Source: Saab Source: Saab Close

Last year RBS 70 NG secured two new customers, Brazil and the Czech Republic. Both Brazil and the Czech Republic are users of the predecessor system, RBS 70. RBS 70 had a big role in Brazil 2016 as it was a part of the protection of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The system was also used recently to protect the airspace during the opening ceremony for Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro.

In the Czech Republic there has been a close cooperation on RBS 70 NG between the armed the Czech Army and the local industry. The outcome was an integrated system, specifically adapted for the Czech’s need.

"The RBS 70 has a great record and we are now seeing that being reflected in Saab's latest VSHORAD solution. We are seeing very significant interest in RBS 70 NG from potential customers with high demands, who wants to invest in a future-proof air defence system," says Gorgen Johansson, head of Saab business area Dynamics.

The RBS 70 NG builds on its predecessor, the world-known RBS 70 with 1,600 systems and 18,000 missiles delivered to 19 nations. The laser guidance that makes the system unjammable is still present, but the RBS 70 NG offers significant improvements such as an automatic target tracker and an integrated sighting system which enables night and day capability.

Source: MHPS Source: MHPS Close

As part of the agreement, MHPS will provide F4 technology and service upgrades that will increase overall reliability and availability at each of the four Falcon Group energy sites, improving the asset’s service life while extending inspection intervals to 32,000 hours. MHPS will provide MHPS-TOMONI digital solutions to maximize the plant’s output in alignment with Falcon Groups energy production efforts, and supplement further opportunities in the open energy market. The installation of the upgrades will commence in 2019 with completion by 2021.

The selection of MHPS service and parts solutions for the W501F - specifically the F4 upgrade - was influenced by the team’s experience with the advanced class gas turbines proven technology from the M501J and G frames, which operate at much higher firing temperatures than the 501F units. Fleet wide, the F4 upgrade has achieved more than one million successful operating hours and 11,000 starts.

Notably, the MHPS F4 upgrade features several of the company’s advanced technologies, such as advanced fan-shaped film cooling, enhanced cooling hole arrangement, advanced and thickened TBC, wall thickness optimization, optimized cooling pattern and usage of MHPS proven high strength alloy.

Overall, MHPS technology expertise allows customers to take advantage of decades of O&M and plant knowledge, to provide solutions such as parts upgrades or MHPS-TOMONI digital solutions in order to drive advanced analytics and adaptive control to achieve customer’s business goals.

Source: Airbus Source: Airbus Close

"As a result of this decision, we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years. This leads to the end of A380 deliveries in 2021," Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said in a statement announcing the decision.

Airbus will start discussions with its social partners in the next few weeks regarding the 3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years. However, the ongoing A320 ramp-up and the new widebody order from Emirates Airline will offer a significant number of internal mobility opportunities.

Airbus previously announced plans to deliver only eight A380 aircraft in 2019. The decision followed years of declining demand and a shrinking backlog for Airbus’ biggest airliner. The A380 has long been a niche product, with its primary markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Fleet sizes tend to be small; only three airlines -- Emirates, Qantas and Singapore Airlines -- have ordered more than 20 aircraft. Most customers have ordered fewer than 10.

The A380 must be flown with high load factors to be cost-efficient versus smaller twin-engine widebodies, so the A380 is suitable for use only on highly trafficked routes.

Airbus believes that airport congestion and increased travel between large, distant city pairs will eventually force airlines to buy super-jumbo airliners to maximize traffic through large airports, whose slots are typically in short supply. So far, the airlines have coped with slot constraints by moving to larger seating capacity in twin-engine aircraft rather than buying very large airliners like the A380 and Boeing 747-8I. Airlines often can avoid big city bottlenecks by operating from secondary airports or flying direct on less highly trafficked routes. The market has not developed the way Airbus expected it to when it launched the A380 program.

In standard configurations, the Airbus A350-1000 seats 366 passengers and Boeing’s revamped 777-9X will be able to seat over 400 passengers. While not entirely removing the need for the A380, the development of these new models has minimized it.

Airbus executives have resisted letting the program die given the prestige they attach to building the world’s biggest passenger jet. However, Airbus management is currently in flux. Airbus CEO Tom Enders is scheduled to depart in a couple of months, and with Emirates canceling so many orders, it makes sense to kill the program before new management takes the helm.

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