Military Embedded Systems

Reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements are pervasive throughout defense electronics platforms. Electronic footprints continue to shrink so much that traditional small form factors like 3U VPX or 3U CompactPCI are considered too big. So, it's not surprising that the VITA Standards Organization (VSO) is looking at new form factors, such as Short VPX. In this podcast, Jay Grandin, Vice President of Product Development at Annapolis Micro Systems discusses demand for small form factors, how Short VPX can meet that demand and how it fits into the Open VPX ecosystem. Grandin also explores what military applications would be best suited for the new standard and how it could potentially work within the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard, of which version 1.0 is expected to be completed this year.

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., FACE/SOSA Virtual Technical Interchange Meeting. Pentek, Inc., announced a development platform, the Model 8256, that is aligned to the SOSA Technical Standard. 

BERWYN, Pennsylvania and HUNTSVILLE, Alabama. Officials from Ametek announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abaco Systems, Inc., a provider of mission-critical embedded computing systems for electronic warfare, radar, avionics, communications, and other military applications from Veritas Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.35 billion.

Annapolis, MD (March 15, 2021) – A new VITA 46.11-aligned WILD VPX Chassis Manager (WABGM0) has been introduced by Annapolis Micro Systems, a leading FPGA board and systems supplier. It enables critical chassis control, maintenance, and security functions, was developed in alignment with the SOSA Technical Standard, and offers commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) availability.

The U.S. military is constantly in search of technology that will lead to improving military capabilities while minimizing the risk to the warfighter. The COM-HPC standard promises to increase the functionality of edge computing and usher in new applications that will forever change the way military operations are conducted. There exist multiple opportunities as well as some challenges related to the adoption of COM-HPC for military use.

SOLOMONS, Maryland. Officials from the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) and the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortia will be leading the Open Group FACE and SOSA Consortia Expo & Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) virtual event next month on March 23, 2021 from 11 am to 4 pm Est.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona. The Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard applies open-architecture concepts to high-performance defense sensor systems such as radar, electronic warfare (EW), and signals intelligence (SIGINT) platforms. The goal of the standard is to design a non-propriety open systems architecture based on Department oif Defense (DoD)-relevant government or commercially available open standards to lower system development costs, and make system reconfigurability and future system upgrades easier and faster, thus improving overall C4ISR capabilities. A key part of the developing technical standard will be how to ensure conformance to the standard is met for hardware or SOSA modules claiming alignment with the Technical Standard. This webcast, titled "SOSA Conformance and What it Means to You," held Wednesday, February 24, featured SOSA Consortium experts discussing the current status of the Technical Standard, what the upcoming 1.0 release means for conforming to the standard, and how you should approach SOSA conformance for your products.

Shared perspectives from embedded COTS suppliers at the annual Embedded Tech Trends (ETT) conference and networking event typically flavor my January/February column each year. Back-to-back twenty-minute press briefings in three-hour periods not only provide column fodder but also help us plan editorial contributions for the coming year.  

FRANCE. Interface Concept, company specializing in the design and manufacturing of COTS embedded boards and systems, announced the ComEth4412a, a 3U VPX dual plane hybrid PCIe Gen 3 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet Switch, designed in alignment with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) technical standard.

Despite the fact that OpenVPX is an open standard architecture, there is a significant amount of variation of system platforms. The application needs for OpenVPX systems continue to evolve rapidly. New challenges brought by the SOSA [Sensor Open Systems Architecture] Consortium’s efforts; new complementary VITA [VMEbus International Trade Association] standards; size, weight, and power (SWaP) concerns; the expanding number of backplane profiles; and SpaceVPX implementations are requiring a versatile approach by the backplane/enclosure developers.