Category: press releases

Moog Announces Exclusive Licensing Agreement with QinetiQ for Airport Runway Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Detection Systems

It appears as though the Tarsier FOD detection system is alive and well (or at least has just received a shot in the arm)

East Aurora, NY, USA – Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) and QinetiQ Ltd. have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for QinetiQ’s Tarsier® airport runway foreign object debris (FOD) detection system. The exclusive agreement will provide Moog’s established customer base access to the latest FOD detection technologies for airport runways and will provide QinetiQ immediate access to Moog’s global sales channel with strong civil and military customer relationships throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

See the full press release here.

Stratech’s iFerret wins tender for installation at Hong Kong International Airport

Details of the sale can be found below in the press release. I would take some of it with a pinch of salt, the marketing department has clearly had quite a bit of influence over the press release.

“iFerret is indeed the future of airfield safety and security!”

I’m not sure one sale makes any product “the future” of any product category.

Singapore Exchange Mainboard listed Stratech Systems Limited (“Stratech”) is pleased to announce that its iFerret™ intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and Foreign Object & Debris (FOD) Detection System has won in a tender for an Automated FOD Detection System at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

This was achieved in cooperation with Dah Chong Hong – Dragonair Airport GSE Service Ltd. (DAS), who was awarded two contracts with a total value of around HK$280 million (approximately US$36.88 million) by the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) for (1) the Design, Supply and Installation of an Automated FOD Detection System (Electro-optical System); and (2) the Maintenance of the Automated FOD Detection System (Electro-optical System) for a period of 60 months, plus an option for a further 24 months. DAS is a joint venture between Dah Chong Hong (Motor Service Centre) Ltd. and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd.

Stratech Executive Chairman, Dr. David K.M. Chew, commented, “We are honoured that our state-of-the-art iFerret™ has been selected to be installed at Hong Kong International Airport, one of the prominent international airport hubs and home to one of the finest airlines in the world. In this tender, we have again clearly won over the other systems. iFerret™ is indeed the future of airfield safety and security!”

Source (Stratechsystems.com)

Rheinmetall’s DEB-RA foreign object detection system gets go-ahead from US Federal Aviation Authority

Rheinmetall’s DEB-RA foreign object detection system is now eligible for procurement under the US Federal Aviation Authority’s Airport Improvement Programme.

Rheinmetall’s state-of-the-art DEB-RA employs millimetre wave radar in combination with high-resolution electro-optical sensors in order to detect dangerous foreign objects on the runway in real time. This reduces the risk posed by these objects – and with a very low error rate.

See the full press release here.

Rheinmetall’s DEB-RA

 

Xsight Systems launches SnowWize

Xsight have today announced a new runway monitoring system, specifically designed at snow monitoring, here’s a snippet from the press release:

SnowWize, based on Xsight Systems’ FODetect (an automated foreign object detection solution),  offers a solution that will greatly improve safety during winter operations, replacing the existing manual methods of measuring snow with a measuring stick and  a snow board.

Source (Xsight Press Release)

 

 

South Korea develops bird strike defense robot

Gizmag has an interesting article on a bird strike defence robot. Check out the full article here.

 

Stratech signs MoU with Modern Times Technical Systems

Singapore Exchange Mainboard-listed Stratech Systems Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Modern Times Technical Systems (MTTS) to market, sell, implement and support Stratech’s iFerret™ intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and Foreign Object & Debris (FOD) Detection System to the international airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

See the full press release here.

Bayanat and Stratech team up on UAE runway safety

UAE-based Bayanat Airports Engineering and Supplies (BAES) has entered into a partnership with Stratech Systems Limited to supply its iFerret intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and Foreign Object & Debris (FOD) Detection System in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). BAES will market, sell and deploy iFerret in the UAE market.

If the above announcement seems a little familiar, it’s because Bayanat struck the same deal with QinetiQ (the company behind the Tarsier system) back in May 2009. Bayanat no longer list QinetiQ  as a partner on their website.

You can view the full press release here.

FAA launches initial FOD implementation programme

From a post at Janes Defense

Multi-year evaluation project identifies four automatic systems that meet US contract specifications.

In June 2012, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched the limited implementation phase of its airport runway automatic Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection programme. This action followed a multi-year test and evaluation project to assess the capabilities of detection systems on the market against FAA requirements criteria. Four systems from the following companies met these specifications: QinetiQ, UK; Stratech, Singapore; Trex Systems, US; and Xsight Systems of Israel, with all four meeting ‘Buy America’ contract conditions in the US.

The limited implementation phase will see the installation of a single FOD system at one runway of three large hub primary airports in the US, with 50 per cent of the cost supported by the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP). It was expected that more than three airports would apply to be included in the project, so applications were to be assessed against several criteria, including the number and type of aircraft movements in a 24-hour period, plus the overall diversity of aircraft using the selected runway and the percentage of widebody aircraft using it per day.

Other criteria included the climatic conditions at candidate airports, the anticipated time to achieve system operational readiness and, if available, historic FOD data of the airport and the specific runway proposed.

A fixed budget was not announced for the project, but a total amount on the order of USD20 million is generally anticipated. Airports wishing to participate in the project were required to submit their applications by 20 July 2012. At the time of writing, it seemed likely that the airport/runway proposals selected would be announced by late August or early September, with non-mobile runway equipment installations expected to take around 12 months or less to achieve operational readiness approval. Mobile systems would, of course, take less time.

Source (Janes Defense)

Last, but not least, the FAA report on FODetect

The FAA have published their report on the FODetect system:

Performance Assessment of a Hybrid Radar and Electro-Optical Foreign Object Debris Detection System(download)

Here’s an extract from the Xsight press release.

Xsight Systems, the provider of advanced runway sensing solutions chosen by leading airports worldwide, is proud to announce that the FAA has published its final performance assessment report on the FODetect solution. The final report follows the interim performance assessment which has been previously shared with key stakeholders.

This is the final report on The Big 4 systems, so here they all are for your convenience:

  • FODetect from Xsight (PDF-June 2012)
  • iFerret from Stratech Systems (PDF-March 2012)
  • FOD Finder from Trex Enterprises (PDF-September 2011)
  • Tarsier from QinetiQ (PDF-February 2011)

 

Stratech Partners Punj Lloyd in India

Stratech has partnered with Punj Lloyd in India, see the press release below:

Singapore Exchange Mainboard-listed Stratech Systems Limited has entered into a partnership with Punj Lloyd Limited for its iFerret™ intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and FOD (Foreign Object & Debris) Detection System in India.

Punj Lloyd, with over 20 years of experience, is a conglomerate boasting multi-billion dollar operations. It has over 31,000 employees in 21 countries, with operations spanning across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Caspian, Asia Pacific, South Asia, Europe, and China. One of the Group’s companies, Sembawang Engineers & Constructors Pte. Ltd., is based in Singapore. Punj Lloyd  will market, sell and deploy iFerret™ in the Indian market.

FOD refers to articles or wildlife found on runways, taxiways or aprons that could potentially damage aircraft or cause injuries. An example is the fatal Air France Concorde jet crash in 2000, involving FOD, when 113 lives were lost. FOD also reportedly incurs an estimated US$4 billion in repair and maintenance costs annually, and up to US$13 billion per year including associated costs such as flight delays and cancellations, lost productivity and revenues, potential liabilities, and damaged reputation.

Approved by the US FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), iFerret™ is the world’s first intelligent Vision-based FOD detection system, providing real-time, automated FOD detection, location, classification and recording. It can be deployed in civil airports as well as military airbases, helping to prevent potential aircraft damage and fatalities caused by FOD. The airports it has been deployed include Changi International Airport in Singapore, Chicago O’Hare International Airport in the US and Düsseldorf International Airport in Germany.

On the collaboration, Stratech Executive Chairman, Dr David K.M. Chew, said, “Stratech is excited to work with such an established partner that befits this vast Indian market. The opportunities for civil and military aviation in this country are tremendous. With Punj Lloyd’s experience, network of contacts and reputation, we are confident of this partnership, and may even have the opportunity to extend the partnership to other parts of the world too.”

Speaking on this partnership, Raj Kumar Sharma, President – Defence said, “Indian airports have witnessed a spate of modernisation activities, bringing them at par with global infrastructure. With the deployment of iFerret™, Indian airports will further raise the bar for on ground safety, resulting in enhanced safety of their people and passengers, aircraft, increased operational efficiencies and cost savings for the Indian aerospace industry.”

Source (StratechSystems)

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