Tag: protection (Page 1 of 3)

RTX, Rafael plan new missile production facility in Camden, Arkansas

October 26, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

East Camden, Arkansas, October 26, 2023, PRNewswire – Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, in partnership with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, will build a manufacturing facility in East Camden, Arkansas to produce the Tamir missile for the Iron Dome Weapon System and its U.S. variant, SkyHunter^®.

Through the established Raytheon-Rafael Area Protection Systems joint venture, the companies have committed to a $33 million capital investment to establish the new facility. Once operational, the facility will produce missiles for the U.S. Marine Corps and other allied partners.

Raytheon and Rafael have teamed for over a decade on Iron Dome, which has more than 5,000 operational intercepts and a success rate exceeding 90%. The U.S. version of the Iron Dome Weapon System’s Tamir, SkyHunter, is a medium-range air defense weapon designed to counter a range of threats, including cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft, rockets, artillery and mortars. SkyHunter missiles will be produced for the U.S. Marine Corps Medium Range Intercept Capability, or MRIC, program.

The joint venture plans to break ground on the new facility before the end of the year with the intent to begin missile production in 2025.

Airbus signs 1.2 billion Euro contracts for support of France’s A330 MRTT fleet

October 24, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Getafe, Spain – 23 October 2023 – Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) Defence and Space has signed two contracts valued at 1.2 billion euros in total with France’s Direction generale de l’armement (DGA) and Direction de la Maintenance Aeronautique (DMAe) for the Capability Enhancement and the In-Service Support of the French A330 MRTT’s (Multi Role Tanker Transport) fleet.

Standard 2 contract: Stepping stone of the Multi Role Tanker Transport of the future

The Standard 2 contract provides for the capability extension of the French MRTTs, focused on connectivity as a key pillar and also self-protection capabilities. With the aim of being connected in all circumstances, including jammed environments and extreme weather conditions, the aircraft will be equipped with the MELISSA satcom station.

These new capabilities will convert the French A330 MRTT into a high bandwidth communication relay node, with command and control capabilities, and will build the stepping stone of the A330 MRTT’s integration into the future air combat cloud within the FCAS.

10 years In-service support

The second contract covers the In-Service Support of the ‘Phénix’ fleet for 10 years, plus two optional years, at the Istres Air Base, southern France, home to the 31st Strategic Air Refuelling and Transport Wing. Airbus, as the prime contractor, together with its preferred partners in France, will be responsible for fleet modernisation, maintenance, logistics and technical support to ensure the aircraft’s operational availability. The local Airbus team in France will be doubled to support these activities.

PHASA-35 completes first successful stratospheric flight

July 15, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Over a 24-hour period, PHASA-35 soared to more than 66,000 feet, reaching the stratosphere, before landing successfully. The trial, completed last month in New Mexico in the USA, allowed engineers to assess the performance of the experimental solar-electric drone within the outer-reaches of the planet’s atmosphere.

The flight marks a significant milestone in PHASA-35’s development which began in 2018. Designed by BAE Systems’ (OTC: BAESY) subsidiary Prismatic Ltd to operate above the weather and conventional air traffic, it has the potential to provide a persistent and stable platform for various uses including ultra-long endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as security.

It also has the potential to be used in the delivery of communications networks including 4G and 5G and could be used in a wide range of applications, such as disaster relief and border protection, as an alternative to traditional airborne and satellite systems.

The PHASA-35 programme sits within FalconWorks™, a new centre for advanced and agile research and development within BAE Systems’ Air sector, designed to deliver a range of cutting-edge combat air capabilities to the UK and its allies.

PHASA-35, which has a 35-metre wingspan and carries a 15kg payload, uses a range of world-leading technologies including advanced composites, energy management, solar electric cells and photo-voltaic arrays to provide energy during the day which is stored in rechargeable cells to maintain ﬂight overnight.

The successful trial assessed the performance of the experimental system across a range of areas. It is the first in a series of trials planned to confirm system performance, support development activities and validate test points to enable PHASA-35 to be made available in defence and commercial markets internationally.

The latest trials took place from Spaceport America in New Mexico, flying in the White Sands Missile Range, and are sponsored by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center. This test flight at White Sands Missile Range was coordinated and directly supported by personnel attached to Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Detachment White Sands.

DHL EXPRESS OPENS NEW $84.5M HUB IN ATLANTA

July 8, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

DHL (OTC: DHLGY) Express, the world’s leading provider of express shipping services, has announced the grand opening of its Americas region hub based at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). With a focus on sustainability, the $84.5 million investment further strengthens the company’s connections and service capabilities between the U.S. and key global markets, increasing capacity, speeding transit times, and adding resilience to its network.

Spanning 100,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art hub establishes direct connections between 19 cities in the Southeastern U.S. and key global markets, including Europe and major DHL hubs worldwide. Future plans involve adding flight connections to Hong Kong, Mexico, the UK, and Puerto Rico.

The DHL Atlanta Hub also sets new standards for sustainability, generating up to 50% of its on-site energy consumption through 65,000 sq. ft of rooftop solar panels, preventing the release of 380 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. The remaining energy consumed on-site is sourced from renewable sources through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), guaranteeing zero emissions from electricity consumption. Moreover, the hub employs environmentally conscious features such as LED lights, electric forklifts, dock seals, and rapid rise doors, further minimizing its environmental impact.

The Atlanta hub operates as a fully automated facility, equipped with cutting-edge technology capable of sorting up to 20,000 pieces per hour. To ensure swift clearance of DHL customer shipments, the hub employs in-house Customs brokers and collaborates with on-site U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel. Additionally, DHL implements advanced threat detection and security screening technologies, effectively preventing the entry of illegal and hazardous commodities into its network.

Virgin Atlantic Joins New Global Aviation Climate Taskforce

October 31, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Virgin Atlantic has joined global airline leaders including Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, with Boston Consulting Group, in the formation of the Aviation Climate Taskforce (ACT) – a new non-profit organization founded to accelerate breakthroughs in emerging technologies to decarbonize aviation.

As the aviation sector focuses on decarbonisation, a portfolio of solutions will be required to reach net zero by 2050 and to scale up sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to meet a 10% SAF target by 2030. ACT will stimulate innovation in the next generation of technologies, principally focussed on critical medium-term solutions, such as synthetic fuel and direct air capture. Over time, the portfolio will expand to include more near-term solutions, such as emerging bio-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel pathways, and long-term solutions, such as hydrogen technologies. ACT’s mission will be supported by two pillars: an Innovation Network and a Collaboration Forum to help accelerate innovation and expedite adoption.

Earlier this month, Virgin Atlantic announced ambitious carbon targets as part of a renewed mission to achieve net zero by 2050. The targets include increased fleet efficiency and committing to the use of 10% Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in 2030 and importantly, reinforce the airline’s commitment to embed sustainability through innovation, transparency and accountability to do more for the protection of the planet.

For more on Virgin Atlantic’s business for good activity including sustainability commitments, please visit https://corporate.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/sustainability.html

Alstom to Supply 19 Additional Metros for Line 11 of the Ile-de-France

July 11, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom (OTC: ALSMY) will supply 19 five-car MP14 metros with driver’s cab for line 11 of the Île-de-France Mobilités network operated by RATP, for a total value of 132 million euro. This order, which is 100% funded by Île-de-France Mobilités, falls within the framework of the MP14 contract signed in March 2015 between RATP (mandated by Île-de-France Mobilités) and Alstom for the delivery of a maximum of 217 MP14 trains over 15 years, for a total amount of more than 2 billion euro. This contract is part of the Île-de-France Mobilités strategy for the modernisation of all rolling stock on the Île-de-France Mobilités network.

An initial tranche of the MP14 contract included 35 automated metros for line 14, consisting of eight cars each. A first conditional tranche for 20 additional automated metros, consisting of six cars each, was exercised in January 2017 for line 4. A second option of 20 additional five-car trains (with driver’s cabs) was exercised in February 2018 for line 11.

A state-of-the-art metro, MP14 offers an unprecedented level of comfort and safety thanks to its interior layout and seats with a design based on the theme of the alcove, creating both hospitality and privacy. Vast reception areas offer accessibility to all passengers, with dedicated areas and boomerang-shaped seats to improve the passenger flow and the capacity of the trains. MP14 also has LED lighting efficiently distributed throughout the entire metro to provide a sense of security while eliminating darkly shadowed areas. The supports and steadying points are compliant with safety standards and further increase comfort inside the train. Warm and cool ventilation helps to provide temperature balance, whatever the season. MP14 also provides comprehensive video protection and dynamic passenger information on board.

A special feature of the MP14 metros for line 11 is that the design of the driver’s cab incorporates feedback from previous generations of cabs. Their design features the latest developments in ergonomics and has been validated by RATP drivers and occupational physicians.

MP14 is designed to improve passenger comfort and experience as well as reconcile performance, energy savings and ease of maintenance to keep costs under control throughout its life cycle.

MP14’s 100% electrical braking system recuperates energy and re-injects it into the network as electricity, while limiting the emission of fine particles caused by the mechanical brakes. The system reduces the energy consumption of the metros, as well as air pollution, by up to 20%. MP14 is also 40% quieter than the metros currently in service on line 11, with a 95% recyclability rate.

About 20 automated metros for line 14, consisting of eight cars each, will be delivered by the end of 2021. The first six-car automated metros for line 4 are currently being tested. Production of the first five-car metros for line 11 began in the last quarter of 2020 and the first metro will begin validation tests on RATP tracks this summer.

Eight of Alstom’s sixteen sites in France are involved in this project:

Valenciennes, for the studies, integration, validation, and testing;
Le Creusot, for the bogies;
Ornans, for the engines;
Villeurbanne, for the on-board computerised systems;
Tarbes, for the traction;
Aix-en-Provence, for the safety IT;
Reichshoffen, for the collision studies, and
Saint-Ouen, for the design.

Airbus Fly-By-Wire Visionary Bernard Ziegler Passes Away

May 5, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, France 5 May 2021 – Airbus (OTC: EADSY) is saddened to learn of the passing of Bernard Ziegler, at the age of 88. Ziegler, one of Airbus’ engineering pioneers, was instrumental in the introduction of the world’s first digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) and side stick controls in a commercial passenger aircraft with the A320 in 1988.

Ziegler’s career spanned some four decades. He realised the full potential that digital FBW could bring, including flight envelope protection incorporated into the control software. Ziegler’s legacy lives on with digital FBW on all current generation Airbus aircraft, and its adoption as the standard on all modern passenger aircraft globally.

Born in 1933, in Boulogne sur Seine, Ziegler graduated from the French “Ecole Polytechnique” in 1954 and, later, from several engineering and flight training schools (Ecole Nationale de l’Air, Ecole de Chasse, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique, Ecole du Personnel Navigant Essais). For ten years, he was a fighter pilot in the French Air Force.

During the early 1960s he studied aeronautical engineering at ENSA (l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique) in Toulouse, which is now ISAE-SUPAERO. He then attended prestigious flight test pilot school EPNER, before taking up a career as a military test pilot.

Ziegler joined Airbus as its chief test pilot in 1972 and was given the task of setting up a new flight test division. He put together a team that shared the objectives of both the design office and the partner countries, fostering collaboration between flight test crews and design engineers.

As a test pilot, he flew the first flight of the first A300 in 1972. The programme was later on an early testbed for FBW which transfers the pilot’s commands to the aircraft via digital signals. FBW provides significant benefits through commonality, improved flight safety, reduced pilot workload, fewer mechanical parts, and real-time monitoring of all aircraft systems.

He also flew the A310, A320 and A340-200. In June 1993, Ziegler participated in the longest flight ever undertaken by a civil aircraft, when an A340-200, dubbed the “World Ranger”, flew around the world from Paris with just one stop in Auckland in just over 48 hours.

Up until his retirement in December 1997, Ziegler was Airbus Senior Vice President of Engineering.

DB and SBB to Increase Rail Service Between Germany and Switzerland

October 26, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Demand for international rail services between Germany and Switzerland has increased rapidly in recent years. At the Basel border crossing alone the number of passengers has increased by over 25 per cent in the past five years. Given the increasing importance of climate protection, the increase in travel by rail, an environmentally friendly mode of transport, is a trend which is expected to continue. Despite the current challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis, the two rail companies DB and SBB firmly believe there is tremendous growth potential in rail services between Germany and Switzerland over the medium and long term. As a result, DB and SBB are planning a significant increase in services. Both rail companies today signed a memorandum of understanding on the proposals.

The planned increase in services will be made possible thanks to the opening of Stuttgart 21 and the completion of the Karlsruhe–Offenburg and Müllheim–Basel stages of improvements by 2026. The increase in services involves switching operation of all ICE services between Switzerland and Germany to ICE 4s, this being DB’s most modern train, and the use of SBB Giruno compositions in Germany.

The key features of the service increase planned from the 2026 timetable are:

– The number of direct services between Switzerland and Germany will rise from 26 at present to 35 connections a day.

– Two new direct services a day from Hamburg via Basel to Lugano will improve the services on the north-south axis via the Gotthard route. The use of the Giruno on this line means that further direct connections from Germany to Milan could be added in future.

– The new plan also involves running new direct services from Germany via Bern to Valais.

– The deployment of the ICE 4 on the Dortmund–Cologne–Basel line makes it possible to provide new direct services from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous federal state, to Switzerland.

– The half-hourly frequency in future on the Zurich to Chur route will allow additional direct connections from Germany to Chur to be provided.

– The journey time between Frankfurt and Zurich will be reduced by 20 minutes to 3 hours and 40 minutes.

In conjunction with the joint increase in services, SBB Giruno trains will also now be used on routes between Switzerland and Germany. SBB also plans to procure additional Giruno compositions from manufacturer Stadler Rail using existing options available. Vincent Ducrot, CEO of SBB, believes this increase in services is another major step which underlines SBB’s strong commitment to significantly improving international passenger services: “We want to make rail travel in Europe easier for our customers. Rail offers major advantages in terms of travel time and comfort and has gained further impetus from the climate debate. This is why we are focusing on the further development of international services. It is important to look at sustainable and efficient mobility at European level. Infrastructure projects, such as the Ceneri Base Tunnel and Stuttgart 21, are pioneering in this respect.” Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn, said: “2021 is the European Year of Rail. Projects such as the revival of the Trans Europ Express for cross-border services and the development of our cooperation with SBB demonstrate this. These are wonderful indications that rail travel is growing across the entire continent, and first and foremost, that people and economic activity in Europe are coming closer together.”

Der neue Fernverkehrszug der SBB “FV Dosto”, ein Doppelstockzug, fotografiert wahrend der Typentestfahrt in Interlaken, am Donnerstag, 11. Mai 2017. (KEYSTONE/Anthony Anex)……..

American Airlines Boosts Clean Commitment With Sustained Virus-Killing Coating

August 24, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

– SurfaceWise2 the first-ever long-lasting product approved by the EPA that will help fight the spread of the novel coronavirus

American Airlines is upgrading its Clean Commitment by adding the electrostatic spraying solution SurfaceWise®2 from Allied BioScience to its multitiered cleaning and safety program in the coming months. The SurfaceWise2 solution is the first-ever long-lasting product to help fight the spread of the novel coronavirus that is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“The American Airlines Clean Commitment is our promise that we’re taking bold measures and using the latest products and technology to help ensure our customers’ well-being when they travel with us,” said David Seymour, American’s Chief Operating Officer. “Thanks to rigorous evaluations conducted by the experienced professionals at the EPA, the American Airlines team and Allied BioScience, our multitiered program will become even stronger at safeguarding our customers and team members from virus such as coronavirus and the flu.”

“SurfaceWise2’s long-lasting defense provides a layer of protection against viruses not offered by any other solutions on the market,” said Maha El-Sayed, PhD, Allied BioScience Chief Science Officer. We look forward to also seeing SurfaceWise2 used in offices, schools, gymnasiums and other high-traffic areas to support the nation in safely reopening.”

In the coming months, American will begin using SurfaceWise2 for electrostatic spraying on surfaces inside its aircraft with plans to use the product throughout its entire fleet, including those in its American Eagle regional partners. Other elements of the airline’s multitiered Clean Commitment, include enhanced aircraft cleaning performed before every mainline flight and an even deeper overnight cleaning.

“SurfaceWise2 creates an invisible barrier on surfaces, which physically breaks down and kills virus cells,” said Dr. Charles Gerba, a leading infectious disease expert. “This helps protect passengers and crew members against the transmission of coronavirus via surfaces, particularly on high-touch areas such as seats, armrests, tray tables and overhead bin doors.”

Virgin Atlantic Airline Files for US Bankruptcy Protection

August 6, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK — Virgin Atlantic, the airline founded by British businessman Richard Branson, filed Tuesday for protection in U.S. bankruptcy court as it tries to survive the virus pandemic that is hammering the airline industry.

The airline made the Chapter 15 filing in U.S. federal bankruptcy court in New York after a proceeding in the United Kingdom.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said the bankruptcy filing is part of a court process in the United Kingdom to carry out a restructuring plan that the airline announced last month. The process is supported by a majority of the airline’s creditors, and the company hopes to emerge from the process in September, she said.

Click the link below for the full story!

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/virgin-atlantic-airline-bankruptcy-protection

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