A Textron business unit has established a new facility for unmanned aircraft system training and maintenance activities to support research on UAS integration into national airspace. The unmanned systems service and support center houses Textron Systems‘ training and global service operations, the company’s schoolhouse for operators and maintainers and its sustainment operations for the Aerosonde small UAS, Textron said Monday. “With this […] More

Henry Finneral, vice president of tactical unmanned aircraft systems at Textron, has said the company plans to equip two upcoming variants of its Shadow TUAS with modern payload, communications and power systems in an interview with Defense News posted Friday. Jen Judson writes Textron also looks to test new weapons such as a company-built laser guided bomb on its future V2 and […] More

A Textron subsidiary has secured a $66 million foreign military sales contract from the U.S. Army to provide armored personnel carriers to Iraq and Colombia. Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems will supply each nation with 60 Commando Select APCs, of which 58 have a 40/50 turret and four have a command-and-control variant, the Defense Department said Monday. Army Contracting […] More

Textron Systems‘ electronic systems unit will continue manufacturing radio frequency components for Lockheed Martin‘s electronic Consolidated Automated Support System under a U.S. Navy contract awarded in February 2015. Textron said Tuesday its electronic systems business unit is scheduled to deliver 31 Radio Frequency Mission Equipment Kits in July. The Rhode Island-based company said its RF MEK — one of […] More

A Textron business unit has ordered three survivable combat tactical vehicles from Ukroboronprom’s SpetsTechnoExport subsidiary. The SCTVs are set for delivery to Ukraine as part of the nation’s effort to upgrade its light tactical vehicle fleet, Textron said Monday. “We are excited to be working with the UOP on upgrading its HMMWVs (high mobility multipurpose […] More

A Textron business unit will provide its Model 527 radar signal simulator for “end-of-runway” and “walk-around” preflight testing of the U.S. Air Force‘s KC-46 tanker aircraft platform built by Boeing. Textron‘s electronic systems business will apply Model 527 to check the operational readiness and threat recognition function of KC-46’s electronic warfare radar warning receiver systems, the company said […] More

Textron‘s unmanned systems subsidiary has delivered equipment and personnel to the U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department to support wildfire response operations in Idaho. The company said Thursday it deployed its Aerosonde drone, iCommand tool and Remote Video Terminal products to provide imagery and coordinate responders during the wildfire. “Unmanned systems can operate where it may be unsafe or impractical […] More

A Textron subsidiary has been awarded a $56.2 million contract to build and deliver 55 more armored personnel carriers to Afghanistan through the U.S. Army‘s foreign military sales program. Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems is scheduled to deliver Commando Select APC vehicles for the Afghan National Army through February 2016. The contract covers production […] More

Lockheed Martin has selected Textron Systems’ radar signal simulator as a preflight tester for Lockheed’s F-35 Lightning II electronic warfare systems. The Textron Inc. business will supply handheld Model 527TM radar simulators for EW preflight testing on all F-35 variants under a three-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, Textron said Tuesday. Steve Mensh, Textron Systems senior vice president and […] More

A new Research and Markets report forecasts that the market for military electro-optical and infrared systems will climb in value at a 7.71 percent compound annual growth rate to reach $16.35 billion revenues by 2020. The company said Thursday that strategies to establish uncontested market space and increased military spending will drive fast-paced growth for the EO/IR market, particularly in the […] More

A Textron Inc. company has released the beta version of its new geospatial image exploitation product that is designed to help customers deliver geospatial analysis to their users. Textron Systems Geospatial Solutions developed the web-based RVcloud Electronic Light Table tool with HTML5 technologies to operate on desktop and mobile platforms, Textron said Monday. The image […] More

Textron Systems has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly the company’s small unmanned aerial system at a government-approved civilian UAS test site in Blackstone, Virginia. The certification allows Textron to operate its Aerosonde drone for agricultural or environmental research in collaboration with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, Textron said Monday. Virginia Tech-led MAAP […] More