NASA built and tested a radically new kind of airplane wing assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces. It could provide a significant boost in aircraft production, flight, and maintenance efficiency. The flexible wing uses carbon fiber composite units arranged in a lattice pattern.

NASA awarded a $5.2 million contract to Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence to develop additive manufacturing processes and techniques for improving the performance of liquid rocket engines.

Boeing has introduced its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. Designed for global defense customers by Boeing Australia, it is the company’s largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The aircraft will complement and extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing military aircraft.

In a series of live-fire tests, systems equipped with MAPS-enabled countermeasures defeated 15 out of 15 anti-tank guided missiles by jamming their signals, causing them to fly off-target.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully integrated the advanced AN/APG-83 SABR system onto multiple configurations of F-16 aircraft and is now taking the next step in expanding to additional platforms, including the U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers as well as the U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornet strike fighter.

The sudden flash of a laser beam can incapacitate a pilot, risking the lives of passengers and crew. But because attacks can happen with different colored lasers – such as red, green, or even blue – scientists have had a difficult time developing a single method to impede all wavelengths of laser light.

Joining forces with various universities, the Air Force Research Lab has demonstrated additively manufactured epoxy/carbon fiber composites used in many structural parts on aircraft and spacecraft. The materials have higher thermal and environmental durability and are extremely strong and lightweight.

While FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card) celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, it continues to provide a variety of benefits to the embedded system developer. These include sustained implementation and deployment in new technologies. Additionally, the release of FMC+ provides improved design capabilities. However, with data rates always on the rise and shrinking form factors, the question arises: Why does FMC continue to be so popular and what has sustained it over the years?

Modern radar systems are complex and depend heavily on advanced signal processing algorithms to improve their detection performance. At the same time, the radio front-end must meet challenging specifications with a combination of available components, implementation technologies, regulatory constraints, requirements from the system, and signal processing. This application example shows how NI's Visual System Simulator™ (VSS) system simulation software enables radar system architects and RF component manufacturers to design, validate, and prototype a radar system.

Advanced thermoplastic composites-and their emergence as prominent materials for future aerospace applications–are sparking a flurry of activity from aerospace manufacturers, designers, component producers and formatters.