Military Embedded Systems

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.

ASHBURN, Va. Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions introduced the CHAMP-XD4 (VPX6-485) and the CHAMP-FX7 engines, among the initial members of the company's new Fabric100 class of SOSA aligned system elements, for use in compute-intensive defense, aerospace, and industrial applications.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. Abaco Systems (a business unit of AMETEK) introduced the SBC3513, a Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) aligned single-board computer (SBC) that features the Intel Xeon W processor -- formerly known as Tiger Lake H -- with eight cores operating at 2.6GHz, 64 Gbytes of DDR4 RAM, and as much as 480 Gbytes of nVME SSD.

Designed with a 100GbE data plane, 25GbE control plane, and PCIe Gen4 to the backplane, the rugged, commercial-off-the-shelf SBC3513 is well suited for demanding command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (C4ISR) and industrial applications.

QUIMPER, France. -- Interface Concept introduced the ComEth4682e, a 3U OpenVPX Ethernet switch which is 25/100Gb Ethernet capable and aligned with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard. This switch has been developed for high-computing applications, including radar, sensor, electronic warfare, and network processing.

For defense applications, responsiveness, accuracy, and precision have never been more critical to mission success. Expanding the connectivity bandwidth within and between systems enables faster time-to-solution and greater mission capability through higher data resolution and fidelity, all of these with reduced latency.

For many COTS vendors and VITA members, the Tri-Services 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. The memorandum clearly stated that, going forward, modular open systems approach (MOSA) supporting standards “should be included in all requirements, programming and development activities for future weapon system modifications and new start development programs to the maximum extent possible.” Examples of MOSA standards include the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) and CMOSS, both of which rely on OpenVPX hardware as their foundation.

ORLANDO, Florida. EIZO Rugged Solutions Inc. has launched the Condor GR2S-A4500-ETH, a 3U OpenVPX graphics card aligned with Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) standards and designed for compute-intensive sensor processing applications, the company announced in a statement.