INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS
Ron Cook CBE Corporate Senior Vice President, London Operations, L3 Technologies According to Ron Cook, L3 Technologies’ Corporate Senior Vice President, the past year has been a particularly important one for the company. The business rebranded to its current L3 Technologies name in December 2016, to reflect its evolution into a leading global provider of a broad range of technology solutions. Meanwhile, in 2017 the company also celebrates its 20th anniversary, and it now employs 38,000 people globally (including approximately 1,500 in the UK). Cook is keen to highlight how L3 Technologies in the UK is developing its partnerships with customers and suppliers. He says a prime example is the company’s Commercial Training Solutions (CTS) business, which offers vertical, seamless and affordable solutions to support the global commercial aviationtraining marketplace. Working hand in hand with its customers (including many of the world’s leading airlines) and suppliers, the CTS offer spans the
complete spectrum of commercial aviation training, its services including selection, cadet (ab initio) training, resourcing and airline training, all supported by hightechnology simulation products, including the RealitySevenTM Full Flight Simulator. Cook also explains that L3 Technologies uses such partnerships in the development of new commercial solutions. He cites L3 Technologies’ ASA business, the systems solutions company (with core capabilities in complex information systems, data fusion solutions and mission configurable communications) as a good example. Here, this business is working in a variety of partnership models with customers and suppliers to identify best-of-breed components and services to create effective solutions, for example in the areas of manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, counter-unmanned air systems (UAS) solutions, secure communications connectivity and command and control solutions, more broadly.
and strategic intelligence. In so doing, it performs a critical role in fulfilling defencewide decision-making requirements. Cook is also keen to emphasise L3 Technologies’ most exciting new products and services and focuses specifically in this regard on the Rapid Aircraft Payload Deployment System (RAPDS). This represents L3 Mission Integration’s (MI) commitment to continually improve its products through internal investment. RAPDS features MI’s next-generation aircraft design and architecture, enabling the execution of a wide range of missions from a single platform. The design is modular and flexible, thereby allowing a variety of current and future sensor payloads to be accommodated with minimal redesign while maintaining airworthiness certification. RAPDS is a key focus of L3 Technologies with regard to Small Manned Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (SMISR) requirements, both in the UK and internationally.
The Commercial Training Solutions offer spans the complete spectrum of commercial aviation training L3 Technologies’ partnership with the RAF remains a central focus of the UK business and, given Cook is a retired Air Commodore, it is very close to his heart. A principle feature of this relationship is the provision of the RC-135 manned electronic surveillance aircraft under the Airseeker Programme, which, equipped with a variety of sensors, gives the RAF a high level of situational awareness and both tactical
Finally, in terms of other new products and services, Cook points out CTS once again, this time regarding the added capability the business is now able to offer through the 2016 acquisition of Aerosim Technologies in the context of remote learning, iPad- and computer-based training, and lower-cost training devices (which compliment the vertical, seamless training solution suite detailed earlier). WEBSITE
www.l3t.com