At Embedded Tech Trends 2013, several of the sponsors were able to talk about programs where they have been successful. Let’s take a quick look at some of those programs where VITA technology has been deployed.
Aitech (www.rugged.com) was the first company to supply – and internally radiation-qualify – multiple VMEbus products for use on the International Space Station (ISS). With the first having been installed in 1995, more than 100 Aitech SBCs and PMCs on the ISS are still in use today, and more programs are in the pipeline to be added to the ISS.
Mercury Systems, Inc. (www.mrcy.com) pointed out several programs using their technology. Mercury Systems platforms can be found in sensor processing solutions for the F-35 and P-8 MMA radars, Raytheon’s Advanced Distributed Aperture System (ADAS), Gorgon Stare Electro-Optical (EO)/Infrared (IR) Sensors, Joint Counter-Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) program, Navy Aegis combat system radar, Patriot missile system radar, Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) electronic warfare systems, and many other programs.
4DSP LLC (www.4dsp.com) products have found homes in airline industry programs used for strain and temperature measurements, embedded structural health monitoring, real-time 3D shape rendering, and composite materials characterization and quantification.
ADLINK Technology Inc. (www.adlink.com) highlighted a remote sonar system towed by a naval vessel to detect other vessels and objects under water. The rugged design is suitable for operation in underwater environments. Its compact size and ultra low power consumption fit in the limited space of the towed unit. They also mentioned a sniper detection system used to determine position and distance by a microphone array deployed on vehicles moving up to 60 mph. The rugged design is suitable for operation in ground vehicle environments.
Pentek (www.pentek.com) signal processing products have found homes in U.S. Navy Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) systems. Pentek products score high with the Navy acquisition system: reducing development time, and acquisition and maintenance costs. The open architecture standards used in these products enable easier new technology insertion so that the latest technology is available to key Navy programs.
CES – Creative Electronic Systems (www.ces.ch) develops scalable systems, using COTS principles, with modular functional units. These modules are widely used in commercial, military, and unmanned aerial vehicles for test, simulation, airborne mission, and primary flight computer systems.
Curtiss-Wright’s mission computer subsystem continues to power smart flight training
Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions (www.cwcontrols.com) recently received a follow-on contract from Pilatus Aircraft Ltd to provide a fully integrated open architecture-based mission computer subsystem for use in its PC-21 NextGen Trainer aircraft. Over the lifetime of this PC-21 program, this contract is valued at more than $11 million. Under the contract, Curtiss-Wright will provide Pilatus with its rugged
MPMC-9350 processing subsystem. Shipments under the new contract began in October 2012, and are scheduled to continue through August 2014.
“We are very proud that Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has extended its ongoing partnership with Curtiss-Wright by selecting our fully integrated off-the-shelf subsystem technology for use in their industry-leading trainer aircraft,” said Tom Quinly, President of Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions.
The Pilatus Aircraft PC-21 is a next-generation turboprop trainer that provides an unmatched level of advanced technology, configuration flexibility, and lifecycle cost savings. With an intelligent avionics system that can be modified to suit the student pilot’s phase of training, the PC-21 is significantly less costly than jet aircraft training alternatives.
The Curtiss-Wright MPMC-9350 provides the PC-21 aircraft with a mission computer that supplies processing for pilot and co-pilot multi-function display symbology and mapping as well as radar simulation. The MPMC-9350 is a rugged integrated system solution that accommodates the highest power 3U VPX or CompactPCI cards in the embedded computing market within a five-slot forced-air enclosure. The MPMC-9350 is designed to meet the harsh environments of many military computing applications. Circuit cards installed in the system enclosure are isolated from external environmental conditions such as humidity, dust, and sand.