Lufthansa Technik is expanding its Original Equipment Innovation portfolio with radome development and manufacturing. In only six months, the company developed and set up manufacturing of a new Ka-band-suitable version of its VIP aircraft radome Two-In-One-Solution (TIOS). Following the success of this project, it has decided to establish a unit dedicated to radomes of all kinds.
The Airframe Related Components (ARC) business unit in Hamburg specializes in composite materials, so Lufthansa Technik already has expertise in composite structures. In addition to in-house production equipment such as autoclaves, robotic systems and cold storage for material, the company has experienced staff. It says its team can manufacture radomes of almost any type for installation on the vertical stabilizer or the fuselage and is ready to begin new developments. The first external project has already been completed.
The TIOS+ radome will be available for the Boeing 737 Max by the end of 2018 and will be manufactured in the new facility.
Radomes are a critical element in aircraft connectivity installations. Antenna housings need to combine resistance to high aerodynamic loads with maximum permeability for the radio waves. In addition to integrating such connectivity systems into aircraft, Lufthansa Technik will now also pursue opportunities on the hardware market.
April 27, 2018
