Need for hygiene standards for cabin surfaces in the spotlight

 https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2020/05/12/need-for-hygiene-standards-for-aircraft-cabin-surfaces-in-the-spotlight/ 

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Analysis: Mitsubishi suspends development of M100, continues M90 due to COVID

https://leehamnews.com/2020/05/12/analysis-mitsubishi-suspends-development-of-m100-continues-m90-due-to-covid/ 

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Let’s Talk About The Recent Roll Out Of The first Loyal Wingman Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Australia

https://theaviationist.com/2020/05/12/lets-talk-about-the-recent-roll-out-of-the-first-loyal-wingman-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-for-australia/

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Deep cuts at Brussels Airlines: reductions in fleet, workforce and destinations

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/lufthansa-group/brussels-airlines/cuts-deep-reductions-in-fleet-workforce-and-destinations/

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meanwhile in Belgium... 100 million euros state aid for Sonaca

https://www.aviation24.be/oem/sonaca-oem/100-million-euros-state-aid-for-sonaca/

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[video]Boeing CEO: It could take 3 to 5 years for airline industry to return from ‘apocalyptic’ state

https://www.today.com/video/boeing-ceo-it-could-take-3-to-5-years-for-airline-industry-to-return-from-apocalyptic-state-83326533868

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Air Travel Is Going to Be Very Bad, for a Very Long Time

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/james-fallows-flying-will-never-be-same/611413/

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Avianca Succumbs to Covid-19, Files for Bankruptcy

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-05-11/avianca-succumbs-covid-19-files-bankruptcy

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Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on Aero Vodochody

press release





Like any other company on international market, AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE is confronted with unforeseeable impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The management of Aero decided to keep the company running and operational in all activities: MRO, aerostructures, and the L-39NG project.

Aero fully continues its L-39NG activities with target to achieve certification in September 2020. The aerostructures programs are naturally more impacted by the pandemic of the coronavirus due to production shortage of some customers or due to lack of parts and material deliveries from suppliers, which has stronger impact to commercial programs due to their higher production cadences. The running MRO business as defence business, proven by previous crises, is subject to different cycles and patterns than civil aviation and is much more resilient. Furthermore AERO has a very high backlog on MRO business. However, like for almost all aviation companies it will be impossible for Aero to meet the targets originally set for 2020 prior the crisis.

Since beginning of COVID-19 governmental measures, Aero has implemented a comprehensive package of hygienic, safety, technical and personnel measures to minimize the risks of a pandemic situation and to ensure conditions for business continuity.

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DARPA's Blackjac aims to demonstrate advanced technology for satellite constellation autonomy and space mesh networks

press release




In partnership with the U.S. Space Force and Space Development Agency, DARPA’s Blackjack program is targeting flights to low-Earth orbit (LEO) later this year and 2021. Using a series of small risk reduction satellites, the program aims to demonstrate advanced technology for satellite constellation autonomy and space mesh networks. Blackjack seeks to develop and validate critical elements of global high-speed autonomous networks in LEO, proving a capability that could provide the Department of Defense with highly connected, resilient, and persistent overhead coverage.

The upcoming demonstration flights are all planned as rideshares, catching a ride to LEO on a launch with other missions. The first demonstration, Mandrake 1, is a cubesat that will carry supercomputer processing chips. Mandrake 2 is a pair of small satellites that will carry optical inter-satellite links for broadband data. These could form the basis of future optically meshed computer networks in LEO.

The program also is targeting a risk reduction payload called Wildcard, a software-defined radio that will experiment with links from LEO to tactical radios. A data fusion experiment with the ability to host advanced third party algorithms, known as massless payloads, is intended for an upcoming Loft Orbital mission.

“It's important that we get the design right,” says Paul “Rusty” Thomas, the program manager for Blackjack. “We focused first on buses and payloads, then the autonomous mission management system, which we call Pit Boss. We anticipate we'll begin integrating the first two military payloads next summer with launch via rideshare in late 2021, followed by the remainder of the Blackjack demonstration sub-constellation in 2022.”

Blackjack aims to demonstrate sensors that are low in size, weight, and power, and that can be mass produced to fit on many different buses from many different providers, for less than $2 million per payload.

The agency is evaluating buses from Airbus, Blue Canyon Technologies, and Telesat, all of which have progressed through preliminary design review. The final selection of buses will happen in 2020. The program recently completed preliminary design review for Pit Boss, selecting SEAKR as the primary performer for the on-orbit autonomy system. The agency also awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin as the satellite integrator.

Several sensor payloads are under consideration for the Blackjack demonstration sub-constellation, including overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) from Collins Aerospace and Raytheon; radio frequency systems from Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Trident, and Systems & Technology Research; position, navigation, and timing from Northrop Grumman; optical inter-satellite links from SA Photonics; and electro-optical/infrared from L3Harris. The program also recently completed a Small Business Innovation Research contract with Augustus Aerospace to work on an Army Space and Missile Defense Command-related payload.

Over the next few months, the program will run simulations to test payloads in virtual constellations of all types of missions. The goal is to show interoperability between the commoditized buses and the various payloads being considered.

“We need to show the constellations can move the right amount of data and support the data fusion and command and control we want from Pit Boss,” Thomas said. “From there, we will start building the actual hardware. By late next spring, we will have hardware and then spend next summer focused on satellite-level qualification for launch readiness in late 2021.”

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BepiColombo makes cosmic music during Earth flyby

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/Listen_to_the_sounds_of_BepiColombo_s_Earth_flyby

https://newatlas.com/space/bepicolombo-earth-flyby-cosmic-music/

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Mitsubishi Heavy to halve budget for delay-prone passenger jet project

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/11/business/corporate-business/mitsubishi-heavy-halve-budget-delay-prone-passenger-jet-project/#.XrrKUcBS9PY

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Preparing for a new digital normal: Rolls-Royce opens its Digital Academy for free training

press release

Rolls-Royce is publishing, for free, its world-class digital skills training programme to help people and businesses around the world prepare for a potentially digital-centric recovery from COVID-19.
Bringing together its trusted training partners and platforms, the first suite of courses includes introductions to data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, coding and digital culture. Courses range from ‘bitesize’ 20-minute sessions, to extended fully certified training programmes.
This release by Rolls-Royce follows its founding role in establishing the global Emergent Alliance, a voluntary group of technology companies and data science specialists working together to find new ways to accelerate and smooth the path to economic recovery as the pandemic passes.
The Rolls-Royce Digital Academy has trained 20,000 of our employees in the last two years as it assists our transformation into one of the world’s leading industrial technology companies – and these are the training courses that are helping make that change happen.
Head of the Digital Academy at Rolls-Royce, Manisha Mistry, said: “Many people and businesses are experiencing incredibly tough circumstances and these free training packages are a tangible way for us to offer some help. Many have been tried and tested by Rolls-Royce employees. They can help people prepare for work and businesses transform ready for a digital future, just like we’ve been doing at Rolls-Royce for the last couple of years.
“Whether you’re 8, 18 or 80 years-old, these training packages will help you during this disruptive period of isolation: whether you need to keep your kids occupied, need new skills for a future job or just want to learn more digital skills in anticipation of the future.”

Supporting partners for this open learning programme, and the tools they are offering, are:

• DataCamp – an opportunity to experience the top data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning courses used by Rolls-Royce employees
• edX – Rolls-Royce’s own CPD-accredited digital skills fundamentals programme containing six key courses including data awareness, the power of data and agile mindset.
• Google for Education – Google Applied Digital Skills helps teachers and students learn practical digital skills using the free project-based video curriculum. The ready-to-use video lessons teach digital skills that have immediate, real-life applications that provide students with the skills needed to succeed in the classroom and on the job, from researching to analysing data.
• IBM – Machine Learning for Kids: it will soon be normal for machine learning systems to drive our cars and help our doctors to diagnose and treat illnesses. This course provides hands-on experience in an easy-to-use guided learning environment to the people who will be programming the machines of the future.
• Learning Tree – Delivered by an award-winning industry leader, immerse in a suite of e-learning modules, white papers, skills assessments, live and recorded webinars on topics from agile to data analytics.
• TeenTech – For students 11-19 years, there are weekly insights into world-class organisations and the opportunities that lie within them. Each session will be themed and hosted by sponsors and industry experts with Rolls-Royce leading an Innovation at Home day on 18^th May. Students can ask questions, develop their own solutions to global challenges and learn more about different careers.
• TechWeCan –free, easy to use and fun lesson plans for home schooling children (aged 10-13); children can learn about the opportunities a career in technology can offer; or join weekly Tech We Can Tuesday live lessons from 28^th April at 10.30am; taking part in the City of Tomorrow challenge, where students apply their knowledge of science, technology, and engineering to create their City of Tomorrow where no ideas are too big, and everything is smarter, kinder, and safer than before.

People keen to learn will be able to access the courses from Friday 1 May through and https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/digital-academy.aspx.

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Embraer Delivers Five Commercial and Nine Executive Jets in 1Q20

press release




Embraer (NYSE: ERJ; B3: BOVESPA: EMBR3) delivered a total of 14 jets in the first quarter of 2020, of which five were commercial aircraft and nine were executive jets (five light and four large). As of March 31st, the firm order backlog totaled USD 15.9 billion. Historically, Embraer seasonally has fewer deliveries during the first quarter of the year, and in 2020 in particular, the commercial aircraft deliveries in the first quarter were also negatively impacted by the conclusion of the separation of Embraer's Commercial Aviation unit in January. During the first quarter, Embraer Executive Jets announced that the new Phenom 300E was granted its Type Certificate by ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil), EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). The new Phenom 300E is the recently enhanced version of the Phenom 300 series, which was the most delivered business jet series in the 2010s. Also in this period, Emgepron, a Brazilian state-owned company linked to the Ministry of Defense through the Brazilian Navy Command, and Águas Azuis, a company created by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Embraer Defense & Security and Atech, signed the contract to build four state-of-the-art Tamandaré Class Ships, with deliveries scheduled between 2025 and 2028.

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US Defense Firms Hiring Thousands Amid Record Unemployment

https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/05/us-defense-firms-hiring-thousands-amid-record-unemployment/165270/



Pentagon spending on missiles, satellites, and nuclear weapons fuels a production boom, as firms fight off commercial aerospace downturn.

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An Update on COVID-19 GE Aviation Business Impact

press release







GE (NYSE:GE) Vice Chair and President and CEO, GE Aviation David Joyce today issued the following message to GE Aviation employees:

Colleagues,

Let me start by saying thank you for the way you all have responded during the COVID-19 crisis – staying focused on protecting the health of one another and supporting our customers, worldwide. This has enabled us to serve our great customers in their time of need, including the military and cargo operators shipping critical supplies around the world.

As this pandemic continues to advance, our understanding of its impact on our industry and our business has also evolved. The deep contraction of commercial aviation is unprecedented, affecting every customer worldwide. Global traffic is expected to be down approximately 80% in the second quarter when compared to the start of the pandemic’s effect in China in early February. Our aircraft manufacturers have announced reduced production schedules that will extend into 2021 and beyond reacting to the projected prolonged recovery.

To protect our business, we have responded with difficult cost-cutting actions over the last two months. Unfortunately, more is required as we scale the business to the realities of our commercial market.

We are developing our plan for permanent reductions to our global employee base that we anticipate will bring our total reductions this year to as much as 25% (including both voluntary and involuntary actions already announced).* In GE’s earnings call last week, we shared that Aviation is developing $1 billion of cost actions and $2 billion of cash actions in 2020, which includes these anticipated reductions.

These plans, which we expect will be ready over the coming months, are part of a comprehensive strategy we are developing for resizing the business consistent with the forecast of our commercial market. While extremely difficult, I am confident this is the required response to the continued contraction of the industry, and its protracted recovery. I am equally confident that the industry will recover over time and that we will be positioned to win.

Thank you for your resolve and determination during these trying times. And most importantly, thank you for supporting one another. Please know we are using the best possible resources to understand this pandemic and its impact on our business while plotting our path forward protecting our people, our customers and our business. We are one team and together we will come out of this with a strong affirmation of our purpose and a spirit to succeed.

Thank you for all that you do.

David Joyce*Once our plans are ready, we will consult with employees and/or their representatives as required in accordance with applicable laws before those plans are finalized or implemented.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain.  For details on the uncertainties that may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements, see https://www.ge.com/investor-relations/important-forward-looking-statement-information, as well as our annual report on Form 10-K and our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.  

About GE Aviation
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.

GE’s Investor Relations website at www.ge.com/investor and our corporate blog at www.ge.com/reports and @GE_Reports on Twitter, as well as GE’s Facebook page and Twitter accounts, contain a significant amount of information about GE, including financial and other information for investors. GE encourages investors to visit these websites from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted.

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Airbus supplies EU with satellite communications

press release




Airbus has won the new satellite communications framework contract for military and civil missions of the European Union and its member states. This four-year framework contract was awarded by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and is estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros.



“With this satellite communications programme, Airbus contributes to the construction of joint capabilities for European defence and to its missions to preserve civil and military peacekeeping”, said Dirk Hoke, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Defence and Space.



The contract named ‘EU SatCom Market’ will allow EU member states to centralise their satellite communications requirements and obtain coordinated, more economical and effective access to these services. Some 32 contributing members, including 20 European defence ministries, can now swiftly and efficiently get access to satellite solutions and services through EDA, which has been supplying the members of the ‘EU SatCom Market’ project with satellite communications capabilities since 2012.



These satellite communications solutions can be deployed worldwide. They play an essential role in European civil and military peacekeeping and security missions, as well as in technical and economic development and cooperation missions. This is already the case in several EU civilian and military missions and operations where EU SatCom Market services have been successfully implemented for several years. The armed forces of EU member states also use these solutions.



The ‘EU SatCom Market’ contract covers the provision of satellite communications (in C, Ku, Ka and L frequency bands), the sale and rental of terminals, as well as the provision of ‘turnkey solutions’, particularly in theatres of operations outside the EU. For this contract, Airbus has teamed up with Marlink, which will supply some of these terminals and specific L- and Ku-band services.



A forerunner in telecommunications solutions for military and governmental users, Airbus has unique experience in supplying satellite communications on a global scale and in all commercial and military frequency bands (L, C, Ku, Ka, X and UHF). These services can also benefit European operators of essential services.

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Sentinel-6A gets an earful

 

 press release








Earth observation satellite Sentinel-6A is currently getting an earful. Airbus space engineers are ‘bombarding’ the latest satellite for the European environment and security programme ‘Copernicus’ with sound in a dedicated chamber at the Space Test Centre of Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG) in Ottobrunn, near Munich. The acoustic noise test simulates the sound impact to which the satellite will be exposed during rocket launch.

The chamber, which covers an area of some 100 m² and is fitted with huge loudspeakers, is hermetically sealed during tests. These tests consist of four 60-second blasts of sound that are fired at the satellite with increasing intensity. At its peak, Sentinel-6A will be hit by 140 decibels (dB). By comparison, noise levels at around 50 dB are pleasant for us to hear, at some 100 dB they start to become uncomfortable, while around 120 dB is where they become painful. Pneumatic drills or chainsaws produce around 110 dB. An increase of 10 dB represents a doubling of perceived loudness.

‘Copernicus Sentinel-6’ is an ocean altimetry mission to provide ocean topography measurements over the next decade. Sentinel-6 carries a radar altimeter to provide high precision and timely observations of sea surface height on a global scale. This information is essential for the continued monitoring of changes in sea levels, a key indicator of climate change. It is also essential for oceanography. Mapping up to 95% of Earth’s ice-free ocean every 10 days, Sentinel-6 offers vital information on ocean currents, wind speed and wave height for maritime safety.

The two Sentinel-6 satellites for the European Copernicus Programme for environment and security have been developed under Airbus’ industrial leadership. While it is one of the European Union’s family of Copernicus satellite missions, Sentinel-6 is also being brought about thanks to international cooperation between ESA, NASA, NOAA and EUMETSAT.

From November 2020, Sentinel-6A will be the first of two Sentinel-6 satellites to continue collecting satellite-based measurements of the oceans’ surfaces, a task that began in 1992. Sentinel-6B is then expected to follow in 2025. Sentinel-6 builds on heritage from the Jason series of ocean topography satellites and from ESA’s missions CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-2, as well as GRACE, which were manufactured under the industrial leadership of Airbus.

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Airbus and Koniku Inc. embark on disruptive biotechnology solutions for aviation security operations

press release







Airbus and Koniku Inc. have made a significant step forward in the co-development of a solution for aircraft and airport security operations by extending research activities to include biological hazard detection capabilities, as well as chemical and explosive threats.

The disruptive biotechnology solution, which was originally focused on the contactless and automated detection, tracking and location of chemicals and explosives on-board aircraft and in airports, is now being adapted in light of the COVID-19 crisis to include the identification of biological hazards.

Based on the power of odor detection and quantification found in nature, the technical solution, developed to meet the rigorous operational regulatory requirements of aircraft and airport security operations, uses genetically engineered odorant receptors that produce an alarm signal when they come into contact with the molecular compounds of the hazard or threat that they have been programmed to detect.

Airbus and Koniku Inc. entered into a cooperation agreement in 2017, leveraging Airbus’ expertise in sensor integration and knowledge of ground and on-board security operations within the aviation and defense industries, as well as Koniku’s biotechnology know-how for automated and scalable volatile organic compound detection (via their Konikore™ platform).

With in-situ testing planned for Q4 2020, Airbus is demonstrating its ability to accelerate traditional research cycles in a real-time environment in order to develop and bring to market a game-changing, end-to-end, security solution at convincing scale and speed, thereby contributing to the continuous improvement of security in the air transport ecosystem, while increasing operational efficiency and improving passenger experience.

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