Strategic Partners / Press Release
Ricardo, NW UAV and XRDi Form Alliance to
Provide Superior UAV Heavy-Fuel Engine Solutions
Partnership Launch Offers Full Production Capability
Van Buren Township, Mich., June
1, 2011– Ricardo, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Ricardo
plc, the leading independent provider of technology, product innovations and
engineering solutions, today announced the formation of a strategic business
alliance with XRD Inc. (XRDi) and NW UAV to design, develop and
manufacture a family of heavy-fuel engine solutions for unmanned systems.
Branded Wolverine, the
new engine line combines Ricardo’s engineering expertise with XRDi’s
propriety combustion technology and NW UAV’s advanced manufacturing
capabilities. The result is the industry’s most capable, dependable and
flexible heavy-fuel engines available.
“This partnership allows
Ricardo to offer unmanned propulsion solutions from concept design to
development, and prototype to production and support,” said Kent Niederhofer,
president of Ricardo, Inc. “We are now in the unique position to offer a range
of heavy-fuel engines, desperately needed for military and homeland security
tactical unmanned systems.”
The Wolverine engine line
ranges in size from three to more than 50 horsepower with the potential to
significantly reduce the logistics footprint by utilizingmany common parts.
XRDi’s Mechanically
Compressed Direct Injection (MCDI)system is a proprietary technology that
allows two-stroke engines to run on multi-fuels, greatly improving the
Wolverine engines fuel-efficiency, and has been tested in accordance with the
Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Aviation Regulation Part 33
(airworthiness standards, aircraft engines).
“XRDi
views the alliance with Ricardo and NW UAV as an evolutionary step forward
within the marketplace, a step that promises engineering solutions and superior
products which are designed and manufactured in America,” said Forrest Bowen,
Co-Owner of XRDi.
The Wolverine engines,
currently under consideration for several military programs, meet the U.S.
Army’s “One Fuel Forward” initiative and will be manufactured by NW UAV, one of
the largest UAV engine manufacturers in the United States.
“A robust series of heavy fuel engines is a
tool our warfighters have asked for several decades,” said Chris Harris,
President of NW UAV. “This alliance combines the skills needed to build fuel
efficient, purpose-built engines, for the small engine market. NW UAV is
excited to be part of this innovative teaming approach.”
“There’s no question that
increased surveillance time in theater saves lives,” said Dr. Ron Storm,
director of military business development at Ricardo. “This partnership brings
together the industry’s predominate heavy-fuel engine leaders to provide
immediate, market ready solutions to the unmanned systems industry.”
Ricardo is already accepting
orders for the Wolverine engine and anticipates announcing its first order
within the next several weeks.
Ricardo first launched the
Wolverine family of engines in May 2010, with the unveiling of the Wolverine3a
3.1 horsepower engine. Less than six months later, Ricardo announced the Wolverine3
successfully powered a small tactical UAV in October 2010 at the National
Nuclear Security Administration’s Nevada National Security Site.
About Ricardo visit www.ricardo.com
University of South Carolina
XRDi will collaborate with the University of South Carolina, College of Engineering and Information Technology (USC-ME) on engine research, design, engineering, testing, and commercialization.
Science and Engineering Services
SESI Headquarters and R&D Laboratory are located in Columbia, MD in a state of the art 32,000 sq. ft. facility. Manufacturing Operations are located in Huntsville, AL, occupying 279,000 sq. ft. SESI also has facilities in Radcliff, KY and Warner Robins, GA.
SESI Manufacturing Operations are located in Huntsville, Alabama and offer state-of-the-art electrical/ mechanical manufacturing and platform integration facilities including local aircraft hanger operations. SESI Huntsville Operations is geographically located near Redstone Arsenal, Alabama with primary focus on supporting the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command and its tenant Program Executive Offices weapon system hardware.
SESI, via partnership and existing DoD contracts, utilizes both Government and contractor facilities to support our rapidly growing customer base. SESI currently has access to in excess of one (1) million square feet of manufacturing, integration, warehousing and office/administrative support facilities in the Huntsville/Madison County area.
Our facilities and operations are ISO 9001:2000/AS 9100 Rev B registered and certified with Eagle Services of Dayton Ohio. We have been certified in the ISO Program for over 10 years.
Work performed via SESI Huntsville Manufacturing Operations’ contractor operated facilities utilize two primary locations/facilities totaling 274,000 square feet.
SESI has also been awarded the preferred supplier certification from Boeing Corporation, Northrup Grumman, and L3 Communications. The preferred supplier certification is an achievement based on SESI meeting an overall Bronze level certification for Business Processes, Silver Level for Delivery performance and bronze level for SPC.
