Provides Verified Software And COTS Hardware Solution

Curtiss-Wright Corporation's Defense Solutions division, in collaboration with Airbus Defense and Space, has introduced the SferiAdvise System Ready Application (SRA), a new pre-validated, pre-tested digital map, flight plan, and helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (HTAWS) solution.

It provides system designers with a verified software and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) module solution, yet adds no additional cost. The SferiAdvise SRA, which supports both 3U VPX and 6U VME form factor modules, eases and speeds the integration of digital map and mission management applications in defense and aerospace rotary-wing platforms.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with Airbus Defense and Space to offer system integrators pre-tested and pre-validated cost-effective solutions for digital mapping and mission management,” said Lynn Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense Solutions division. “Our System Ready Application approach reduces design risk and cuts costs and time to market, helping to ensure the success of our customers’ system designs.”

SferiAdvise SRA Performance Features:

• Digital Map: Capable of displaying raster maps in all relevant formats and scales in accordance with the requirements defined by DO-257.
• Flight Plan: In accordance with DO-257, the SferiAdvise SRA uses the GAMA protocol interface to receive and display flight plan information from a Flight Management System (FMS). When not interfaced to the FMS, it can process and display pre-loaded flight plans in accordance with real-time navigation data.
• HTAWS: The SferiAdvise SRA provides predictive (as opposed to reactive) aural and visual warnings of terrain and obstacle threats in accordance with, and surpassing, the requirements of DO-309 for rotary wing platforms.

The SferiAdvise SRA combines the Airbus Defense and Space’s popular SferiAdvise Digital Map and Mission Management Solution and Curtiss-Wright rugged VPX-based commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) board-sets. Two different configurations of the SferiAdvise SRA are currently available, one for use in VPX-based systems and the other for use with VME architectures.

The pre-validated VPX board-set consists of Curtiss-Wright’s recently announced VPX3-150 3U VPX Single Board Computer (SBC) and VPX3-718 Graphics Controller Module. Both of these compact, small form factor boards support DO-254 DAL C and DO-178C DAL C certifiability to speed development while reducing the cost and risk of safety-certifiable aviation systems. The associated DO-178B DAL C certification artifacts are also available for SferiAdvise.

The VME board-set combines SferiAdvise and Curtiss-Wright’s VME-186 SBC and XMC-715 Graphics Controller mezzanine card. This board-set, designed for applications that require higher performance, supports certifiability to DO-178C DAL C.

FMI: www.curtisswright.com