Risk-reduction flight test conducted with Rockwell Collins' CRIIS equipment
NewsJuly 16, 2015
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Taking advantage of a previously planned range maintenance flight, Rockwell Collins and Common Range Integrated Instrumentation System (CRIIS) Program Office (SPO) personnel worked with The Atlantic Test Range (ATR) personnel to perform a live, risk-reduction flight using production form, fit, and function F/A-18 airborne and ground equipment from the CRIIS program.
During flight key functions were tested including data link network ingression after takeoff, air-to-ground downlink of Time, Space, and Position Information (TSPI) messages, and ATR control room real-time monitoring of both ARDS and CRIIS position data.
The CRIIS program provides a military test range system that, according to company officials, is expected to replace the Advanced Range Data System (ARDS) currently in use by some U.S. military test ranges. It fulfills the the Department of Defense (DoD) requirements to provide TSPI as well as additional platform test data employing a data link that includes multiple independent levels of security (MILS), which is capable of protecting four levels between top secret and unclassified data in aircraft and ground components.
“We are done with development and are on track to complete our testing this year and start production in 2016,” says said Tommy Dodson, vice president and general manager of Surface Solutions for Rockwell Collins.
Company officials expect the CRIIS equipment to support a variety of platforms, including fifth-generation aircraft, and implement the DoD’s common test and training infrastructure for improved operational realism.
