Tag: PRNewswire (Page 4 of 15)

Boeing will showcase its market-leading portfolio of commercial, defense and services products at the 2021 Dubai Airshow this month, including the international debut of its newest fuel-efficient widebody jet, the 777X. Building on the best of the industry-leading 777 and 787 families, the 777-9 will be the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 10% better fuel use, emissions and operating costs than the competition. Shown here: A Boeing 777-9 airplane photographed during flight testing. (Boeing Photo)

Boeing to Debut 777X, Spotlight Defense at 2021 Dubai Airshow

November 4, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) will showcase its market-leading portfolio of commercial, defense and services products at the 2021 Dubai Airshow this month, including the international debut of its newest fuel-efficient widebody jet, the 777X, along with the company’s growing autonomous capabilities such as the Boeing Airpower Teaming System.

During the event, a Boeing 777-9 flight-test airplane will soar in the airshow’s flying program and appear in the static display. Building on the best of the industry-leading 777 and 787 families, the 777-9 will be the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 10% better fuel use, emissions and operating costs than the competition.

The company’s static display will also feature the 2021 Boeing ecoDemonstrator, an Alaska Airlines 737-9 that is flight testing about 20 technologies to reduce fuel use, emissions and noise and further improve safety.

In addition, Etihad Airways will display a 787-10 Dreamliner that showcases the airline’s collaboration with Boeing to advance sustainable aviation. Etihad’s program researches and tests innovative technologies, products and practices on its fleet of 787s and within its operations to further reduce carbon emissions. Also on display, flydubai – the region’s largest 737 operator – will feature a 737 MAX 9 that reduces fuel use and CO₂ by 14% compared to its predecessors.

Boeing’s exhibit in Dubai will highlight defense products including the F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet and T-7A Advanced Pilot Training System, as well as its Autonomous Systems portfolio, including the Boeing Airpower Teaming System and the Insitu Integrator ER and ScanEagle unmanned systems.

Global defense customers are expected to display several operational Boeing aircraft, including the MV-22 Osprey, KC-46A Pegasus, P-8A Poseidon, C-17 Globemaster III, AH-64 Apache and CH-47F Chinook.

Boeing also will discuss its parts, modifications, digital, sustainment and training solutions, including an expansive global supply chain, maintenance and logistics network. Government services will feature in-country partnerships with on-the-ground support for its installed base of defense platforms. Commercial services highlights will include Boeing Converted Freighters, expanded support to regional customers and near-term sales opportunities.

A.P. Moller, Maersk Orders Two Boeing 777 Freighters

November 2, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) today announced the global provider of end-to-end container logistics has placed an order for two 777 Freighters. The freighters will be operated by Star Air, Maersk’s in-house aircraft operator and is the company’s first 777 order. Star Air currently operates an all-Boeing 767 Freighter fleet.

The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest, longest range and most capable twin-engine freighter. The airplane offers 17 percent better fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions compared to legacy airplanes. With a range of 9,200 kilometers, the 777 Freighter can carry a maximum revenue payload of 102,000 kilograms, allowing Star Air to make fewer stops and reduce landing fees on long-haul routes.

The 777 Freighter is Boeing’s top-selling freighter of all time. Customers from around the world have ordered more than 300 777 Freighters since the program began in 2005. As the air cargo market continues to strengthen throughout the world, freight carriers turn to Boeing for its complete family of new and converted freighters. Boeing airplanes provide more than 90% of the worldwide dedicated freighter capacity.

Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As the global leader in shipping services, the company operates in 130 countries and employs approximately 80,000 people.

As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity. Learn more at www.boeing.com.

Drone Delivery is Now a Reality // Mesa and Flirtey

Mesa Air Group First Scheduled Airline to Launch U.S. Drone Delivery Business

October 25, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

RENO, Nev., Oct. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA), has signed an agreement with aerospace technology company Flirtey to order 4 delivery drones, with an option to order an additional 500 aircraft. The agreement marks Mesa becoming the first scheduled airline to launch drone delivery in the U.S.

Mesa and Flirtey are initially focusing on the last-mile food delivery industry, enabling Mesa to expand beyond the global airlines market and into the global food service market. The immediate goal of the partnership is to conduct commercial drone deliveries in the last-mile food and beverage market in the U.S. The parties plan to expand the drone delivery service in the U.S. and New Zealand.

With this agreement, Flirtey, the aircraft designer and manufacturer, is supplying it’s best-in-class technology including the Flirtey Eagle, an electric powered, advanced drone that conducts precision delivery to homes and businesses, and Flirtey’s autonomous software platform that conducts autonomous flight operations, for Mesa to operate commercial drone delivery.

The partnership will prioritize operational excellence and data collection, enabling rapid expansion with Mesa’s operational experience as a leading regional air carrier with approximately 450 daily departures across the U.S. and Flirtey’s technical experience having conducted over 6,000 drone delivery flights in the U.S. with its technology protected by over 1,000 patents claims issued and pending in the U.S. and worldwide. Flirtey recently expanded production of delivery drones to meet growing demand. Flirtey’s aircraft are made in USA.

Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Agree To F-35 Sustainment Contracts

September 16, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The F-35 Joint Program Office awarded the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) industry team annualized contracts covering fiscal years 2021-2023 to support operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet, supporting mission readiness and further reducing costs.

The annual contracts fund critical sustainment activities for aircraft currently in the fleet and build enterprise capacity to support the future fleet of more than 3,000 F-35 aircraft. This includes industry sustainment experts supporting base and depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustaining engineering for the U.S. and our allies across the globe. It also covers fleet-wide data analytics and supply chain management for part repair and replenishment to enhance overall supply availability for the fleet.

The FY2021-2023 contracts represent a planned next step in further reducing overall operations and support costs for the F-35 program, which are shared between government and industry. Lockheed Martin has reduced our cost per flight hour by 44% in the past five years, with a forecasted reduction of an additional 40% in the next five years. The cost savings in the FY21-23 annualized sustainment contracts support Lockheed Martin’s efforts to realize these goals. The savings will be achieved through improved cost and velocity in our supply chain, continued reliability improvements, and greater manpower efficiencies to provide product support solutions across the growing, global fleet. We remain committed to partnering with our customers and teammates to drive F-35 sustainment costs down.

The contracts also pave the way for a longer-term, Performance Based Logistics (PBL) agreement for the F-35 program. PBLs are an industry best practice, facilitating agile sustainment solutions for the fleet and incentivizing even further affordability and performance results.

The F-35 Joint Program Office, together with each U.S. service, international operators and the F-35 industry team, leads F-35 sustainment and the Global Support Solution. The 2021 annualized sustainment contract will cover industry sustainment activities through Dec. 31, 2021.

Honeywell Technology For Drones Increases Range With Hydrogen Fuel Cells

August 18, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

PHOENIX, Aug. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) is developing a new technology suite for light drones that allows them to fly three times longer and with less human intervention. Compared with traditional drones using batteries and line-of-sight radio links, drones equipped with Honeywell’s Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technologies can fly farther, carry more weight, avoid hazards up to three kilometers away and stream video of their progress anywhere in the world.

Honeywell’s BVLOS (pronounced bev-loss) systems are ideal for missions where distance or terrain interfere with radio links or visual guidance. Applications include last-mile package delivery, military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, pipeline and power line inspection, search and rescue, or use by first responders.

The technologies draw upon Honeywell’s decades of experience building and certifying avionics, engines, and APUs for airplanes, helicopters and military drones.

The BVLOS suite comprises:

Honeywell’s 600-watt and 1200-watt hydrogen fuel cells
Honeywell’s RDR-84K multipurpose radar
Honeywell’s inertial measurement units (IMUs)
Honeywell’s UAV Satcom – the world’s smallest and lightest satellite transceiver

The fuel cells in the BVLOS suite operate three times longer than batteries with equivalent output. They work silently, unlike gasoline engines, and emit no greenhouse gases. Operators can refuel or swap hydrogen tanks in minutes, enabling more time in the air.

Honeywell’s RDR-84K is a phased-array radar that steers beams electronically, meaning it has no moving parts and requires minimal maintenance. It also requires no heavy cooling systems.

In addition to avoiding other aircraft, the radar can detect obstacles, map terrain and identify landing zones. It can act as a radar altimeter and provide mapping for alternate navigation if GPS guidance fails.

The BVLOS suite will allow drone designers to combine data in clever new ways to save weight and power. Its radar computes an avoidance path using built-in circuitry, rather than requiring a separate processor. Its satellite uplink can be used to download real-time weather and traffic reports from other drones.

Honeywell’s UAV Satcom and IMUs are available now, with some IMU models priced as low as $1,800. The RDR-84K and fuel cells are in late-stage development, and prototype fuel cells are available for purchase and evaluation now.

Lockheed Martin and NASA executives officially opened the STAR Center in Florida on July 15.

Lockheed Martin Opens Orion Spacecraft Advanced Manufacturing Facility

July 15, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

TITUSVILLE, Florida, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] opened its Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center today. The STAR Center features business and digital transformation innovations that will expand manufacturing, assembly and testing capacity for NASA’s Orion spacecraft program and ultimately, future space exploration.

Lockheed Martin currently assembles the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I and II Moon missions at the nearby Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The addition of the STAR Center provides much-needed space for the new production phase of Orion, allowing future Orion spacecraft – starting with the Artemis III mission – to be built faster.

Lockheed Martin acquired the building that formerly housed the Astronaut Training Experience attraction and spent 18 months and nearly $20 million renovating and modernizing the 55,000 square-foot space into a digitally-transformed factory of the future.

United Adds 270 Boeing and Airbus Aircraft, Largest Order in Airline’s History

June 30, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, PRNewswire – United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) has announced the purchase of 270 new Boeing and Airbus aircraft – the largest combined order in the airline’s history and the biggest by an individual carrier in the last decade. The ‘United Next’ plan will have a transformational effect on the customer experience and is expected to increase the total number of available seats per domestic departure by almost 30%.

When combined with the current order book, United expects to introduce more than 500 new, narrow-body aircraft: 40 in 2022, 138 in 2023 and as many as 350 in 2024 and beyond. That means in 2023 alone, United’s fleet will, on average, add about one new narrow-body aircraft every three days.

United’s new aircraft order – 50 737 MAX 8’s, 150 737 MAX 10’s and 70 A321neo’s – will come with a new signature interior that includes seat-back entertainment in every seat, larger overhead bins for every passenger’s carry-on bag and the industry’s fastest available in-flight WiFi, as well as a bright look-and-feel with LED lighting. The airline expects to fly the first 737 MAX 8 with the signature interior this summer and to begin flying the 737 MAX 10 and the Airbus A321neo in early 2023.

What’s more, United intends to upgrade 100% of its mainline, narrow-body fleet to these standards by 2025, an extraordinary retrofit project that, when combined with the number of new aircraft joining the fleet, means United will deliver its state-of-the-art inflight experience to tens of millions of customers at an unprecedented pace.

This order will also significantly boost United’s total number of mainline daily departures and available seats across the airline’s North American network, as well as the number of premium seats, both United First^SMand Economy Plus®. Specifically, United expects it will have on average 53 premium seats per North American departure by 2026, an increase of about 75% over 2019, and more than any competitor in North America.

Plus, adding these new 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo aircraft means United will replace older, smaller mainline jets and at least 200 single-class regional jets with larger aircraft, which the airline expects will lead to significant sustainability benefits compared to older planes: an expected 11% overall improvement in fuel efficiency and an expected 17-20% lower carbon emission per seat compared to older planes.

MAX-10 First Flight Takeoff Renton

Boeing Completes Successful First 737-10 Flight

June 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

SEATTLE /PRNewswire/ — Boeing’s [NYSE: BA] 737-10, the largest airplane in the 737 MAX family, today completed a successful first flight. The airplane took off from Renton Field in Renton, Washington, at 10:07 a.m. and landed at 12:38 p.m. at Boeing Field in Seattle.

Today’s flight was the start of a comprehensive test program for the 737-10. Boeing will work closely with regulators to certify the airplane prior to its scheduled entry into service in 2023.

The 737-10 can carry up to 230 passengers. It also incorporates environmental improvements, cutting carbon emissions by 14 percent and reducing noise by 50 percent compared to today’s Next-Generation 737s.

MAX-10 First Flight Landing Boeing Field Seattle

Navy and Boeing Complete First Unmanned Aircraft to Aircraft Refueling

June 8, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

PRNewswire/ — For the first time in history, the U.S. Navy and Boeing [NYSE: BA] have demonstrated air-to-air refueling using an unmanned aircraft – the Boeing-owned MQ-25™ T1 test asset – to refuel another aircraft.

During a test flight on June 4, MQ-25 T1 successfully extended the hose and drogue from its U.S. Navy-issued aerial refueling store (ARS) and safely transferred jet fuel to a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet, demonstrating the MQ-25 Stingray’s ability to carry out its primary aerial refueling mission.

During the initial part of the flight, the F/A-18 test pilot flew in close formation behind MQ-25 to ensure performance and stability prior to refueling – a maneuver that required as little as 20 feet of separation between the MQ-25 T1 air vehicle and the F/A-18 refueling probe. Both aircraft were flying at operationally relevant speeds and altitudes. With the evaluation safely completed, the MQ-25 drogue was extended, and the F/A-18 pilot moved in to “plug” with the unmanned aircraft and receive the scheduled fuel offload.

The milestone comes after 25 T1 flights, testing both aircraft and ARS aerodynamics across the flight envelope, as well as extensive simulations of aerial refueling using MQ-25 digital models. MQ-25 T1 will continue flight testing prior to being shipped to Norfolk, Virginia, for deck handling trials aboard a U.S. Navy carrier later this year.

The Boeing-owned T1 test asset is a predecessor to the seven test aircraft Boeing is manufacturing under a 2018 contract award. The MQ-25 will assume the tanking role currently performed by F/A-18s, allowing for better use of the combat strike fighters and helping extend the range of the carrier air wing.

United Signs Agreement to Buy Aircraft from Boom Supersonic

June 6, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

PRNewswire/ — United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) today announced a commercial agreement with Denver-based aerospace company Boom Supersonic to add aircraft to its global fleet as well as a cooperative sustainability initiative – a move that facilitates a leap forward in returning supersonic speeds to aviation.

Under the terms of the agreement, United will purchase 15 of Boom’s ‘Overture’ airliners, once Overture meets United’s demanding safety, operating and sustainability requirements, with an option for an additional 35 aircraft. The companies will work together on meeting those requirements before delivery. Once operational, Overture is expected to be the first large commercial aircraft to be net-zero carbon from day one, optimized to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It is slated to roll out in 2025, fly in 2026 and expected to carry passengers by 2029. United and Boom will also work together to accelerate production of greater supplies of SAF.

Capable of flying at speeds of Mach 1.7 – twice the speed of today’s fastest airliners – Overture can connect more than 500 destinations in nearly half the time. Among the many future potential routes for United are Newark to London in just three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours. Overture will also be designed with features such as in-seat entertainment screens, ample personal space, and contactless technology. Working with Boom is another component of United’s strategy to invest in innovative technologies that will build a more sustainable future of air travel.

Archives