Kratos receives a Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) contract from prime partner Dynetics

Prashant-prabhakar

05 Nov 2022

A major provider of National Security Solutions, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, has been given a subcontract to expand American capability for hypersonic flight testing.

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Kratos partner and prime contractor Dynetics received the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) program award from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division's Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) other transaction authority (DoD).

By utilizing commercial infrastructure and launch vehicle suppliers, the Team will expand the nation's capacity for ground and flight testing of hypersonic technologies and payloads under the terms of the MACH-TB contract by creating an affordable and flexible hypersonic testbed platform.

Representative | Teknonel

The MACH-TB Experimentation project will produce a prototype and proof-of-concept demonstration of a modular Experimental Glide Body (EGB) testing hypersonic technologies/experimental payloads in operational trajectories utilizing existing available boosters. A wide range of U.S. military hypersonics projects, DoD research programs, commercial partners, and academic stakeholders will be able to use the national hypersonic testing capabilities that the MACH-TB program will provide to the DoD.

With the recent acquisition of the Kratos Southern Research Engineering (SRE) business unit as well as decades of demonstrated experience with hypersonic flight testing and launch vehicles within the Kratos Defense & Rocket Support Services (DRSS) Division, MACH-TB will make use of many of Kratos' strengths, products, systems, and solutions.

Kratos’ DRSS Division

Yahoo Finance

A market leader in the development of rockets, ballistic missile defense, suborbital research, hypersonic, and other systems it also has substantial experience with hypersonic flight tests and commercial launch vehicles. By offering flexible, dependable, and reasonably priced launch and fly systems, vehicles, and services at the operational pace and cadence required to meet the DoD's evolving needs, Kratos will support MACH-TB.

At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we are leading from the front in developing launch vehicle and flight-test technologies for the hypersonics community. A recent example of Kratos internally funded, rapid development leadership is our Zeus family of solid-propellant rocket motors, which will provide an affordable and reliable launch capability to support the MACH-TB program and the DoD in meeting their hypersonic test objectivessaid Dave Carter, President of the KDRSS Division

Kratos specializes in areas where technology advances can have a force multiplier effect.

We are happy to be a part of this incredibly capable and diverse Team tasked with boosting our nation’s capability to conduct responsive and affordable hypersonic testing to more rapidly develop technologies that can be inserted into current and future DoD hypersonic programssaid Michael Johns, Senior Vice President of Kratos SRE

Kratos creates and provides platforms and systems that ensure Warfighters are prepared for the future as threats and technologies develop. These include tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAVs) that perform at levels far beyond those of conventional aerospace companies while costing less, as well as training systems that incorporate mixed reality to reduce training costs and improve Warfighter readiness.

SOURCE : asdnews | kratosdefense

COVER: asdnews

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IndiaOne Air launches commercial operations in Odisha

Sakshi Jain

05 Nov 2022

IndiaOne, the regional airline started operating commercially on October 31, 2022, as part of the winter schedule 2022. Daily service Bhubaneswar-Jeypore-Visakhapatnam-Jeypore-Bhubaneswar will be provided.

IndiaOne Air, a regional airline that specialises in connecting tier 2 and tier 3 cities, has soft-launched a UDAN (Ude Deshka Aam Nagrik) route from Bhubaneswar to Jeypore. IndiaOne Air is the country's first regularly scheduled airline to fly a single-engine aircraft.

On October 31, 2022, IndiaOne Air flew for the first time between Jeypore and Bhubaneswar (Biju Patnaik International Airport). To commemorate the first scheduled flight into the city, the airline also provided an introductory cost of Rs 999 (for a short time only). IndiaOne Air allowed reservations up until November 9th, 2022, and all available seats were sold out in a short period. 

https://twitter.com/IndiaoneA/status/1587004168623226881

The daily scheduled flights will cut the distance between Jeypore town and the state capital of Odisha to 1.5 hours. 

Beginning flight operations from Jeypore will increase connectivity, trade, and tourism while also achieving regional residents' objectives. Jeypore Airport received a licence in October, making it the first state-owned airport to do so.

"It was a long-standing demand of the people of this region and we are extremely happy about the announcement. At present, it takes nearly 12 hours to reach Bhubaneswar by road but with the introduction of flight services, the travel time will be reduced to just 1 hour and 45 minutes." Tara Prasad Bahinipati, MLA, Jeypore

Under the UDAN programme, the Odisha State Government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Government of India, and the Airports Authority of India worked together to grant the airport a licence for regularly scheduled commercial flight operations.

Currently, a nine-seater flight will operate and efforts will be made to replace it with a 19-seater plane soon. Regional airline IndiaOne Air is headquartered in Ahmedabad, India. A brand-new aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan will be flown, which is a single-engine aircraft, making it India's first scheduled carrier to do so.

The airline received the AOC on June 24, 2022, after the proving flight was completed on June 22, 2022. IndiaOne Air will offer safe, effective, affordable, and punctual services to connect tier 2 and tier 3 cities with major cities.

A brand-new aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan will be flown by IndiaOne Air

To connect underserved and unserved cities that would otherwise be challenging and time-consuming to reach by road and train, they work to offer both interstate and intrastate scheduled flights beginning in Eastern India.

To promote regional air connectivity and lower the cost of air travel for the general public, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Called UDAN on October 21, 2016.

The Implementing Agency, Airports Authority of India (AAI), has so far identified 154 RCS airports under UDAN for the use of RCS flights, including 14 water aerodromes and 36 helipads.

It has allocated 948 routes, of which 405 have been operationalized under UDAN as of March 9, 2022. These routes involve 65 airports, 8 heliports, and 2 water aerodromes.

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GE Aerospace & TASL extends contract for commercial aircraft engine components

Radhika Bansal

05 Nov 2022

GE Aerospace and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd have extended their long-term contract worth USD 1 billion for the production and supply of several commercial aircraft engine components. The engine parts will be manufactured at the Tata Centre of Excellence for Aero Engines (Tata-TCoE).

In a joint release on Friday, November 4, GE Aerospace and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) said they have extended the manufacturing agreement under which TASL will continue to produce and supply several commercial aircraft engine components to GE's global engine manufacturing factories.

"The multi-year long-term contract is valued over USD 1 billion and showcases the growing relationship between GE and TASL in the aerospace industry," the release said.

https://twitter.com/GEIndia/status/1588487468789428225

The contract was first signed in late 2017. Tata-TCoE was established in 2018 to manufacture CFM International LEAP engine components in India for wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. CFM International is an equal joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. A significant number of commercial aircraft in the country are powered by CFM engines.

"The LEAP engine continues to deliver improved fuel efficiency and asset utilisation for today's newest commercial narrow-body aircraft, logging more than 23 million engine flight hours since entering service in 2016," the release said.

GE Aerospace & TASL extends contract for commercial aircraft engine components

Mike Kauffman, VP & GM of Purchasing at GE Aerospace, said its relationship with TASL has matured over the last five years. "The Tata Centre of Excellence for Aero Engines has grown in scale and importance for us over time and is an excellent showcase of Make in India, for the world." Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TASL, said it continues to invest in growing the aerospace skill base, technology, and production capability in the country.

"The Tata Center of Excellence for Aero Engines has been set up as the state-of-the-art modern shop for complex aero-engine manufacturing for global customers. As a leading commercial engine manufacturer, GE has helped us develop critical aero-engine manufacturing processes here in India with support from GE's engineering team."Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, TASL

ALSO READ - GE Aerospace expands its supply chain for Indian aero-engines

GE runs 14 own or joint venture manufacturing units in the country, including the multi-modal factory at Pune that builds aviation parts. GE’s aviation supply chain partners in India include Tata Advanced Systems, Mahindra Aerostructures, Godrej & Boyce and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited among others.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, focused on providing integrated solutions for Aerospace, Defence and Homeland Security.

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IndiGo reports a loss of INR 1,583.33 crore in Q2 of the fiscal year 2022-23

Radhika Bansal

05 Nov 2022

Interglobe Aviation, the parent firm of low-cost carrier IndiGo, on November 4 reported a net loss of INR 1,583.33 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23.

The net loss in Q2 FY23 has increased as against Q2 FY22 when it stood at INR 1,435.65 crore and has significantly widened as compared to the first quarter of the current fiscal when it came in at INR 1,064.26 crore.

IndiGo's revenue from operations in the September 2022 quarter climbed to INR 12,497.58 crore, which is 122% higher as compared to INR 5,608.49 crore clocked in the year-ago period.

IndiGo reports a loss of INR 1,583.33 crore in Q2 of the fiscal year 2022-23

The company recorded an EBITDAR of INR 229.2 crore, with a margin of 1.8%, as against an EBITDAR of INR 340.8 crore (6.1% margin) in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports net loss of INR 1,064 crore in Q1

IndiGo, in a press release, noted that the airline's capacity has increased by 75%. The passenger numbers jumped by 75.9% on-year to 19.7 million, it added. "Yield improved by 21% to INR 5.07 and load factor improved by 8 points to 79.2%," the company said.

“This is the second consecutive quarter wherein we have operated at higher than pre-covid capacity. In spite of a seasonally weak quarter, we witnessed relatively good yields with strong demand across the network. However, fuel prices and exchange rates have adversely impacted our financial performance.We are on a steady path to recovery, benefiting from enormous opportunity both in domestic and international markets. With an industry challenged by global supply chain disruptions, we are working on various counter measures to accommodate this strong demand. We have an unparalleled network presence enabling air travel to 74 domestic and 26 International destinations, we will continue to accelerate and build on this."Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo 

ALSO READ - IndiGo to debut with widebody aircraft for international expansion

He also said the airline's international operations have sequentially "risen by 20%". "Pricing discipline in the domestic market in India helped revenues in Q2 which is a seasonally weak quarter," Elbers added.

The carrier's chief financial officer Gaurav Negi said they expect a 25% on-year rise in passenger load in Q3 FY23. Depreciation of the rupee and high ATF prices are, however, a "major headwind for IndiGo's growth going forward", Elbers noted.

During the quarter, the airline said fuel prices increased by 86.7% leading to an increase in fuel CASK (cost net of finance income per available seat kilometre) by 79.8%.

IndiGo's revenue from operations in the September 2022 quarter climbed to INR 12,497.58 crore, which is 122% higher as compared to INR 5,608.49 crore clocked in the year-ago period.

IndiGo's passenger ticket revenues were INR 11,110.4 crore, an increase of 135.6% and ancillary revenues were INR 1,287.2 crore, an increase of 57.4% compared to the same period last year.

The airline's fuel cost went up threefold to INR 6,257.9 crore during the quarter on a YoY basis. The airline's fuel cost went up threefold to INR 6,257.9 crore during the quarter on a YoY basis.

IndiGo's fleet strength at the end of the September quarter stood at 279, a net decrease of 3 passenger aircraft. In the third quarter, the airline expects capacity in terms of ASKs (available seats per kilometre) to increase by around 25% as compared to the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022.

ALSO READ - IndiGo reports loss of INR 1,682 crore due to a surge in aircraft fuel expenses in Q4

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Mopa International airport to be inaugurated by the PM after December 8

Sakshi Jain

05 Nov 2022

Chief Minister of Goa announced on Friday, November 4 that the international airport in Mopa in Goa will be inaugurated after December 8 depending on the schedule of PM Modi.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated on Friday that the air traffic control tower and passenger terminal building at the Mopa international airport is currently around 95% finished. He took stock of the airport's development in the evening and declared, “The remaining 5% of the ongoing work is mostly of landscaping and beautification.” So, the remaining work would be finished most probably in the next 15 days.

??Sawant stated that the lounges for arrival and departure as well as the facilities for baggage claim are essentially ready for air passengers. The construction of the airport is proceeding as planned and the public opening of the airport is almost complete. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's availability will determine when the ceremony will take place.

PM Modi will inaugrate Mopa airport after December 8

The Chief Minister responded to concerns about the delay in road construction by stating that road connectivity from the national highway to the airport would be finished by October 2023. 

“The government has undertaken road widening for which the deadline is November 23. The airport will also get road connectivity to Kudal in Maharashtra.-Sawant said

In November 2016, the Goa government and GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), a division of GMR Infrastructure, inked a concession agreement for the development and management of Mopa's new international airport.

According to GMR Goa Chief Executive Officer R. Seeshan, who will be in charge of managing the facility, only domestic flights will be taking off following the airport's December opening. International flights will begin to operate in January 2023.

“Almost all domestic airlines are interested in operating from the Mopa airport with requests for 100 parking slots made so far by the airlines.” -Sheshan disclosed

He also said that five international airlines have so far requested parking spaces. Major retailers will occupy space in the passenger terminal to provide a full shopping experience.

With plans to raise capacity after 80% of the goal is accomplished, it will initially have a 4.5 million passenger capacity. In Phase 1, the airport's integrated cargo terminal will be able to handle 25,000 tonnes of cargo.

https://twitter.com/dip_goa/status/1588578392852828160

“The airport can handle 4.4 million footfalls annually. This will be increased depending on demand. We have also installed a 25,000-ton Temperature Control Facility at the airport to handle pharma, fruits, floriculture, horticulture items etc,” he added.

ALSO READ - Dabolim Airport will remain operational

On Wednesday, November 2, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh announced that the current Dabolim airport of Goa and the planned Mopa airport will operate simultaneously. 

Dabolim airport and Mopa airport in Goa will work simultaneously

These airports' traffic management would be carried out to prevent any losses for either of them. Only 70 planes currently land each day at the airport in Vasco City, a civic enclave in the southern part of Goa, which is located near Dabolim.

After the commissioning, of the Mopa airport, the number of flights landing in Goa will go up to 150, Chief Minister Sawant said in July this year.

ALSO READ - First test flight conducted at Goa’s new Mopa International Airport

The GMR company will run the airport in Mopa while the Indian Navy manages the airport in Dabolim. On October 26, the Mopa Airport received an aerodrome licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), opening the door for the launch of commercial aviation operations there.

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Boeing plans to increase new aircraft production & deliveries, supporting higher cash in 2023

Sakshi Jain

04 Nov 2022

According to a statement released by Boeing on Wednesday, November 2, it plans to increase new aircraft production and deliveries, supporting its estimate for higher cash in 2023.

Boeing estimated that it will create between $3 billion and $5 billion in free cash flow in the coming year, which is higher than the $1.5 billion to $2 billion it anticipated to generate this year but less than the $6.53 billion experts surveyed by FactSet expected.

Deliveries are crucial for aircraft manufacturers because deliveries are when airlines or other customers pay the majority of the transaction. Boeing and Airbus stated last week that issues with the supply chain and a manpower shortage have hampered the production and deliveries of new aircraft. Airlines have complained that a lack of aeroplanes is making it difficult for them to add new flights.

ALSO READ - Airlines need new jets but facing an aircraft shortage

Boeing anticipates producing 10 787 per month

According to Chief Financial Officer Brian West, Boeing anticipated increased free cash flow as it anticipates ramping up deliveries of the 737 MAX and 787 aircraft.

West said that the American aerospace company plans to deliver 400–450 MAX aircraft next year, up from the 375 single-aisle aircraft it anticipates delivering this year. Similarly, it anticipates delivering 70–80 787 aircraft in 2023.

The pandemic and the grounding of the 737 Max, the company's best-selling aircraft, following tragic crashes, are problems that Boeing is attempting to overcome at the same time. To assist pay off its debt, it wants to strengthen its free cash flow.

ALSO READ - Boeing B737 MAX fleet suspension is one of the single most extensive aviation insurance claims in history

Boeing anticipates producing 50 737 MAX per month

It anticipates producing 50 MAX aircraft and 10 787 aircraft per month, which will allow it to deliver 800 commercial aeroplanes at the very least by 2025. Currently, 31 MAX aircraft are produced per month; however, the production pace for the 787 is intended to progressively rise to five per month.

Due to manufacturing delays, reductions in the expectation for aircraft delivery, and rising losses at its military division, investors have become dubious of Boeing's ambitions. Some analysts questioned the company's production and delivery plans citing supply-chain problems.

However, Chief Executive David Calhoun asserted that the company has considered all of the potential difficulties.

“We believe the plan that we have out here, the guidance that we've provided is doable. If we didn't, we wouldn't put it up.”- Chief Executive David Calhoun stated.

Despite Boeing's "poor" record for missing its goals, Colin Scarola, an analyst at CFRA, said the outlook announced on Wednesday is "pretty conservative" and "achievable."Operationally, I am feeling much better about Boeing than I did last week," Scarola said.

Customers of Boeing have found it more difficult to ramp up capacity to take advantage of the increasing travel demand due to regulatory and production delays. According to current regulations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has until the end of December to certify the company's MAX 7 and MAX 10 aircraft.

“The playbook for us is very straightforward - deliver aeroplanes, generate cash, pay down debt”-Chief Financial Officer Brian West said

The MAX 7 is anticipated to receive certification later this year or in early 2023, while the MAX 10 is anticipated to receive certification in late 2023 or early 2024.

Boeing shares added 2.8% Wednesday after it released its forecast for the coming years at an event for analysts and investors at its Seattle-area facilities — the first of its kind since 2016, a spokeswoman said.

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