Situation

The U.S. Air Force initiated the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to standardize configurations, lower the cost of ownership, and increase survivability of its aging C-130 aircraft. The AMP ensures compliance with Air Force Navigation and Safety Master Plan and Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) requirements for upgrades to existing communication, navigation, safety, and surveillance (CNS) equipment so the fleet can be deployed worldwide. The Boeing Company was selected as the primary contractor for the six-year development program and is expected to begin low-rate initial production in 2008.

At the heart of the C-130 AMP avionics upgrade is the Mission Processor (MP). The MP provides primary computing capability for the cockpit display generation, and extensive video processing, which supports the manipulation and distribution of new and legacy video sources to all aircraft displays. Each C-130 AMP aircraft will contain two MPs for redundant operation, with special operations models, like the C-130 gunships, containing up to four.

Smiths Aerospace is primarily responsible for delivery of the MP, including its critical infrastructure software. The MP uses open avionics architecture with a partitioned software operating system to enable software applications from multiple suppliers to be hosted on a single processor module. Flight software from various suppliers will be integrated and hosted together in the Mission Processor, providing a truly integrated systems approach for the C-130 AMP avionics.

Solution

The MP’s critical infrastructure software is a combination of Wind River’s Platform for Safety Critical ARINC-653 real-time commercial operating system and development tools, Ada Core’s GNAT Pro Ada 95 compiler and development environment for PSC ARINC-653, including GPS, and Smiths Aerospace infrastructure software. The Software Common Operating Environment (SCOE) delivery provides the C-130 AMP team with an ARINC-653 software partitioned operating system as well as a full set of “partitioning aware” tools to support software development and debug for the PowerPC.

AdaCore was specifically selected by Smiths’ MP development team for its superior technical expertise with both Ada compilation systems and with avionics application development environments. With fast compilation speed, quality code generation, and an extensive set of switches and pragmas (compilation control directives), AdaCore’s GNAT Pro specifically addressed the MP’s need for mission-critical robustness and flexibility. The company also proved instrumental to Smiths in the development of the Italian and Japanese Air Force KC-767A Mission Control System, the first avionics application to utilize the SCOE.

As part of the contract to Smiths Aerospace, AdaCore ported the compiler, tools and runtime libraries to work with PSC ARINC-653. AdaCore also provided an Ada binding to the ARINC-653 APEX facilities for partitioned operating systems, as provided in PSC ARINC-653. New debugging modes had to be supported as well. The company developed a new version of the Ada runtime library certifiable to avionics safety standard DO-178B Level A, and worked with Verocel to develop certification evidence for it.

Impact

Boeing completed the successful first flight of the C-130 AMP aircraft on September 19, 2006.

The MP project is a perfect illustration of how mission-critical aerospace systems should be architected. Turnkey avionics configurations, like the SCOE, facilitate the integration of future upgrades and minimize the impact of obsolescence. And with device software complexity rising exponentially, only dedicated partnerships that provide true technology integration and optimization of best-of-breed products will provide companies like Smiths Aerospace and Boeing with the technology they require to deliver their products faster, better, at lower cost and more reliably.