Aerospace Industry in Latin America

The Brazilian armed forces have taken delivery of the 16th Helibras H225M (formerly known as the EC725) out from an outstanding order for 50 under the Ministry of Defence-run Project H-XBR. The helicopter was produced at the Itajubá assembly line of the Airbus Helicopter’s Brazilian subsidiary.

Local industry participation has been growing and so far several companies are providing sections or components for the H225M. These include Aernnova, which produces the metallic structure fir the tail boom, Inbra does the composite structure for the intermediate section and tail boom, Toymatic produces the main rotor sleeves, Turbomeca do Brasil assembles the Makila 2A1 engines, and Elbit’s Brazilian subsidiary Aeroeletronica (AEL) provides the avionics.

The sixteenth example is a tactical transport and search and rescue (SAR) version for the Brazilian Navy, making this the fifth H225M delivered to that service.

Other operators include the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and Army Aviation Command. Each service will receive 16 helicopters for a variety of operational roles plus two VIP versions that will be used for the Presidential Transport Flight.

The seventeenth helicopter is scheduled for delivery in 2015 and is a specialized combat search and rescue (CSAR) variant. That helicopter was presented at the 2015 Paris Air Show and is locally designated as the H-36 Caracal by the FAB.

The FAB will take delivery of the airborne refueling prove-equipped H-36 Caracal for which its pilots have been undertaking flight refueling training on F-5FM and A-1B fighters. The CSAR Caracal will be able to refuel from the current two KC-130H in service, as well as from the 28 future KC-390’s.

The FAB will receive eight CSAR versions in total, which will also be equipped with an integrated self-defence suite including laser warning systems (LWS) and radar warning receivers (RWR). Specific CSAR training will begin on June 29 through July 3 at the Campo Grande Air Base and will include H-34 Super Puma, H-36 Caracal, H-60 Black Hawk, AH-2 Sabre (Mi-35M) and H-1H (UH-1H) aircrews using night vision goggles.

Deliveries were originally to have ended by 2017 although they will now stretch to 2019 given the current state of Brazil’s financial difficulties. Following the CSAR on the delivery schedule will be the anti-surface warfare (ASuW) version for the Navy, which is still under development at Helibras. Eight will be delivered to that standard.

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Sagem has signed an intention to proceed (ITP) agreement with Helibras to manufacture autopilot systems for the Brazilian Armed Forces' AS365 Panther helicopters.

Under the agreement the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Optovac will manufacture and deliver 30 autopilot systems, which form part of the helicopter's automatic flight control system, along with the attitude and heading reference system and various actuators.

The Sao Jose dos Campos-based company will also manufacture flight controls for Panther and EC725 Caracal helicopters, as well as offering support capabilities.

In December 2009, Helibras received a R$347m ($147.6m) contract to upgrade 34 Brazilian Army Aviation AS365K Panther helicopters to the K2 version, also known as the Super Panther, to ensure that the aircraft remain operational for another 25 years.

"The Sao Jose dos Campos-based company will also manufacture flight controls for Panther and EC725 Caracal helicopters."
As part of Panther K2 upgrade, the helicopter has been fitted with new Arriel 2C2CG engines that deliver 40% more power, new engine fairings, a new glass cockpit with a four-axis autopilot, new wiring and a cable-cutting device.

Additional equipment includes night-vision goggles, a new altimeter and weather radar, advanced navigation and communication radios, as well as a new tail rotor, providing the helicopters with greater range, increased speed and reduced pilot workload.

Capable of carrying two pilots and ten soldiers, the Panther K2 helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 4,300kg, and a top speed of 175k.

Helibras has also received a €1.9bn contract to deliver 50 EC725 helicopters to Brazil as part of Helicopter-Experimental, Brazil (H-XBR) project.

Of the total 50 helicopters, Brazilian Army, Air Force and Navy will receive 16 helicopters each, while the remaining two aircraft will be operated by the government.

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Argentina showcased its aerospace industry in Mexico


He successfully completed the first commercial mission of the aviation and space sector of Argentina in Mexico, where officials and entrepreneurs that industry providers, conducted business in Mexico City, Queretaro and engaged videoconferences with Sonora and Chihuahua.

The mission, which was organized by the Argentina Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry, in conjunction with the Embassy of Argentina in Mexico, included business rounds between Argentine companies and local partners, with the aim of establishing strategic partnerships between the two countries , they reported the Foreign Ministry spokesmen.
The mission activities began with a "Workshop on Technological Offer" made in order to identify opportunities for complementarity between the productive chains of both countries.
Ambassador in Mexico, Patricia Vaca Narvaja, stressed the importance that Argentina is assigned to technological development and in particular the aerospace sector. During the workshop presentations INVAP (as far as space technology is concerned) and the Aircraft Factory Argentina (Fade) stood out.
The spokesmen stressed that Argentina "has become the eighth nation that manufactures geostationary size ARSAT-1, after the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Israel, India and several countries in the European Union who work so joint ".
In his speech, the president of the Argentina Chamber Aeronautics and Space (Carae), Javier Siman said the growth registered the aerospace industry in Mexico during the last ten years "generated interest from Argentine businessmen to seek strategic alliances with companies Mexican, especially SMEs ".
Space agencies of both countries made by the end of the year a workshop to identify actions for the development of the space industry in Argentina and Mexico.
The Argentina delegation was also received by representatives of the Ministry of Sustainable Development of the State of Queretaro

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since 2010, the company Quetzal Aerospace, based in the city of Queretaro, in the middle of Mexico, began manufacturing drones. A little more than four years after its birth, the company has expressed its intention to use these platforms to optimize aeronautical techniques for farmers, in order to promote "precision agriculture" in the country. The engineer Jorge Alberto Ortega Sánchez, director of the company, explained that with the support of specialists from the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE) it was detected that drones form Quetzal Aerospace could be implemented for technological tasks applied to agriculture.

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MEXICO, DF The study, tenacity and self-confidence allowed José Martín Aranda Ku, a student at UTM in Merida, programming and achieve a robotic arm connection to a drilling and riveting of panels used in the manufacture of planes.

Student of the Metropolitan Technological University (UTM) Ku Aranda won a scholarship from Mexprotec program, which allowed him to make a stay in France to specialize in an educational institution in the country and develop a project in the private sector.

Through this project, the student's area of mechatronics, also earned his professional license in automation, industrial communication networks Industrial vision and ergonomics granted by the University Institute of Technology in Montlucon, France.

The challenge, he says, improve the speed, efficiency, operation, lower costs and increase security around the piercing rivets and panels used in the manufacture of aircraft, the world's safest transport.

During the stay in France the firm Groupe Ledoux, dedicated to automation in the aerospace industry, given the task of scheduling and communicating a robotic arm attached to a rivet known as Lynx dou Type C.

Although there are machines that perform these tasks, the challenge was to improve efficiency as part of the process to change the drilling tools (drills) and rivet were basically manual, which is slow, risky for the worker and also can generate failures because of human intervention.

Currently, there are machines that already have this system of mechanical arm, but they are very large and expensive to use a system of computerized numerical control, known as CNC.

When a panel is asked rivet holes of different sizes are needed.
By connecting this robotic arm removes tools and the arm change this quickly and efficiently. That touched my programming work performed, he said.

However, these tasks are not limited to changing tools but also to give the arm of an ID reader that allows to know the type of drill is needed for drilling, how many revolutions must turn and how much use has been given, needing to be replaced. The same applies to the portaremaches.

Also, it's such accuracy that can now be used tablets tests that are drilled and riveted, which are sent to the deposits for which can be studied in laboratories, because by its nature, the panels should not have lumps.

After little more than three months to develop the project, it was concluded and submitted by that company over the past exposure Burget Hall in Paris "where the objective was met, the team sold even without any changes."

He said that one of the greatest experiences in France was the knowledge that if you can develop this type of projects and "we can contribute to the development of our country in the areas we propose."

What we need, he continued, is a lot of practice, gain experience and learn the basic principles and logic programming, which will facilitate us develop our projects.

"I think the big secret to this type of project is not being afraid, tossing use all this technological development that we have in our time where memory for programming is infinite, almost limitless," he said.

"One of the situations that I liked most is the business confidence in its people. He never pressured me, knew that I was going to get so I had no constraints or pressures, on the contrary there was a lot of freedom to work ", he said.

In Mexico, he said, we have the potential to develop projects of many types but we have confidence in ourselves and in our people. In France people are aware that he has to enter early-and punctually to work and leave late.

But in return, he noted, the company provides fair payment for their work, enough to live well and this makes them feel encouraged and free to labor.

Jose Martin is one of 15 young people who developed the UTM stay of one year -13 in France and two in Canada, and who were seeking to obtain a professional license in several areas of knowledge.

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Jim Quick president and CEO of the Association of Aerospace of Canada (AIAC) and Benito Gritzewsky, president of the Mexican Association of Aerospace Industries (FEMIP) signed a memorandum of understanding for participation in Mexico's Aerospace Summit, in whichThey aim to strengthen relations between the two countries aerospace industry. In his speech, Sergio Solis Cabello, director of the aerospace industry in the Ministry of Economy reported that in 10 years have grown by 30 percent exports of the aerospace industry to Canada and Mexico imports 15 times. He explained that in 2004 exports of the Mexican industry to Canada were worth $ 15 million in 2014 to 467 million.

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