Mentor Blogs

If you enter into discussions with anyone in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community, you’ll likely hear “sequestration” more than once. Conversations among defense professionals today invariably touch on the topic, some even escalate into heated, impromptu debates. Reactions and predictions on the topic of sequestration vary wildly among mil/aero professionals. At a recent event in Washington, … Read More

Milaero, Mil-Aero, Military, Software, Buck McKeon, soldier, Technology, Aerospace, Warfighters, Obama, Mentor Graphics, Office of Management and Budget, Mentor.com, President Obama, DoD, Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, Mentor

Airbus delayed the availability of the A350-1000, intended to compete with The Boeing Company’s enhanced 777 twinjet; yet, customers continue to cancel early orders for the upcoming Airbus wide-body jet. This delay is giving Boeing the chance it needs to push its 777 successor (being called the Boeing 777X) forward, while utilizing all the lessons learned from its infamously delayed 787 Dreamliner. … Read More

Engineer, Embedded Systems, Geek, Aerospace, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Airbus, 777, Hardware, DoD, Jet, electrical, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Boeing

The military and aerospace (mil/aero) market relies on efficiency. This is true of myriad industries during a down economy, which requires organizations—including the U.S. Department of Defense and other military organizations, as well as prime contractors and subcontractors—to do more with less. Not only do engineering and manufacturing personnel need to be efficient, but also the tools they employ … Read More

Mentor, Hardware, Fort Worth, air, Bell Helicopter, Future Combat Systems, Geek, ground, Aerospace, Electronic, Design Automation, DoD, Embedded Systems, Engineer, Computer, FCS, Electric, electrical, Mentor Graphics, sea, Software, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero

Future Combat Systems (FCS) is but a distant memory, but the need to stay on the bleeding edge of technology in military and aerospace (mil/aero) environments remains unchanged. Today’s missions in harsh and challenging environments call for the latest and greatest technological advances. FCS, the program created to deliver manned and unmanned advanced network-centric warfare and new combat vehicles … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, FCS, BCT, Geek, Hardware, Mentor, Aerospace, electrical, Design Automation, Electronic, Embedded Systems, Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program, Engineer, Computer, DoD, Electric, Mil-Aero, U.S. Army, Warfighters, Milaero, Military

Militaries the world over are increasingly relying upon advanced, multifunctional electronics systems to help ensure not only their safety, but also mission success. The growing use of and reliance on electronics does not come without a cost, however. Power-hungry devices require sufficient and reliable power. Yet, power can be hard to come by, especially in remote battlefield locales, such as both … Read More

Hardware, Geek, Mentor, U.S. Department of Defense, DoD, Military, Electric, network-centric battlefield, Army, U.S. Army, Mentor Graphics, Embedded Systems, Mentor.com, Engineer, Mil-Aero, electrical, Milaero, Electronic

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is reported to possess more than 7,000 aerial drones, to date. The DOD boasted less than 50 such drones just a decade ago; and, Pentagon officials have asked Congress for nearly $5 billion, to be used for drones in 2012. Industry analysts are again predicting a strong unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market–and not just for the remainder of 2011 or throughout … Read More

Military, Mil-Aero, L-3 Communication, Aerospace, AeroVironment, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, AAI Corp., General Atomics, Hardware, Electric, Insitu, DoD, KillerBee, Drone, Engineer, Embedded Systems, Geek, Raytheon, UAV, Raytheon KillerBee, Teal Group

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market sector has experienced the most dynamic growth of any sector in the global aerospace industry this decade, according to a 2011 market study. Analysts at Teal Group, an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Va., predict UAV spending to nearly double over the next decade. Current worldwide UAV expenditures total $5.9 billion annually—a figure … Read More

Globalhawk, DoD, Mentor, UAV, U.S. forces, Al Qaeda, Military, battlefield, NATO, Philip Finnegan, Aerospace, Teal Group, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Design Automation, Mil-Aero, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Milaero, COTS

Perhaps it is not surprising that mil/aero industry news in April, which included both Earth Day and Arbor Day, had an environmental focus. In particular, news coming out of organizations within the U.S. Federal Government, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), centered on recent environmental efforts to lessen the carbon footprint and environmental … Read More

Milaero, Apple iPad, Mentor.com, Geek, FAA, Mentor Graphics, Arbor Day, Mentor, U.S. Department of Defense, DoD, Hardware, Earth Day, Jeppesen, Mil-Aero, Federal Aviation Administration, Apple, Jeppesen Mobile TC App, iPad, Embedded Systems, Military

The Northrop Grumman-built U.S. Navy X-47B, an Unmanned Combat Air System–Demonstration (UCAS-D) Next-gen Unmanned Fighter, took its maiden flight on a hazy California morning, Feb. 4, 2011 at Edwards Air Force Base. The flight began at 2:09 p.m. PST and lasted for 29 minutes. The goal of the program is to create a tailless, fighter-sized unmanned system capable of safely landing and taking off from … Read More

NAVAIR, Northrup Grumman, Parker Aerospace, Computer, Pratt & Whitney, robot, Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Skynet, Design Automation, Software, Terminator, COTS, Dell, U.S. Navy, Eaton, DoD, Edwards Air Force Base, Vetronics, Warfighters, UAV, Wind River, X-47B, Hamilton Sundstrand, Goodrich, Engineer, Geek, General Electric, GKN Aerospace, Electric, electrical, Electronic, Embedded Systems, Moog, Hardware, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin

The President’s budget request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in fiscal year 2011, released 1 Feb. 2010, added $6 billion over five years. The $6 billion increase was accompanied by instructions as to how the money should be invested, which was hotly criticized at the time. Looking back nearly a year later, it’s evident that the additional funding has been a boon … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, Computer, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Geek, DoD, George W. Bush, Hardware, Constellation, Mars, COTS, Embedded Systems, Electronic, Engineer, Moon, spacex, Virgin Galactic, nasa, Obama

Intel is making a splash, again, at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Before I get to Intel’s news at the 2011 International CES, which opened its doors today, I wonder how well we all know Intel, its roots, and its relevance to the mil/aero market. Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 by Gordon E. Moore (the man behind Moore’s Law) and Robert Noyce (co-inventor of the integrated … Read More

intel, IA-64, Warfighters, x86, Aerospace, Engineer, battlefield, Geek, Gordon E. Moore, Hardware, 486, COTS, Electric, electrical, Computer, Electronic, Core, Embedded Systems, DoD, Design Automation, DX4, Vetronics, Mentor, soldier, soldiers, Military, Robert Noyce, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com

The Apple iVolution has been going strong since the initial release of the iPod on October 23, 2001. Apple has significantly impacted cultures around the world; you can’t go around a corner these days without seeing the tell-tale white ear buds hanging from someone’s ears. iPods were so successful that they were followed up with a touchscreen variant, the iPod Touch, which was followed by the hugely … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, soldier, soldiers, Android OS, Inflexion, tablets, App Store, iPad, Warfighters, iPhone, Android, Mentor, COTS, Embedded Systems, Geek, battlefield, Google, Computer, Hardware, DoD, Design Automation, Electronic, Software, Mil-Aero, Operating System, RTOS, Nucleus, Open Handset Alliance, Military, network-centric, mil-std, Milaero

Mil-aero organizations the world over are investigating, and even already adopting, non-ruggedized, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computing and communications devices, including Apple’s popular iPad. It’s appealing: sleek, slim, compact, shiny. All good things. What it is not, not yet anyway, is rugged enough to withstand military and aerospace environments, missions, and applications. Some may recall … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, soldiers, Warfighters, Apple, Hardware, battlefield, iPad, iPhone, Mentor, Android, Electronic, Design Automation, Embedded Systems, Computer, FBI, COTS, Geek, Electric, DoD, electrical, soldier, Mil-Aero, rugged, Software, Operating System, Overheat, Military, network-centric, mil-std, Milaero

Android is sexy, as are the ever-increasing number of smartphones and PC tablets that take advantage of Google’s operating system (OS). Military personnel, even officials at the highest ranks, agree. Soldiers want to use Android devices and Apple’s iPad in the field, while on a mission, communicating, socializing, killing time, or blowing off steam. Soldiers have historically been frustrated by the … Read More

Electronic, iPhone, Mentor Graphics, Software, Sony, DoD, Mentor, Geek, soldier, Google, USB, Xbox, Hardware, soldiers, Mentor.com, VHS, electrical, PlayStation, Warfighters, iPad, Military, mp3, Operating System, Microsoft, Apple, Mil-Aero, Computer, Android, Milaero

What a difference a year makes in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) market. This time last year, I was listening to market research firms and industry pundits herald the military/defense segment for keeping the aerospace market afloat while the commercial aviation segment took a serious dip. Despite a woeful world economy, investments were being made at that time in military aircraft–manned … Read More

Hardware, George W. Bush, Military, Obama, Asia Pacific, Embedded Systems, Prime Contractors, Engineer, Primes, RNCOS, EU, Software, Aerospace, Geek, Bush, UAV, DoD, Canada, US, Electric, electrical, USA, Barrack Obama, Electronic, Vetronics, Brazil, Computer, china, COTS, Milaero, India, Warfighters, Mexico, Mil-Aero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, MarketResearch.com, Mentor, Japan, Jet