Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace is teaming up with a global technology company to produce the aviation industry’s first cloud-connected cockpit system.
The multiyear joint project with Cyient, a company headquartered in Hyderabad, India, is focused on the Honeywell Anthem system — a flight deck using a software platform that can be customized for large passenger and cargo planes, business jets, helicopters, general aviation aircraft and new advanced air mobility (AAM) craft.
The system was first unveiled late last year and hailed by Honeywell as a way to increase aircraft autonomy through expanded connectivity and assist pilots by bringing together critical information from disjointed systems into an intuitive interface modeled after smart devices that people use every day.
Honeywell Aerospace is a division of Honeywell International Inc. (Nasdaq: HON), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Under the deal, Cyient’s role will manufacture and test various components for the system. The modular components, called line-replaceable units or LRUs, are designed for quick and easy removal and replacement when necessary.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Honeywell to build Honeywell Anthem, which will transform the future of aviation,” said Karthikeyan Natarajan, Cyient’s executive director and COO, in a statement.
Some production is already ramping up to support demand this year, Cyient said. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
When the Honeywell Anthem was launched in October, Honeywell Aerospace CEO Mike Madsen said it will significantly change the way pilots operate aircraft.
The platform changes the need for wired connections for transfer of data such as maintenance status and flight plans, using data transfer from ground-based servers. It is also designed to support growing levels of aircraft autonomy, including complete autonomous capability in the future.
“In the same way we moved from flip phones to smartphones, Honeywell Anthem will transform the pilot experience with customizable controls operated quickly and easily with a few swipes of the finger,” Madsen said in a statement at the time.