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 run-time
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.