Boeing News
Boeing developed the 60-pound PMTD to demonstrate emerging technologies through incremental upgrades and flight demonstration phases. With a wingspan of 12 feet, the vehicle's airframe is designed for extended loiter times, air or surface launch and other potential capabilities.
During the test, the PMTD navigated to 14 programmed locations flawlessly, changed altitudes at four different points and achieved pre-planned speeds.
"The PMTD is intended to serve as a test bed for future small unmanned aerial vehicles and persistent weapon technologies," said Carl Avila, director, Advanced Weapons and Missile Systems for Boeing. "We're looking forward to working with our U.S. Air Force customer to define a PMTD demonstration plan to enable development of future warfighter capabilities."
After taxi and take off, the remote-controlled vehicle immediately switched to autonomous flight mode. After completing its pre-planned flight profile, the PMTD lined up on the runway for pilot takeover and landing.
"The engineering challenge of reducing weight and cost while improving performance is the type of project that really excites us," said EDO Corporation CEO James M. Smith. "We are extremely pleased to bring our experience with lightweight composite materials to the Dominator team."
EDO Corporation funded the PMTD composite airframe development, and Boeing funded all PMTD flight tests.
This first phase of the PMTD program focused on demonstrating autonomous flight capabilities. Future plans include sensor integration and enhanced weapon terminal guidance demonstration, as well as possible in-flight refueling and munitions dispense testing.
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced a new program that will extend the service life of C-130 aircraft up to 30 years.
The C-130 Total Life Extension (TLE) program addresses several aircraft modernization needs, including avionics, wiring, structures and systems. Key benefits include an innovative, patent-pending Center Wing Box solution, a comprehensive avionics modification and compliance with 21st century civil aviation standards.
"The C-130 TLE program offers customers flexibility and affordability at a fraction of the cost of a new aircraft while significantly lowering total ownership cost," said Mike Harris, Boeing vice president and program manager for C-130, during a media briefing at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show. "After providing operational analysis of the entire aircraft, Boeing is able to provide a comprehensive upgrade and modification plan that offers C-130 owners a wide range of options."
The C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) is part of the overall TLE avionics package. The new avionics system features digital displays and the 737 commercial airliner's proven flight management system, both of which provide navigation, safety and communication improvements to meet Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements. The CNS/ATM upgrade will allow the C-130 fleet to be deployed worldwide.
One commonality C-130 owners may face is the Center Wing Box issue. Based on the aircraft's condition (i.e., level of corrosion or fatigue cracks), Boeing's TLE solution allows Center Wing Box upgrades without having to remove the box from its structure. Currently in development and entering the testing phase, Boeing's C-130 Center Wing Box solution will save time and reduce overall total ownership cost. It also can be applied to a refurbished box or a new box, more than doubling the life of the box from a fatigue crack standpoint.
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) today announced an order for six 737-800s, two 777-300ERs and two 787 Dreamliners. The aircraft covered in today's announcement are option exercises by ILFC valued at approximately $1.2 billion at list prices. Deliveries of the 737s and the 777s begin in the first quarter of 2009 and the 787 deliveries begin in early 2012.
ILFC was the first leasing company to be announced as a 787 customer.
"These airplanes reflect our confidence in the market going forward and our commitment to Boeing and its product line," said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, chairman and chief executive officer - ILFC. "We are proud to be the major operating lessor of the 787 Dreamliner and we're pleased with the strong airline leasing demand for the 787."
"We are really proud of our long-term relationship with ILFC," said John Feren, Boeing vice president, Leasing and Asset Management. "As our largest leasing customer, ILFC has great influence on the market and we appreciate its affirmation of our product line."
With today's announcement, ILFC has ordered 706 Boeing jets since 1977 and in that time, has placed Boeing 777s, 737s, 747s, 757s and 767s with airlines around the world. Its fleet encompasses three models of the Next-Generation 737 - the 737-600, -700 and -800 - and three models of the 777 family - the -200ER, -300 and -300ER. ILFC has ordered 420 737s; 78 777s and 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Including ILFC, 25 customers have announced 362 orders for the 787 since its launch in April 2004. The Dreamliner will use 20 percent less fuel than today's comparable airplanes while providing airlines with up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity. Airlines around the world have ordered more that 3,300 737s. The 777 has dominated its competition by a 10-to-one margin since the beginning of 2005.
"The reduction in total ownership costs will be assessed when testing is complete," said Harris. "However, if the C-130 AMP is any indication, then cost savings should be significant."
The C-130 AMP provides upgrades for C-130s at 1/7th the cost ($10 million to $15 million) of a new, basic C-130J aircraft ($65 million to $75 million). The enhanced digital avionics increase situational awareness for the warfighter tenfold over old analog cockpits, dramatically increasing information available to aircrews at a glance, simplifying tasks and decreasing workload. Upgrade commonality brought by the AMP also allows additional flexibility in assigning aircrews regardless of the model design type. In addition, the C-130 AMP meets U.S. Special Forces requirements, while the basic C-130J requires additional mission equipment enhancements.
