Military Embedded Systems

WASHINGTON. Eizo Rugged Solutions reports that it will showcase its latest high-performance open architecture embedded video graphics and GPGPU solutions in live demonstrations at the upcoming Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition 2023, set to be held October 9-11 in Washington, D.C.

This week’s product, the Annapolis Micro Systems WILDSTAR SAF1 Direct RF Small Form Factor Module with the Intel Agilex Direct RF Series FPGA, may be deployed as a single standalone unit for edge applications close to the sensor and in other tight envelope man-packable environments, or dual-mounted on a 3U OpenVPX baseboard for processing-intensive applications such as electronic warfare (EW) and signals intelligence (SIGINT).

LONDON. Many questions on open architecture initiatives and the Department of Defense (DoD) modular open systems approach (MOSA) mandate were being floated to U.S. embedded hardware and software suppliers at DSEI in London this week. So, over dinner last night, I asked Chip Downing, Outreach Committee Co-chair of the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium and Senior Market Development Director for Aerospace and Defense at RTI, what type of open architecture strategies are being pursued by European defense departments and if the U.S initiatives like FACE influenced those efforts.

LONDON. Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium members exhibiting at DSEI 2023 tell me there is considerable interest in the SOSA Technical Standard and in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) modular open systems approach (MOSA) even if there is not an official MOSA mandate like the one from the DoD.

I spent my first day touring the USA pavilion at DSEI 2023 in London. It’s my first time back to this massive show in four years; I saw many familiar faces and technologies from U.S. defense electronic suppliers, from connectors and signal-processing solutions to avionics boxes and rugged servers. Many companies are also showcasing and demonstrating their open-architecture designs.

So much of our contributed content – and even our staff-written features – over the past few years have been focused on open architecture initiatives and modular open systems approach (MOSA) initiatives like the Sensor Open Sensor Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard. We even produce an annual full-sized magazine on SOSA, as well as an issue covering the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE). But for the last decade our coverage has often been dominated by the twin topics of obsolescence and supply chain, both of which we cover in this issue.

The pace at which technology is ramping up, including in the military electronics and implements arena, is forcing the defense and aerospace industry to increase its adoption of new tech and parts. Such advances in pace and adoption does expose companies to more risk, but the military supply chain is not alone in this dilemma.

For many COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] vendors and VITA members, the Tri-Service Memo issued in January 2019 by the secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force was the highest validation of several decades of their combined efforts.

Naval warfare demands seamless, real-time data sharing across multiple platforms, from aircraft to surface ships to submarines. As conflicts become increasingly complex and fast-paced, the key to winning lies in the ability to communicate critical data in real time.

Designers of test and measurement systems for military applications such as radar and electronic warfare (EW) are stepping up to use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to enable better testing of cognitive functionality. Meanwhile, modern digital architecture adoption is driving military test requirements.