NCMS Selects Cybernet Systems Corporation for Top Award in 2025 CTMA Technology Competition
Winning technology awarded at NCMS headquarters following finalists’ demonstration event
ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) is pleased to announce that Cybernet Systems Corporation has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) Technology Competition, a highly selective annual contest that identifies the most innovative maintenance and sustainment technologies relevant to DOD operations. The winning technology, NDT Tracker for Mobile C-Scan Generation, is a mobile non-destructive testing (NDT) tool linked to advanced software that greatly simplifies ultrasonic thickness grid inspection for aircraft structural components.
Three finalists gave dynamic presentations of their technology solutions earlier today in an event that was livestreamed from NCMS headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI. Each finalist was permitted 30 minutes to demonstrate their technologies in action and provide information about their solutions’ relevance, benefits, and impact on maintenance and sustainment operations. A video recording of the event will be made available on the NCMS website later this week, as will a booklet featuring information about all of this year’s entries. A total of 35 entries were submitted for consideration this year.
As a new addition to the format of the competition this year, NCMS teamed up with the US Navy’s Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRC-SE), which is Naval Air Systems Command’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider in the southeast region. FRC-SE personnel selected five focus areas for which they sought innovative solutions: aircraft data integration, laser cutting on aluminum, robotics and automation, surface preparation and corrosion control, and expeditionary repair of aircraft structural components.
“The judges selected this winner from a pool of extraordinary innovative technologies,” said Lisa Strama, NCMS President and CEO. “We are thrilled to be able to provide FRC-SE with a technology solution that can be applied to current challenges they face in their maintenance and sustainment operations.”
NDT Tracker for Mobile C-Scan Generation enables accurate semi-auto NDT for aircraft structural components. The NDT Tracker is a mobile, camera-based tool that reduces ultrasonic thickness grid inspection labor from two inspectors to one, cutting labor in half. The Tracker eliminates hand-drawn grids and manual recording, using patent-pending AutoClick Combo-Filtering to auto-select accurate thickness readings, reducing average inspection time from 20 to 2 seconds per cell—a 10x efficiency gain. Color-mapped C-Scan reports over inspection area imagery eliminate re-inspections due to miscommunication. The shortened inspection phase accelerates turnaround time and boosts maintenance throughput. The Tracker now operates from 0.5-5ft range with a 4ft x 4ft inspection area extendable via leapfrogging.
This technology is in active use at Tinker Air Force Base, Robins Air Force Base, and by commercial aircraft service companies like Delta TechOps, ST Engineering, and Aeroman. Aircraft manufacturers (Boeing, Airbus, Gulfstream) are pursuing adoption. The Tracker won the 2024 SAE/A4A International Innovation Award and the 2024 ASNT Cool New Ideas Award by popular vote.
Cybernet Systems has been awarded $100,000 in project support funding. The funds will be applied to a selected DOD demonstration initiative within the CTMA Program, to the extent permitted under the existing CTMA cooperative agreement.
Selecting the award winner was a panel of judges including a representative from FRC-SE and principals for the Joint Technology Exchange Group (JTEG), a collaborative group formed by the DOD to improve coordination in the introduction of new or improved technology, new processes, or new equipment into DOD depot maintenance activities. The same group gathered earlier this spring to review all 35 entries and select the competition’s three finalists, who earned their recognition for excellence in maintenance relevance or impact, originality and contribution to state-of-the-art solutions, technical maturity, cross-service applicability, and feasibility/practicality.
For more details about the CTMA Technology Competition, please see: https://ncms.org/ctma-technology-competition.
About NCMS
NCMS is a cross-industry technology development consortium dedicated to improving the competitiveness and strength of the US industrial base. NCMS leverages a network of industry, government, and university partners to develop, demonstrate, and transition innovative technologies efficiently, with less risk and lower cost. NCMS enables world-class companies to work effectively with other members on new opportunities—matching highly capable companies with the providers and end users who need their innovations and technology solutions. The NCMS network benefits from an accelerated progression of idea creation through execution. Learn more at www.ncms.org, at NCMS's LinkedIn, and at @ncmsmfg.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b1f122d3-ecdd-466a-b97c-1f222e10cc08
Media Contact: Pam Hurt, NCMS Chief Communications Officer, VP Communications & Partnership Pam.Hurt@ncms.org
CTMA Technology Competition Winner
Kevin Tang, an engineer with Cybernet Systems Corporation, accepts the award for the 2025 CTMA Technology Competition for his company's entry, NDT Tracker for Mobile C-Scan Generation. Cybernet Systems has been awarded $100,000 in project support funding, applicable to a selected DOD demonstration initiative within the CTMA Program.
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