Military Embedded Systems

Small satellites and their reduced size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) requirements are challenging microelectronics suppliers to deliver the performance of commercial technology while also maintaining reliability. I discussed these trends in a McHale Report podcast with Tom Smelker, vice president and general manager for Mercury Systems Custom Microelectronic Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona. We also covered sensor processing tends and how artificial intelligence will impact future space applications. Smelker also discussed what he calls the end of Moore’s law and its potential impact on the military electronics market. Edited excerpts follow.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona. Our new website and new URL: MilitaryEmbedded.com are now live. We are very excited. A big thank you to our development team, production team, and editorial staff for bringing our new online home together. Check out some highlights and key categories below and then browse away.

Contested space, where nations compete for military dominance outside Earth’s atmosphere, is driving many military space platforms, but commercial space and small satellites continue to change the way the military suppliers of space electronics approach radiation-hardened component design from testing to deployment.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona. Elements of the Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) technical standard are leveraging standards developed by the VITA Standards Organization, specifically VITA 65, also known as OpenVPX. VITA has also become a participating member of the SOSA Consortium along with the Air Force, Army, and Navy. This harmonization between the services, industry, and industry standardization bodies helps drive the SOSA initiative’s strong momentum within the defense community. This webcast titled, "SOSA and VITA: Enabling Open Standards for Improved Capability," to be held on Wednesday, June 24, at 2 pm Est., will cover how the SOSA Consortium is working with VITA to enable standardization of VITA-based standards within the SOSA Technical Standard.

SOLOMONS, Maryland. Officials at the Open Group and the consortia they manage - the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) and the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) - are organizing the The Open Group FACE and SOSA Consortia Expo & TIM, to be held September 22, 2020 at the Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center & Marina in Solomons, Maryland. FACE and SOSA Consortia Meetings will be held September will follow the expo at the same location from Sept. 23-25, 2020.

IRVINE, California. Meggitt Defense Systems, Inc. (MDSI) won a contract to provide the Thermal Management System (TMS) to General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights, Michigan, for the Abrams program. The TMS delivers active cooling to the upgraded Abrams electronics and crew.

The COTS Confidential Roundtable gathers experts from the defense electronics industry – from major prime contractors to defense component suppliers. Each Roundtable will explore topics important to the military embedded electronics market. This issue, we discuss how embedded computing suppliers are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for military applications, the impact of the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium and other open architecture initiatives, and the outlook for the future of embedded technologies in the defense and aerospace markets with sponsors of the Embedded Tech Trends (ETT) conference, held during late January in Atlanta, Georgia.