Check out the Jan. 10 edition of What’s Trending in Aerospace, where editors and contributors for Avionics International bring you some of the latest headlines happening across the global aerospace industry.

Commercial

Amazon Purchases 11 Boeing 767-300 Aircraft

Amazon is expanding its fleet of cargo aircraft with the purchase of 11 Boeing 737-300 aircraft that will be operational in 2022, the company announced in a Jan. 5 press release. Amazon purchased seven of the aircraft from Delta and four from WestJet.

“Our goal is to continue delivering for customers across the U.S. in the way that they expect from Amazon, and purchasing our own aircraft is a natural next step toward that goal,” Sarah Rhoads, Vice President of Amazon Global Air, said in a press statement. “Having a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which in turn helps us to keep pace in meeting our customer promises.”

The purchase was a result of the high demand for faster shipping, Amazon said in the release. The four aircraft purchased from WestJet will join Amazon’s network in 2021 and the seven aircraft from Delta will follow in 2022. Before the aircraft can join Amazon’s network, they must be converted from passenger to cargo aircraft.

Airbus Releases 2020 Delivery Stats

JetBlue has ordered 70 A220 aircraft to be delivered to New York before the end of 2020. (Airbus)

Airbus delivered 566 commercial aircraft to customers in 2020 which was 34 percent fewer than 2019, according to a Jan. 8 press release. In April 2020 Airbus adopted an e-delivery system which comprised 25 percent of 2020 deliveries and helped minimize travel.

“Working hand-in-hand with our customers allowed us to navigate a difficult year,” Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer, said in a press statement. “The Airbus teams, customers and suppliers truly pulled together in the face of adversity to deliver this result. We also thank our partners and governments for their strong support to the sector. Based on our 2020 deliveries we are cautiously optimistic as we look into 2021, although challenges and uncertainties remain high in the short term.”

Airbus also recorded 383 new orders in all market segments and 115 cancellations bringing their order backlog to 7,184 aircraft.

Lufthansa Raised 500 Million Euros Using Eight Aircraft in Re-financing Efforts

Lufthansa used five of its A350s, pictured here, and three A320 model aircraft to raise more than 500 million euros during the second half of 2020, the airline reported on Jan. 7, 2021.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG has raised a total of around €500 million by using aircraft as security in several financing transactions completed during the second half of 2020, the German carrier said in a Jan. 7 press release.

The airline used three of its Airbus A320s and five A350s as securities for “various financing instruments,” including lease back financing, secured loans and promissory notes, according to the release. Several Asian and European banks and investors participated in the financing, increasing Lufthansa’s total financing raised in all of 2020 to more than €2 billion.

“We have taken another successful step in refinancing existing liabilities which are maturing in 2021, Wilken Bormann, executive VP of corporate finance for Lufthansa Group, said in the release. “The transactions once again demonstrate the confidence the market has in our company and our restructuring measures. We have a wide range of financing instruments at our disposal and aircraft financing will continue to play a key role in our financing strategy as it offers financially attractive conditions.”

Air Traffic Management 

Eurocontrol’s new “Think Paper” provides a look back at a year like none other, using their own unique network data
to show the impacts on European aviation, and looks ahead to 2021. (Schiphol Airport)

Eurocontrol ‘Think Paper’ Provides Outlook for European Air Traffic in 2021

On Jan. 1, Eurocontrol published its first “Think Paper” of the new year, analyzing how COVID-19 impacted flights in Europe last year and how the region’s airlines can expect a continued slow recovery of passenger demand to pre COVID-19 air traffic levels in 2021.

Developed based on data taken from Eurocontrol’s network traffic aviation databases, the Think Paper further predicts the recovery in passenger demand for European airlines to start ramping back up by the summer.

“The COVID crisis has dramatically affected in social and economic terms all actors in the European aviation value
chain. Pan-European ANSP losses are estimated at €4.9 billion – of which they can expect to recover €4.5 billion
from airspace users over the next decade, resulting in an overall net loss of €0.4 billion,” the agency said in the new paper.

Some of the statistics reported by Eurocontrol tell the story of how the pandemic impacted European airlines in 2020:

• €56.2 billion in combined losses for airlines, airports and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs)
• 1.7 billion fewer passengers
• 6.1 million fewer flights than 2019
• 51 percent of all aircraft grounded at year-end

European traffic for 2021 is expected to recover to 51 percent of 2019 levels, with faster recovery expected from the summer onwards.

Check out Eurocontrol’s full Think Paper here.

1980s Level Air Traffic in 2020

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung recorded 56.2 percent fewer flights in 2020 bringing them back to pre-reunification levels, according to a Jan. 7 press release. In 1989 the Federal Republic of Germany record 1.47 million flights in their airspace. In 2020 there were only 1.46 million flights compared to 3.33 million in the previous year.

“Passenger traffic has been particularly hard hit in 2020 due to the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases now being recorded in many countries and the travel restrictions once again being imposed as a result of this,” Dirk Mahns, Chief Operations Officer (COO) at DFS, said in a press statement.

However, air freight only saw modest reductions in 2020.

“Airports that handle a high proportion of freight have therefore observed significantly fewer drops in traffic,” Mahns said.

Unmanned

FAA Drone Advisory Committee Expands

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made 12 new appointments to its Drone Advisory Committee (DAC), the FAA announced in a Jan. 5 press release. The DAC is a 35 member committee that represents unmanned aircraft system (UAS) interests across industry, research, academia, retail, technology, and state and local government.

“As the UAS industry continues to evolve, it is important to have DAC members who mirror the many facets of this fast-growing industry. We know the members will help the FAA ensure the highest level of safety while keeping pace with the new and innovative technology for UAS,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a press statement.

The new DAC members will serve two-year terms advising the FAA on strategies for integrating UAS into the national airspace, according to the release.

The new members are:

• Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation
• Dr. Paul Hsu, Founder and Chair, HSU Foundation
• Matt Parker, President, Precision Integrated Programs
• Molly Wilkinson, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, American Airlines
• Brad Hayden, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Robotic Skies
• David Carbon, Vice President and General Manager, Amazon Prime Air
• Adam Bry, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Skydio
• Kenji Sugahara, President and Chief Executive Officer, Drone Service Providers Alliance
• Brandon Torres Declet, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, MEASURE
• Dr. Jaiwon Shin, Executive Vice President, Head of UAM Division and Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Air Mobility
• Dr. Catherine Cahill, Director, Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration
• Vic Moss, Owner, Moss Photography

Military

Skyborg Vanguard Program to Include General Atomics

A Skyborg conceptual design for a low cost attritable Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) will modify two Avenger Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for use in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Skyborg Vanguard Program, according to a Jan. 6 press release.

“GA-ASI is excited to continue working with the Air Force to advance the Skyborg concept,” GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said in a press statement. “Our ongoing investments in advancing unmanned systems over the past 30 years provide a critical advantage for fast-tracking development time and reducing overall program risk.”

Skyborg will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to become the foundation of Air Force unmanned combat aerial vehicles, according to the release. The RPA will be upgraded with datalinks, payloads, and the core Skyborg System Design Agent (SDA).

“The Avenger platform is a jet-powered, advanced RPA that is well understood and has undergone more than a decade of research and design,” Alexander said. “We have already shown its suitability as a next-generation host for advanced AI software. This next phase of integration will combine the Skyborg software with GA-ASI hardware, in order to prove that a dynamic mix of manned and unmanned aircraft can communicate, collaborate, and fight together.”

$1.28 Billion Contract to Lockheed for 2021 F-35 Sustainment

Eilson AFB, Alaska received its first two F-35A Lightning IIs on Apr. 21 (United States Air Force Photo)

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.28 billion Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) from the F-35 Joint Program Office for sustainment through June 30, 2021, according to a Jan. 6 press release. The contract will fund sustainment experts supporting worldwide operations, individual bases, depot maintenance, pilot and maintainer training, and sustainment engineering worldwide.

“This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and accomplish the warfighter’s mission,” Bill Brotherton, Lockheed Martin F-35 program acting vice president and general manager, said in a press statement. “We continue to see improvements in readiness and cost, and as the fleet grows, so does the opportunity for the joint government and industry team to collaborate, realizing even more long-term benefits.”

France Signs LOA To Buy Three E-2Ds

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. (Northrop Grumman)

France signed Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) to buy three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) aircraft for the U.S. Navy worth up to $2 billion on Dec. 2, the U.S. Navy said in a Jan. 5 press release.

The LOA comes after the State Department previously approved the Foreign Military Sale to France Jul. 6, 2020.
At the time, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said France would use the aircraft as a sustainable follow-on capability to its legacy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft while expanding French naval aviation capabilities and maintaining interoperability with U.S. forces.

“The E-2/C-2 program office is looking forward to continuing a longstanding partnership with France and beginning a new chapter with the E-2D,” Capt. Pete Arrobio, program manager of the E-2/C-2 Airborne Command & Control Systems Program Office (PMA-231), said in a press statement.

The three aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by 2028, replacing the current three E-2C Hawkeyes in-service with the French navy, Marine Nationale.

Embedded Systems

Embedded Tech Trends 2021 Goes Virtual

Embedded Tech Trends, the industry-wide forum where suppliers of component, board and system level solutions can meet exclusively with members of relevant industry media to discuss technologies, trends, and products, is back in a new format this year. 

Hosted by VITA, the annual event has become one of the leading gatherings to unveil new and exciting advancements for the embedded systems segment of the global aviation electronics industry.

This year, VITA is making Embedded Tech Trends all-virtual, on Jan. 25. 

A preliminary agenda is planned to be published on VITA’s website, and attendees can register for the event here.

The post What’s Trending in Aerospace – January 10, 2021 appeared first on Avionics International.

Four British Royal Air Force F-35B flying in tandem. (Lockheed Martin)

The U.S. military’s most sophisticated fighter aircraft fleet was temporarily suspended from operations beginning Thursday as the Defense Department worked to determine which of their platforms had a suspect part that could have caused the aircraft’s first-ever crash in September.

The Pentagon’s F-35 joint program office announced Oct. 11 that flight operations would halt for all U.S. and international F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to conduct a fleet-wide inspection of an engine fuel tube.The grounding follows a Sept. 28 accident in which an F-35B crashed near Beaufort, South Carolina. The B variant is the Marine Corps vertical takeoff and landing version of the aircraft.

Inspections are expected to be completed within the next two days, according to a statement issued Thursday morning. If “suspect” fuel tubes are installed, the part will be removed and replaced. If the tubes are deemed acceptable, those aircraft will return to flight status.

An investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances of the F-35B accident in South Carolina, but the new inspection was driven from initial data, the joint program office said, adding, “The aircraft mishap board is continuing its work and the U.S. Marine Corps will provide additional information when it becomes available.”

Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies that builds the F-35’s F135 engine, is actively working with the JPO to address the issue, said Glen Roberts, spokesman for the company’s military engine sector.

Read the full article on Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics.

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Video Synthetic Aperture Radar concept of operations. Image courtesy of DARPA

Soldiers slogging it out on the ground will get a much-needed boost when Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (ViSAR) technology takes the field. The miniaturized extremely high-frequency band (EHF) sensor, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), promises uninterrupted imaging of moving and stationary ground targets when sensors are blinded by the dust and smoke of battle or when clouds obscure their view.

Now a flight-tested prototype, ViSAR aims to close these gaps and provide tactical situational awareness — targeting information and battle damage assessment — throughout an engagement. The problem with close air support today is that, once an engagement starts, the aircraft can’t see. AC-130 gunships, for example, typically use infrared (IR) sensors to target and engage maneuvering forces on the ground.

But once an action begins, “infrared sensors are unable to image through the dust caused by explosions and incoming rounds,” according to the ViSAR broad area announcement (BAA) dated Dec. 19, 2012.

Achievements

The program’s biggest achievement was the physical implementation of a working prototype that fits into a compact tactical gimbal, known as the Multi-Spectral Targeting System-B (MTS-B), said George Nowak, ViSAR program manager in DARPA’s strategic technology office. DARPA also had to develop hardware and image-processing software that works at the high end of the EHF band, which extends from 30 to 300 GHz. Northrop Grumman developed the exciter subsystem, L3 the high power amplifier, and Technical Service Corp. the processing algorithms, while Raytheon was the systems integrator.

DARPA has not publicly identified which military aircraft will be first to try ViSAR technology as it cycles through further development and testing and into the field. But the agency said that eligible platforms will host a complete battle management system capable of real-time target engagement as well as the 20-inch-diameter, moveable electro-optical/IR MTS-B gimbal or a gimbal of similar size. The BAA cited the AC-130 gunship as the “primary transition path for this effort.”

But the DC-3 flight test — to proof SAR electronics, pointing, data collection and processing systems — used geometries that are relevant to a range of potential transition platforms, Nowak said. The BAA language, he clarified, was “intended to provide guidance to potential bidders as to the desired form factor and size of the system.” Although the ViSAR development program concluded at the end of 2017, DARPA continues to tweak the design to improve the data presentation so visualization gets closer to the “natural” visualization provided by electro-optical and IR sensors, Nowak said.

Future automatic target recognition and datalink applications may also be possible.

Tradeoffs

The ViSAR sensor operates at 235 GHz over a tunable band of multiple GHz in the EHF band rather than the X band (7-11.2 GHz), where SAR radars typically operate, Nowak said. The higher frequency allows for a smaller antenna — as antenna size scales directly with wavelength — as well as higher frame rates and lower processing latencies. Compared to lower-frequency, longer-wavelength systems, EHF systems are also higher in resolution, but are shorter in range for a given power.

Other range factors include the sensitivity of the receiver and atmospheric effects at certain frequencies, as radio frequency (RF) energy is absorbed by gases in the air. An earlier ViSAR BAA asked for a frame rate greater than 5 Hz, or five times per second, and at least 0.2-meter resolution. However, the goal was to provide the best frame rate possible, balancing factors such as transmitter power, receiver sensitivity, frequency of operation and resolution, Nowak said.

DARPA was not out to match full-motion video, he added.

Flight Tests

A ViSAR prototype was flight-tested on a modified DC-3 last year, using an MTS-B standard gimbal that is employed by many aircraft, including drones. “The technology is more near-term than out there,” Nowak said. He rates the prototype at a technology readiness level of “about a six.” (A “nine” means that the performance of the sensor, in its final form, has been verified under mission-like conditions.)

The flight tests proved “that we can take uninterrupted live video of targets on the ground even when flying through or above clouds,” said former program manager, Bruce Wallace, in a DARPA release. “The EO/IR sensors on board the test aircraft went blank whenever clouds obscured the view, but the synthetic aperture radar tracked ground objects continuously throughout the flight.”

Wallace added that cloud-penetrating radars — such as from space or other operational systems — have existed in other formats, but that there has not been a synthetic aperture sensor that fits in a standard aircraft gimbal and maintains frame rates that are fast enough to track maneuvering targets on the ground. The DC-3 flight test aircraft flew at low and medium altitudes, allowing researchers to collect and compare data from the ViSAR, EO and IR sensors mounted on standard sensor gimbals, the agency said.

According to the abstract of a recent IEEE paper, the test results “produced exceptional SAR imagery and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) detections to validate many model-based assumptions about the operation and RF performance in this frequency band.”

“If the radar provides resolution and sees through clouds and other obscurants, it gives additional capability for insights into conditions in a potential area of operation,” such as the presence of troops and equipment, Nowak said.

The post Will ViSAR Revolutionize Close Air Support? appeared first on Avionics International.

Photo, courtesy of Air France.

Aviation broadband connectivity products and services provider Gogo has launched commercial service on the first two Air France aircraft outlined in its contract with the airline – an Airbus A330 and a Boeing 777. The two Air France jets are equipped with Gogo’s 2Ku high-speed satellite connectivity system. Installations are underway for the balance of Air France’s long-haul fleet of 83 aircraft, Gogo said.

“Air France has reached an exciting milestone as it brings its first Airbus and Boeing aircraft online,” John Wade, president of commercial aviation at Gogo, said in a statement. “As we continue to install aircraft with 2Ku, we remain highly focused on performance in order to provide a great experience on every aircraft, every flight.”

Gogo previously signed a contract to install its 2Ku inflight service on 124 aircraft co-operated by Air France and KLM in September 2016. The airlines rolled out their first service-equipped jets earlier this summer.

The post Air France Begins Gogo 2Ku Service on A330, 777 appeared first on Avionics International.

Dan Kilfoyle, technical director for electronic warfare systems with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. Photo courtesy of Raytheon

Understanding and managing, and if necessary, controlling and denying the electromagnetic spectrum are as critical for national defense as an army, navy, air, or space force. After decades of inattention, that fact has finally hit home, fueling efforts to improve electronic warfare (EW) technologies through means such as machine learning.

While cognitive EW is a work in progress, one trend seems clear. If the miniaturization and density of electronics components continue to increase — and if cooling technology keeps up — this will drive radio frequency (RF) system functional consolidation and enhance sensor performance.

The future will see multispectral, multimode and multifunction capability, said Chris Rappa, product line director for RF, EW and advanced electronics with BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research and development organization.

Active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) are already multimode but over a narrow band, he said. BAE aims to build large or small totally digital arrays, where the electronics behind every element in the array are digital and the array can be controlled in every aspect at the element level.

Ten years from now Rappa expects to see very large, all-digital, precisely controlled arrays that are multifunction, multimode and capable of learning on the fly to be cooperative or disruptive, whenever they need to be. He expects they’ll be highly flexible — able to do signals intelligence, electronic support measures (ESM), electronic attack (EA), radar, positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), and communications, all from one array and one box, and all cognitively and adaptively controlled.

Much depends on continuing advances in semiconductors and cooling. Board designer Abaco Systems envisions an RF processing power and bandwidth “escalation race” becoming faster paced. Cognitive RF and EW, for example, call for reconfigurable multiprocessor architectures featuring components such as low-latency field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), as well as general-purpose processors.

If these micro-level trends continue, we may see large increases in performance. Once you have an array with thousands of elements pumping out digital data, Rappa predicted, the instantaneous bandwidth of the system and the data volumes produced increase exponentially. Such a system would be able to look a lot wider and deeper into the spectrum, with a lot more sensitivity, he added.

“Systems will have to become much more ISR-like,” said John Thompson, naval aviation campaign director with Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems Sector, referring to the exquisite fidelity of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors that currently require huge apertures and massive processing resources. “But how do you get that really deep knowledge of RF signals inside tactical fighters?”

We could also see multispectral fusing, combining data from the RF and optical spectrums, Rappa said. The more data inputs, the better for identification purposes, just as multiple human senses — eyes plus ears — complement each other.

EW systems also will become a lot smarter. Dan Kilfoyle, technical director for electronic warfare systems with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, expects future systems will be looking at more complex data sets, including the context of signals. In addition to measuring the usual parameters, systems will ask, what else is going on in the theater right now? What’s the normal behavior in an area? What does a system do when it thinks it saw me? Over time, AI reasoning will become more complex, just as a person progresses from making sounds to saying words and eventually to having more and more complex thoughts.

The post What Will Electronic Warfare Look Like in 10 Years? appeared first on Avionics International.

F-35C. (Lockheed Martin)

Last month the Defense Department independent weapon tester delayed the start of F-35 operational testing by two months while it waits for the newest versions of software to be delivered.

Robert Behler, the director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), said in an Aug. 24 memo obtained by the Project on Government Oversight that the start of initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) for the F-35 is waiting until it gets software version 30R02.

The DOT&E office approved the current operationally-representative software version 30R00 for Pre-IOT&E Increment 2 test activities earlier this year because it was “adequate and relevant” to evaluating ship-ship missions involving lower end threats, the memo said.

However, Behler said version 30R02 provides “the next instantiation of operationally relevant and production-representative aircraft software” that better supports the required testing to adequately address the remaining mission areas. These includes strategic attack/air interdiction, offensive counter air, destruction and/or suppression of enemy air defenses, and electronic attack.

An F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) spokesperson said in an email that the JPO expects an operational test readiness certification in October, with the start of formal IOT&E expected in November. Under this timeline, IOT&E will be finished by next summer.

Read the full story on Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics

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Flyht’s Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS). (Flyht)

Flyht Aerospace Solutions has partnered with Spectralux to create a streamlined, Iridium satellite-powered air navigation system upgrade option for airlines flying over over the world’s oceanic regions. To create the solution, Flyht integrated its Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) 228S component with Spectralux’s Envoy Future Air Navigation System (FANS) Data Link Unit (DLU).

Air navigation systems help maintain safety, lessen pilot workload, and allow airlines to fly preferred more direct routes which can result in fuel savings. The combined Flyht and Spectralux offering caters to a range of aircraft, including older fleets due to its provides compliance with satellite-based voice and data capabilities. With Satcom voice and data, AFIRS aims to enable airlines to fly in airspace where VHF communications are not available.

“Airlines looking for a FANS solution will appreciate having a low-cost alternative to an OEM service bulletin. When installed together, operators gain VHF data radio capabilities through the DLU, and the AFIRS 228S’ Satcom voice and data capabilities. We are pleased that our TSO 159B AFIRS Satcom unit is fully interoperable with Spectralux’s DLU,” Flyht Vice President of Business Development Steve Newell said in a statement.

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MQ-4C Triton. (Northrop Grumman)

One of two MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) crashed yesterday on a Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Calif., base runway following an inflight mechanical issue and landing gear failure. the Triton experienced an “inflight mechanical issue” during a test flight around 2:45pm on Wednesday, spokesperson for Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL) said in a statement.

The pilots shut down the engine and attempted to land the aircraft on a runway at the naval base as a “precautionary measure.” However, the MQ-4C’s landing gear did not deploy and it landed on the runway while the landing gear was still retracted.

There were no injuries reported, but the mishap is under investigation by the Navy.

The Navy is planning to make the Triton its unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft, eventually equipped with surface search radar, electro-optical and infrared cameras, and a multi-intelligence sensor suite.

Read the full story on Defense Daily, a sister publication to Avionics

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Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s Light Combat Helicopter. Photo courtesy of HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) watched its Light Combat Helicopter, or LCH, fly for the first time with a new system. Technology Demonstrator-2, as HAL designates it, flew last week with an automatic flight control system that was domestically produced.

According to HAL, the flight lasted 20 minutes and the system was engaged throughout the duration.

Read more at sister publication Rotor & Wing International.

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A Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, flight MH370, went missing from radar in March 2014. Now based on the reported discovery of a flaperon from flight 370, authorities are trying to determine what happened. Photo by SA Paul Rowbotham

A company specializing in collecting high-resolution geophysical seabed data is looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The Malaysian government accepted the Ocean Infinity’s proposal for the 90-day search.

“Whilst there can be no guarantees of locating the aircraft, we believe our system of multiple autonomous vehicles working simultaneously is well suited to the task at hand,” said Ocean Infinity’s CEO, Oliver Plunkett. “I wish our team the best of luck in their endeavors and sincerely hope that we will be able to play a part in providing some answers to the many people affected by this tragedy.”

Ocean Infinity said its search would focus initially on the zone identified by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Seabed Constructor — the vessel — is now close to the search area, which will enable work to commence imminently, according to the company. Ocean Infinity will only receive payment if it locates the aircraft wreckage.

The autonomous underwater vehicles Ocean Infinity uses are capable of operating in water depths from some 16 feet to nearly 20,000 feet. They aren’t tethered to the offshore vessel during operations, allowing the vehicles to travel deeper and collect “higher quality data,” according to the company. They will be equipped with side scan sonar, multi-beam echosounder, sub-bottom profiler, HD camera, conductivity/temperature/depth sensor, self-compensating magnetometer, synthetic aperture sonar and a turbidity sensor.

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