Military Embedded Systems

VITA 90 is a new small-form-factor (SFF) standard that is a direct descendant of VITA 74, an inherently rugged module standard with a compelling space, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) proposition, and aimed at use in many military and aerospace applications. Recently, this standard has been causing quite a ruckus within the MIL-rugged embedded systems community, as VITA 90 has been selected by a government-led consortium of manufacturers and integrators for inclusion in the new Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard.

Today, with the increasing use of unmanned platforms to host intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance [ISR] sensor applications, system integrators need to ensure that the sensor systems and the critical data they collect and store are protected from falling into the wrong hands. By their very nature, unmanned platforms – whether airborne, on land, or at sea – pose more complex problems for security. All systems, regardless if deployed on manned or unmanned platforms, are now required to adhere to the Department of Defense (DoD) mandate for a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). The good news for unmanned ISR system designers is that The Open Group’s SOSA [Sensor Open System Architecture] Consortium recently released Technical Standard for SOSA Reference Architecture, Edition 1.0, which defines many aspects of trusted computing for sensor systems. The SOSA standard combines MOSA principles with security to enable the rapid and affordable deployment of secure sensor systems on unmanned platforms.

The objectives of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) – to improve system capabilities, compatibility, and cost – are predicated on a tight collaboration between government and industry. Although each service branch of the military has a model or view of what it needs in its standards to produce the systems it requires, a common goal of interoperability has reshaped the military-electronics landscape over these past few years.

Electrical power onboard aircraft is traditionally generated from some type of engine and AC generator set. AC power is distributed and then converted to DC at or near the point of load, as every electronic system requires DC power. Increasingly, DC power distribution strategies are taking the lead in power-system design, especially for applications – like unmanned aerial systems (UASs) – where size, weight, and power (SWaP) concerns are paramount. Modular DC-DC options enable smart voltage trade-offs, flexible distribution architectures, and the ability to scale for reuse in various applications across aircraft used in military and civil arenas.

This week’s product, ADLNK Technology’s VPX3-TL module, integrates an 8-core CPU for enhanced graphics computing, artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration capabilities, and diverse I/O for next-generation, mission-critical applications. The module is based on Intel Xeon W-11000E processor, formerly Tiger Lake-H, with enhanced data and graphics performance and targets Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), radar, electronic warfare (EW), and other defense applications.

With the adoption of a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), the standardization of electronics has pushed rapidly into new markets and platforms. Starting in traditional defense applications, MOSA systems have moved into more advanced systems and applications.

Modern aerospace and defense platforms, especially in the growing field of unmanned vehicles, need more processing capability for compute-intense applications including AI, sensor processing, and fusion in avionics, that can be easily refreshed with new technology to meet new threats while keeping costs down and speeding time to market. Simplifying integration using an open architecture approach facilitates better affordability, scalability, interoperability, and sustainability across the entire military embedded ecosystem.

Pixus Technologies, a provider of embedded computing and enclosure solutions, now offers a small form factor enclosure for development and demonstration of 3U OpenVPX systems.

See more, detect more, and decode more – these are the primary requirements being asked of unmanned systems in the military, and proprietary hardware and software can make achieving those goals a challenge. This is why Army, Navy, and Air Force leaders mandated a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) for all new programs and upgrades. MOSA examples include the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard and the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Technical Standard. These initiatives among others, aim to offer commonality of hardware to enable easier and more affordable technology insertion in unmanned systems.

Experts from the U.S. Army and defense industry discussed Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) strategies for defense electronic applications in air, land, sea, and spectrum domains at our first annual MOSA Virtual Summit.