermal runaway mitigation and containment.

The company has developed solutions to meet key challenges of energy storage in electric aviation, providing the optimum balance of energy and power for the next generation of aircraft. Its family of energy storage products offers a roadmap to 300 Wh/kg energy density using high-volume standard format cells. This gives aircraft a cost-effective and scalable upgrade path as battery technology matures.

BAE Systems’ experience developing and integrating electric power and propulsion systems goes back more than 25 years, while its expertise in developing flight-critical control systems for military and commercial aircraft spans more than four decades.

 Work on the energy storage system will be performed at BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing facility in Endicott, New York.

The post BAE Systems and Airbus collaborate on sustainable aircraft technology appeared first on Avionics International.

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AFRL/F-35 Program Investing in New Digital Engineering Hardware

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jason Rueschhoff, 56th Fighter Wing commander, boards an F-35A Lightning II for his final flight on June 14th at Luke AFB, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the program office for the Lockheed Martin F-35 are investing in digital engineering to speed development, as AFRL hosts a ribbon cutting for the Micro-Electronics Digital Engineering Infrastructure on Thursday at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

AFRL’s DoD Supercomputing Resource Center is to house the new, advanced micro-electronics hardware.

The latter is part of a $70-million investment by the F-35 Joint Program Office and others in advanced, digital engineering, AFRL said.

“These upgrades are designed to accelerate the development of advanced technology and digital solutions to enhance warfighter readiness,” according to the lab. “AFRL’s partnerships with industry leaders have incorporated best commercial practices to significantly reduce development timelines and drive innovation. The upgraded infrastructure supports critical initiatives such as the F-35 program, Navy projects, DARPA and the Microelectronics Commons — a program managed by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense — as well as other Department of Defense projects.”

Faster development and fewer software setbacks look to be key for the F-35. The incoming Trump administration, backed by anti-manned fighter comments from top Trump adviser Elon Musk, may examine the F-35 program in-depth.

The fiscal 2025 defense authorization bill provides for a delay in the delivery of 20 of 68 F-35s in fiscal 2025 until the defense secretary submits a report on “certain corrective action plans and acquisition strategies that will improve research, development, testing, evaluation, production and sustainment issues and deficiencies identified across multiple areas within the F–35 program enterprise”.

The 48 F-35s authorized for delivery are 30 U.S. Air Force F-35As, nine U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs, and nine U.S. Navy F-35Cs.

The F-35 JPO has said that it wants to deliver a “fully combat capable” fighter next year with the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade–the foundation for dozens of envisioned Block 4 weapons and sensors.

A significant part of the effort is rejuvenating laboratory capacity, and Lockheed Martin said that it will invest $350 million over five years in that capacity.

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

The post AFRL/F-35 Program Investing in New Digital Engineering Hardware appeared first on Avionics International.

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