Airbus Defence and Space and Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) have announced the joint development of data analytics models for Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aerial refuelling systems.
This follows the signing of the collaboration agreement in 2018, which aimed at pooling engineering resources of both organisations in the co-development of digital solutions to support the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) A330 MRTT fleet.
The data models are able to detect and analyse behaviours in the A330 MRTT aerial refuelling systems and pre-empt anomalies based on data parameters measured and recorded in-flight.
“We’re proud to unveil the data analytics models co-developed with Airbus Defence and Space, which will enhance maintenance support and ensure mission success for the RSAF’s MRTT fleet," said Ang Jer Meng, DSTA’s Director Air Systems.
"I’m confident that our ongoing collaboration will accelerate our pursuit of excellence in delivering technological breakthroughs and innovations for the RSAF.”
The models have potential to allow the RSAF to optimise the preventive maintenance servicing schedule for respective components, reducing unnecessary downtime, saving costs and increasing systems and fleet availability to ensure mission success.
Testing of the new single data pipeline for the A330 MRTT aircraft maintenance datasets is progressing successfully and is expected to be implemented in the coming weeks.
“With this new data analytics model, we are further strengthening our comprehensive performance-based services and focusing on predictive maintenance for the RSAF A330 MRTT,” said Géraldine Thiercelin, Head of Air Power Customer Services, at Airbus Defence and Space.
"Through our partnership with DSTA, we will be able to identify and anticipate non-standard aircraft behaviours prior to future failures, thereby increasing the availability of the RSAF MRTT fleet in various theatres of operation.”
The new data pipeline infrastructure streamlines digitised fleet and supply chain data, translating into cost efficiency, better fleet availability and increased operational readiness for the RSAF.
The data pipeline, which will include security measures to protect the data flow, will also enable the exploitation of data analytics in the future. It will therefore serve as an enabler for system maintenance optimisation and process automation, as well as data-driven fleet optimisation.