Airbus and Singapore’s DSTA to launch digital services for military helicopter platforms

Airbus and Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) are adding helicopters to the scope of their agreement signed at the Singapore Airshow earlier this year, to advance the co-development of digital solutions for the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) military aircraft platforms. Under the agreement, Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Defence and Space will work together with Singapore to co-create and implement a unique data pipeline capable of exchanging maintenance data automatically and securely between RSAF’s and Airbus Helicopters’ IT systems. Both parties will also explore the shared use of maintenance data from existing in-service aircraft information systems. The addition of helicopters comes on top of the collaborative agreement between DSTA and Airbus’ Defence and Space division to advance cooperation in the design and certification of parts produced by additive manufacturing, and in data analytics for predictive maintenance of its A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft. Once the data pipeline is in place, Airbus Helicopters will be able to capitalise upon the company’s SmartForce suite of data analytics services to make recommendations that will improve fleet efficiency and optimise maintenance operations for RSAF’s fleet of H225Ms. The RSAF will be Airbus Helicopters’ first military operator to benefit from this data pipeline as part of the SmartForce solution. Services within the SmartForce portfolio include fleet planning and predictive maintenance. “Airbus Helicopters is proud to be joining forces with Airbus Defence and Space and DSTA to build an innovative technical solution that will pave the way for future digital products and services for the military market,” says Christoph Zammert, Executive Vice President of Customer Support & Services at Airbus Helicopters. “By unlocking the intelligence hidden inside their data, our customers will be able to better anticipate unplanned maintenance needs, reduce maintenance downtime, improve helicopter availability and optimise their budget expenditures.” The co-development agreement signed at the Singapore Airshow saw DSTA extending its earlier partnership announced in 2018 to intensify technology exchange and collaboration for the development of digital products and services, specifically for RSAF’s fleet of A330 MRTT. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Director of Sales Graham Joss at [email protected]