Airbus wholly-owned
subsidiary, Satair Group and Metamaterial
Technologies Inc. (MTI) together with its optical
filters division Lamda Guard of Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada, have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding which will lead to an exclusive
multi-million dollar global distribution agreement
to bring MTI’s laser protection product metaAIR to
the civil aviation market.
metaAIR is
nanofabricated as a flexible metamaterial optical
filter which can be applied to any transparent
surface - such as the inner surface of an aircraft’s
cockpit windscreen - to control unwanted light
sources while not interfering with visibility.
The filter
deflects harmful laser beams aimed at aircraft
windscreens even at high power levels and from wide
angles preventing the beam from reaching the inside
of the aircraft cockpit. In addition to laser
protection at night metaAIR may also feature new
types of optical protections such as Ultraviolet ray
protection for daytime operation at cruising
altitudes, answering a long-established concern for
many flight crews.
Laser strikes on
commercial aircraft have risen over the years and
laser pointers are increasing in power and
decreasing in price. Lasers can distract and even
harm pilots during critical phases of flight and can
cause temporary visual impairment. Over 2000 laser
incidents were recorded in the USA in the first four
months alone of 2017 according to the Federal
Aviation Administration. In 2015 there were over
10,000 laser incidents reported to the FAA, the UK
Civil Aviation Authority and Transport Canada.
Signing the MoU,
George
Palikaras,
MTI Founder and CEO said: “Today marks a key
milestone for MTI. Satair Group is a global leader
in aerospace supply management and known for their
innovative products. We are very pleased to have
Satair Group as our exclusive distributor for our
laser protection products. Through our partnership
with Satair Group we will introduce metaAIR to the
commercial aviation market during 2018, offering a
solution to the increasing threats of laser strikes
in global aviation.”
Satair
Group’s involvement follows in the
footsteps of two previous agreements
signed between Airbus and MTI’s Lamda
Guard division over the past three
years. In 2014 MTI entered Airbus
Corporate Innovation’s Start-Up 2
Partner program which aims at building
mutually beneficial partnerships with
disruptive innovators and start-up
companies. While setting the ground for
future business arrangements, with the
support of the Airbus Aircraft Security
team, the program also evaluated, tested
and tailored metaAIR for potential
application on to its aircraft. Earlier
this year, a new agreement for the
validation, certification and
commercialization of the product was
announced. |
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MTI
Founder and CEO George Palikaras (left)
with Bart Reijnen, CEO, Satair Group. |
Satair Group is now moving this relationship to
commercialization and will deploy its global
presence and extended distribution and parts
support services to all commercial aviation
market segments with a full metaAIR service
offering package.
Bart Reijnen,
CEO of Satair Group added: “We are delighted to
pick up the baton for this exciting technology
from our colleagues at Airbus Corporate
Innovation and Airbus Aircraft Security who have
steered it through the verification and testing
stage. With our first mover advantage and
through our global reach and excellent
relationships with operators we will ensure
metaAIR gets exposure to all aircraft categories
and to airlines, MROs and corporate operators
worldwide.”
Satair Group will choose an experienced partner
for Supplemental Type Certificate (STC)
development to ensure metaAIR meets
airworthiness and certification requirements for
different aircraft types.
Certification approval initially from the FAA,
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and
Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) is
expected to be granted in early 2018 with other
relevant jurisdictions following later.
The metaAIR
product will be developed initially for the Airbus
A320 family, followed shortly afterwards by all
other Airbus and also Boeing types, as well as for
other commercial airliners. Satair Group also sees
demand for this product coming from business and
general aviation and rotary wing customers. |