Orbit hope to take-off with the Russian MC-21 Jet

4 June, 2017

The Russian new narrow-body aircraft is built to compete with Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, and uses Orbit's Orion™ audio management system

The success of the MC-21 passenger plane test flight on May 28th, was a good news for Orbit Communications Systems Ltd. the provider of precision tracking-based communications solutions and airborne audio management systems from Natanya, Israel.

Orbit CEO, Eitan Livneh
Orbit CEO, Eitan Livneh

The plane is built by the Russian aircraft manufacturer, Irkut, to compete with Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Most importantly from Orbit’s point of view – it  uses Orbit’s Orion audio management system, customized for Irkut by the UAC Integration Center.

Recenty Techtime has learned that each plane consists of Orion systems worth a few hundred thousands of dollars. It means that for a long term – the MC-21 success means $millions worth of order in the next decade.

It is the right development at the right time. Last week the company (traded in Tel aviv) reported a decline in its first quarter sales, from $10 million last year to $7.4 million in the first quarter of 2017. In an interview to Techtime, Orbit CEO, Eitan Livneh, said that the MC-212 project reflect the company’s new strategy: “long term strategic agreements to boost growth.”

Benefits of Mass production

Livne: “After many man-hours of development, working hand-in-hand with Irkut and the UAC Integration Center, the MC-21’s first flight was truly a momentous occasion at Orbit. We are proud to have a part in this project with our Orion audio management system.” The Irkut MC-21 is a single-aisle twinjet airliner produced by Irkut with avionics supplied by the UAC Integration Center. Both are subsidiaries of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.

It is expected that the MC-21 will be a replacement for Russians outdated airliner’s fleet as well as an attractive offer abroad. Even now Irkut reported a backlog of 185 planes. It goat is to start producing the aircraft in a volume of 20 planes annually, and reach a volume of 70 planes a year by 2023.

Orbit's Orion audio management system
Orbit’s Orion audio management system

Orion’s 3D Audio delivers a 360-degree clear audio experience. Applications include radio separation, crew positioning, directional safety alerts and real-time threat alerts aligned to the pilot’s line-of-sight. Its 3D Audio technology uses binaural and psycho-acoustic principles to provide directional audio delivered into the ears of the pilot, so that the spatial position of the sound source can be located.

Orion is powered by a patented Dual IP Ring topology, which forms the foundation for Orion’s key benefits: 3D Audio, Adaptive noise reduction, Voice-activated detection, Incremental scalability and flexibility, Inherent redundancy and Reduced weight.

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