MRO company Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance and engineering software provider PACE have successfully completed the development and implementation of a custom flight performance tool for the French Air Force. The software will automate mission planning and performance calculation tasks for the four-strong fleet of E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.

After initial training at the PACE offices in Berlin and the squadron's main operating base in Avord, AWACS crews are now set to apply the software under full operational conditions. Installed on notebooks and tablet PCs, it will support ground-based flight preparations as well as in-flight rerouting and rescheduling. Long-term benefits are expected from reduced-thrust takeoffs, which help to extend engine life and reduce maintenance costs.

The software is the product of a close cooperation between PACE, the AWACS team and main contractor AFI KLM E&M, who is managing the maintenance of the French AWACS fleet. "We are very pleased with the execution and outcome of the project; it's a great testament to the professional attitude and exceptional commitment of everybody involved," says Major Marc Jacoud, head of the test and experiment team at Avord Air Force Base. "Our first benchmarks against legacy tools and our manual procedures indicate a significant performance gain."

"Collaboration with PACE was very efficient, and the finished product certainly sets new standards for an onboard performance software," explains Claude Bellier, General Manager AWACS Product at AFI KLM E&M. "The project has been a perfect fit with our AWACS efficiency improvement strategy, and we will explore how similar benefits can be achieved for the French Air Force's transport fleets."

Source: PACE

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