OSLO, Norway, Jan. 26, 2012. Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Norwegian have announced a firm order for 100 737 MAX airplanes and 22 Next-Generation 737-800s.

MANAMA, Bahrain, 26 Jan. 2012. 2012 Bahrain International Airshow attendees, which numbered roughly 60,000, logged more than $930 million in business deals at the event. Participants at the show included the U.S. Air Force, which flew aircraft from the Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command, and the U.S. Navy, which also conducted stunning aerial displays.

By Chris Murray

When it comes to a sound certification practice, commercial and military avionics are light years ahead of the pack. DO-178 certification, first introduced in the 1980s, represents the gold-standard, requiring companies to comply with software processes that mandate requirements traceability, software architecture and coding guidance, comprehensive testing of all code, and the production of certifiable products. Both commercial and military industries boast the healthiest record on system safety. And, largely due to these processes, projects such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) are recognized for the highest levels of design and safety integrity.

Modern aerospace communications systems must be mobile, operate in harsh environments, overcome active and passive interference, and meet a variety of mission scenarios.  Interoperability requirements demand flexibility, while the proliferation of multimedia data streams demand high throughput.  Consider, for example, the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), which must transmit and receive a number of waveforms with a significant variation in the form factor for the transceivers.  To meet all these requirements, designers must create systems that combine software and hardware, using both programmable DSPs and FPGAs. To create, test, and deploy these types of systems, engineers need a new paradigm for development that focuses on creating and testing models and prototypes before final hardware implementations, saving both time and money.  

CAMBRIDGE, England, 24 Jan. 2012. Cambridge Pixel Ltd. in Cambridge, England, is introducing the HPx-200e PCI Express primary radar acquisition card that connects to a wide range of military and commercial radar types, including those from Raytheon, Sperry, Furono, Kelvin Hughes, Terma, JRC, Koden, as well as to specialist military radars. The card supports several analog and digital radar inputs, in addition to trigger and azimuth (ACP/ARP and parallel data) signals. The card also provides a capability to detect missing signals to provide software alarms for loss of triggers or azimuth data. The data-acquisition board retains the signature flexibility of the HPx range.

EAGLEVILLE, Pa., 22 Jan. 2012. U.S. Navy aircraft specialists needed common fiber optic test kits for Navy aviation systems. They found their solution from military electro-optics designers at Clear Align in Eagleville, Pa. Navy officials awarded Clear Align a contract to develop what company officials say is the first common fiber optic test kits naval aviation. Clear Align’s complex kits integrate test fiber optic inspection equipment and aircraft specific adapters for fiber optic testing capability to naval aircraft operating from aircraft carriers or from remote bases, Clear Align officials say.