• Robust supply chain & local manufacturing are key strategies to global expansion

By Sangeeta Saxena

Dubai. 19 November 2023. “We are always evaluating, additional manufacturing sources. So, you know, as  Aviation recovers from COVID,  we’re seeing both commercial and business aviation are back to pre COVID levels. And then on the defense side, we see governments all over the world increasing their defense spending, which is driving large increases  in requirements and so we are continuously evaluating new sources to make our supply chain more robust, which includes, local manufacturing here in the Emirates,” stated John Guasto, Vice President, International Defense & Space, Honeywell, in an exclusive interview to Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU) at the recently concluded Dubai Airshow 2023.

ADU. What is Honeywell showcasing here, which is different from the previous shows?

JG. Yeah, so for, for us at this show, we’re really highlighting a lot of our UAV capabilities. So, one of our big focus areas is our, anti jamming, navigation and global positioning system. So it is, basically a system that allows UAVs to operate in a GPS contested environment. We actually just did a demonstration of this capability, in the UK just last week, where we actually brought in, small UAVs that were equipped with this capability, and we had the UK police and Ministry of Defense bring in jamming, capable of the jam jammers.

And we were able to operate the vehicles on and navigate through an obstacle course under a very close jamming environment. So it’s a It’s a cutting edge technology. And and that’s one of the highlights that we have for the show. In addition to that capability, we also are focusing on our,  our, our small, environmental control system that is, specifically made for UAVs.

It provides a significant amount of cooling capability, in a very lightweight package. So as, as vehicles are having more and more electronics on them, they’re being electronically operated, they generate a lot, generate a lot of heat. And so our system is able to provide pooling capability at a very lightweight that allows, you know, the vehicles to operate.

And then finally is our, satcom solution. So we have. A lot of different,  satellite communication solutions, ranging from our, small form SATCOM, which is specialized on small UAVs, all the way up to our JetWave MCX system, which is targeted at larger aircraft and all of these systems are focused again at operating in contested environments and provide high bandwidth satellite communication capability for customers.

ADU. But these are all defense specific. Are there some technologies which are also dual use?

JG. Yeah, so a lot of them are, are either dual use or were created from commercial capabilities. So for example, our, JetWave MCX system which is specifically modified for defense use is actually developed from our JetWave satellite communication system which is used on both commercial and business and general aviation. So we took a capability that was able to provide a high bandwidth, capability, you know, where there’s a lot of passengers, and then we created an anti jamming, capability that was specifically for the military use. And so where that product is not necessarily dual use, it’s developed from a commercial capability.

ADU. It’s the second day ending today. So how is the footfall for Honeywell being here? What is the interest, which has been generated by your company?

JG. Yeah a lot of customer interaction. It’s actually one of the busiest of Air shows that I’ve been to. We have a full calendar all the way through the fourth day of the show, which is quite unusual for these types of trade shows. Typically they are two to three days max. We have you know, meetings ranging from military operators, that are interested in about our systems to be able to modify their aircraft  all the way up to different original equipment manufacturers that are looking at our systems for new production and then, you know, co development for future platforms. So it’s been a very wide, wide range of meetings that go across our entire customer base.

ADU.  In  addition to Honeywell, you have a lot of your rival companies which are also very active in this region, the Middle East. What is it that you are offering which is exclusive by you for this market,  where you don’t have rivals?

JG. It’s hard to say where we don’t have any rivals, it’s a very competitive landscape. But I would say, you know, we really differentiate ourselves in the navigation space. So I would say our embedded, global positioning and inertial nav systems are definitely world class and leading in the market, as well as our inertial products that are for non GPS environment, in that space we provide that content for both aviation, land vehicles and across a lot of different customers and that’s a space that I would say we are really differentiated in the market because of the caliber of ours.

ADU. Honeywell traditionally was known for its engines. What is the engine market here  in this region? Is it a big market for defense and commercial capabilities?

JG. So I can’t necessarily speak to the commercial side, um, uh, but for the military side, yes, it’s a quite a strong market. So for our engines, we have the T 55, which is the engine on the Chinook helicopter and the Emirates have a large number of Chinook helicopters. As well as our F 124, um, engine, which is on the M 346 trainer, which is produced by Leonardo. We see a very strong engine market, as well as for the Auxiliary power units. Our APUs are on a wide range of vehicles here ranging from the Chinook to the C130.

And as we have a very large engine installed base and do quite a bit of work here, we are beginning to look at local partners  to become more localized in the area and put capability in region to be able to support customers locally.

ADU. Will that mean that you might have some manufacturing lines sometime or the other in the UAE?

JG. Yeah I mean, we are always evaluating, additional manufacturing sources. So, you know, as Aviation recovers from COVID,  we’re seeing both commercial and business aviation are back to pre COVID levels. And then on the defense side, we see governments all over the world increasing their defense spending, which is driving large increases  in requirements and so we are continuously evaluating new sources to make our supply chain more robust,, which includes, local manufacturing here in the Emirates.

ADU. Are you in talks with Edge for any development on that front?

JG. We wouldn’t want to talk about specific ventures that we are working, but we absolutely are communicating with all of the local entities here in the UAE.

ADU. What is the development on that alternative fuel front for military aircraft?

JG. So, you know, I would say we’re using alternate fuel and testing it on our engine product lines. It is not specifically designed for military use, but really to test and evaluate how it operates in turbine, you know, turbine gas engines. Once the systems are approved and certified it will be applicable to both military and civil operations.