Avionics upgrade -- ASSTA 3.0 -- makes 1st German combat jet flight
NewsFebruary 13, 2012
MANCHING, Germany. German air force pilots completed the first flight of a Tornado with the new Cassidian avionics update called Avionics System Software Tornado Ada (ASSTA 3.0).
The ASSTA 3.0 software will be finalized and certified over the next few months. Upgraded Tornados aircraft will then be deployed with the German Air Force later this year.
In addition to a Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS)/Link 16, the ASSTA 3.0 standard also has a digital video and voice recorder (DVDR), a radio device, and an integrated Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (LJDAM), which is guided to a target by means of laser or satellite navigation.
Development of ASSTA version 3.1 has already started and involves replacing old monochrome TV/tabs with new color displays (L/RNHDD). It also includes integration of the MIDS Basic Package with a full mission control/situation display and video images from the Light Designator Pod and Recce Light Pod.
Cassidian engineers develop and manufacture all of the Tornado's avionics, communication systems, center fuselage sections, flight control computer as well as the airplane’s entire computer system.
