To address the flight management system (FMS) needs of future A320, A330 and A350 aircraft fleets, Airbus announced that it has chosen Honeywell.
The new FMS will be offered as a single standardised hardware and software platform for use across Airbus’ A320, A330 and A350 aircraft fleet. Entry into service is expected by the end of 2026. This new FMS hardware will also be 15 times more capable than current hardware, enabling a future path for enhancements without hardware changes. An FMS provides the primary navigation, flight planning, and optimised route determination and route guidance for an aircraft.
Jim Currier, President, Electronic Solutions, Honeywell Aerospace, said that this win was a testament to Airbus’ confidence in Honeywell’s avionics systems. The new FMS builds upon millions of hours of Honeywell’s FMS legacy, with enhanced modularity, advanced functionality, and a multi-core processing platform. At the completion of development, the new FMS will be a standalone federated system, making it easier for operators to support the fleet.
For Airbus, the new FMS will combine multiple current FMS offerings into one single solution for their A320, A330 and A350 platforms. It also incorporates connectivity with the outside world, including electronic flight bags, to ease the pilot workload and enhance fuel savings using real-time data. Honeywell is also planning to offer a retrofit solution based on the same core hardware, and common software is also planned for the A320 and A330 fleet of aircraft.
Honeywell has been supplying FMS since Airbus’ first A300 went into service, and its FMS family is already deployed on Airbus A320, A330, A350 and A380 aircraft.