| As our advanced research and development unit, Boeing Phantom
Works supports
the enterprise by providing our business units with advanced
customer solutions and
innovative technology breakthroughs that significantly reduce
the cycle time and cost
of our aerospace products and services while improving quality
and performance. |
| Dedicated to this task are about 4,500 employees on almost
500 R&D projects. One
team, for example, has been developing 3-D modeling, simulation
and virtual reality
tools that have cut design cycle times and cost in half. Manufacturing
process
teams have pioneered the use of high-speed machining, friction
stir joining, automated
fiber placement and stitched resin film infusion for producing
large metallic
and composite structures that are stronger, lighter, faster
and cheaper to produce.
In addition, an advanced avionics team is using commercial computer
technology
and processes to produce reusable avionics systems for aircraft
and spacecraft that
cost less than half that of current systems to develop and upgrade. |
| These and other innovative technologies and processes are
being used to save significant
time and cost in the development of such futuristic systems
as the Boeing
Phantom Works X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, X-37 Reusable
Spaceplane,
X-43A Hyper-X Vehicle, Canard Rotor/Wing, Blended Wing Body
Transport and
Advanced Theater Transport. |
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| They are also being used to reduce the cycle time and cost
of developing new products
such as the Delta IV launch vehicle and the Sonic Cruiser. By
validating technologies
and processes on new and advanced programs, Phantom Works is
able to
transition them to save time and cost on existing programs as
well, programs such
as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing 747 and Space Shuttle. |
| Finally, Phantom Works is defining the future of aerospace
through the development
of total system and system-of-system solutions such as the U.S.
Army’s Future
Combat Systems program. Such solutions are based on significant
work and investment
in network-centric architectures and tools and Phantom Works’
ability to draw
the best of the different products, technologies, processes
and intellectual talent from
the business units and combine them into a single, integrated,
low-cost approach. |
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