Boeing Awarded Contract for Next Generation V-22 Hydraulic Automated Test System
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a U.S. Navy contract valued at more than $15 million to develop the V-22 Hydraulic Automated Test System (VHATS) to support the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
VHATS will provide advanced dynamic testing for servo-cylinder linear and rotational actuators as well as other aircraft hydraulic components. Hydraulic actuators use fluid pressure to move aircraft control surfaces and other components in flight. VHATS will incorporate sophisticated test development capabilities and a test macro library to simulate the functions of fly-by-wire flight control computers and test actuators. The system also will utilize programmable actuator load simulators to replicate aerodynamic forces on these components.
In addition, the system will automatically detect small internal and external actuator leaks that current test equipment cannot measure. The new test system features open hardware and software architecture to facilitate efficient and inexpensive system upgrades. VHATS can support both commercial and military hydraulic test requirements.
Boeing has contracted with Testek, Inc., of Livonia, Mich., to develop the VHATS test station, with delivery to the Boeing Philadelphia Support Equipment Integration Facility this spring. Boeing Rotorcraft Systems currently is developing VHATS test routines for the first four of 17 hydraulic components the test station will support. Boeing will deliver four VHATS units and associated test routines to Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., to provide depot-level maintenance for V-22 hydraulic components.
A unit of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.8 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer; a foremost developer of advanced concepts and technologies; a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services.
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