Sole means navigation in US Navy aircraft

The current edition of the US Federal Radionavigation Plan, issued in 1984, presents a consolidated federal plane on the management of those radionavigation systems which are used by both the civilian and military sectors. It states the US Dept. of Defense (DoD) goal to phase out the use of TACAN, VOR/DME, OMEGA, LORAN C, and TRANSIT in military platforms and for Global Positioning System (GPS) to become the standard radionavigation system for DoD. This would eliminate all the current sole-means air navigation systems (TACAN and VOR/DME) aboard military aircraft. Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations within controlled airspace requires an operating sole-means air navigation system to be aboard the aircraft. The authors investigate the requirements for GPS certification as a sole means air navigation system in the US National Airspace System (NAS); discuss the implication for GPS user equipment (UE) hardware and software; describe the actual UE implementation; and discuss approaches for UE integration with flight instruments on US Navy aircraft     

Convergence on two-level maintenance

The US Department of Defense is seeking an integrated maintenance methodology that provides increased operational availability of weapons systems with a reduced logistics pipeline. In this context the author discusses a systems engineering methodology for newly designed systems and a transition plan for existing systems that will accommodate two levels of maintenance. The first level will encompass an onboard monitoring and diagnostics system that will monitor the health status of the weapons system and initiate diagnostic procedures as abnormalities arise. The second level will consist of low-cost mission-specific suitcase testers     

Next generation digital GPS receiver

The architecture and technology features of the next-generation (NGR) digital GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver manufactured by Collin are described. The project's objective was to develop an advanced GPS receiver chipset with high antijam capabilities. The program, initiated in 1985, has provided the technology for miniature receiver products for both unmanned and manned vehicle applications. A two-channel version of the receiver is in full-scale development for tactical missile applications. A five-channel version is being tested and evaluated as a drop-in replacement for RCVR-3A, the US Department of Defense standard high dynamic receiver. The NGR design started with the digital signal processing architecture developed for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) hand-held GPS receiver. Enhancements were made to improve the antijam and signal acquisition performance. Producible, qualifiable and cost-effective silicon monolithic microwave integrated circuits and semicustom digital technologies were used to develop the core GPS chipset. A system design approach was established to permit reuse of mature and validated GPS software     

Assessment of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology

A summary report on a view of the state of the art and the potential performance benefits and limitations of UWB technology, with particular emphasis on radar applications, is presented. This review was carried out at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The focus is on issues pertinent to impulse radar. Recommendations are made for future US Dept. of Defense investments in UWB radar related studies and analyses     

DESC field failure evaluation program-`a cradle to grave approach'

The Defense Electronics Supply Center's (DESC's) field failure evaluation program is described. The primary objective of the program is to take positive corrective action steps to assure that quality electronics parts are used in US Department of Defense (DoD) weapon systems. The process flow of field failures from their inception to final corrective action is discussed. To illustrate this, four case studies are presented in which lab testing and coordination with the supplier has resulted in positive corrective action, improving the quality and reliability of the electronic components in DoD weapon systems     

The UWB (impulse) radar caper or `punishment of the innocent'

The author describes his experiences chairing a panel to review ultrawideband (UWB), or impulse, radar. The panel's report pointed out the fallacies in the proposals of the extremists pushing the rapid development of such a radar, noted the very good work of the real contributors, and made several recommendations. Pressure from the extremists led to an investigation by the Inspector General of the US Department of Defense of the panel and its members. That investigation found no basis for the allegations and concluded that the panel's report was credible and the panel balanced     

SDI

The President's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) began in 1983 following his historic March 23, 1983 speech. The SDI program has enjoyed substantial progress since this beginning. As the SDI begins its fourth year, the outlines of a basic system architecture, feasible for deployment in the 1990s, begins to emerge. In addition, SDI technical progress shows great promise not only for an initial strategic defense system, but also for maintaining defense effectiveness into the first decades of the next century against countermeasures designed specifically to defeat defenses.     

Spiral evolution applied to legacy avionics systems

The US Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), has determined that evolutionary acquisition is their strategy of choice for future software-intensive systems, and that the spiral development model (SDM) is the preferred method/process for software-intensive development life cycles. Electronic Systems Command (ESC) at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, has written a draft handbook on the use of Spiral Development for all future Command and Control (C2) systems, including reference to the DoD 5000 series and Air Force Program Directive 63-1, Acquisition System, which deploys this OSD mandate for future C2 systems. Barry Boehm's continued work on SDM which he conceived in the 1980s, is heavily biased toward development of new systems that are software-intensive, as noted in a workshop he gave at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in 2000.     

What every good manager should know about Ada

The author discusses fears and fantasies about Ada that she has heard, directly or indirectly, each of them a number of times, from people holding a variety of management and nonmanagement positions, working for the government and for government contractors, and with a wide range of technical backgrounds. She examines them from three points of view: the US Department of Defense program office view; the contractor project management view; and the design and implementation team view. Her goal is to help project managers discriminate facts about Ada from fears and fantasies and thus ensure its successful use     

Global Positioning System-the newest utility

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become the high tech utility of the 20th century. It was developed by the US Department of Defense as a precise navigation reference for the military services. Although the signal available to civilian users had been purposely degraded in what is called selective availability (SA), it is one of a few technological success stories that had positive unintended consequences. Recent announcements indicate that this SA impediment has been removed. GPS currently has a huge civilian market in commercial and private aviation, ship navigation, mapping and surveying, telecommunications position determination, and recreational boating and hiking. By 2003 sales of GPS based products are expected to be $16 billion     

Near term approach to data relay for satellites under test

The increasing need for a continuous communications link with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spacecraft during test missions in low Earth orbit (LEG) has resulted in greater interest in geosynchronous data relay services. This may be a more economical alternative to building additional remote tracking stations for the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN), and avoids tying up operational assets for a test mission. A low-cost near-term approach for such a space-based data relay system would utilize two existing Defense Satellite Communication System III spacecraft, two existing ground terminals, and a small, standardized terminal using autonomous antenna pointing for the space vehicle under test. Such a system design is presented     

NETEX UWB test results

The goal of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Networking in Extreme Environments (NETEX) program is to create a wireless networking technology for the military user that enables robust connectivity in harsh environments and support its integration into new and emerging sensor and communication systems. Phase 1, resulted in a thorough understanding of the effects of ultra wide band (UWB) system operation on existing military spectrum users based on modeling, simulation, and measurements. In order to accomplish this task, the DARPA Advanced Technology Office (ATO) procured a set of UWB emitters and broadband antennas to use as interference sources and contracted with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC AD) Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E/sup 3/) Division to provide candidate victim systems from the existing (legacy) US naval aircraft and shipboard inventory for testing. Testing was conducted on seventeen legacy systems during October 2002 through March 2003. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the results of these tests. This paper will provide a brief discussion of the UWB emissions as described by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and describe the generic UWB emitter used for these tests. It will then provide a discussion of the results as they apply to the purpose of the NETEX program.     

A user's view of the new MIL-STD-883 procedure 5012

The MIL-STD-883 Procedure 5012, Fault Coverage Measurement for Digital Microcircuits, is reviewed. Procedure 5012 specifies a standard fault set and fault coverage calculation techniques. The motivation and benefits of the standard are detailed. The effect of the standard fault set is studied by analysis and presentation of test case data. An actual example illustrates the costs of generating a compliant fault coverage report. US Department of Defense contractors, fault simulation developers, and semiconductor vendors are encouraged to create the necessary supporting infrastructure for the new standard     

Development of a Digital Array Radar (DAR)

Twenty-first century littoral and open-sea missions present US Navy (USN) shipboard-radar systems with the challenge of detecting small targets in severe clutter and against multiple sources of interference. In Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored a program to develop an active array radar that includes a digital beamforming (DBF) architecture. The DBF radar system has the potential for improved time-energy management, improved signal-to-clutter (S/C) ratios, improved reliability and reduced life-cycle costs. This paper summarizes the latest developments of the program during FY00     

机动弹道对抗导弹防御系统的效能分析

为了研究机动弹道对抗导弹防御系统的突防效能,梳理了弹道导弹防御系统的组成与作战流程,通过剖析系统的信息流向与处理过程,提炼出机动弹道突防导弹防御系统的机理,即采用机动弹道可使导弹预警信息处理能力下降,从而破坏、瘫痪导弹防御系统,实现导弹的有效突防.通过仿真滑翔机动弹道和椭圆弹道,并对计算的跟踪弧段、弹道估计和预报误差进行比较,结果表明：采用机动弹道,观测弧段压缩44％,弹道估计误差增大数倍,有效预报时间大大缩短.因此,采用机动弹道是导弹突防的一种有效手段.     

Successful deployment of commercial ATE to an Air Force I-level (back-shop) repair facility

In today's world of constrained budgets, one of the problems the military faces is the challenge of trying to maintain organic maintenance capabilities. Historically, the US Air Force has desired to achieve an autonomous capability to maintain the equipment it uses. This has been achieved, traditionally, by setting-up three levels of maintenance: organizational; intermediate (back-shop); and depot. The I-level back-shops often utilize militarized automatic test equipment (ATE) and test program sets (TPSs) to test today's complex aircraft line replaceable units (LRUs). And even though this is still a cost-effective maintenance philosophy, it has become costly to develop militarized ATE. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been very active in trying to reduce the total ownership cost of ATE in the government inventory. One approach is to utilize commercial, instead of Mil-Spec, ATE. However, utilizing commercial ATE at an USAF back-shop is not without its tradeoffs and challenges as it represents a significant deviation from the way the USAF maintenance squadrons are accustomed to "doing business." This paper documents the current success story of replacing the legacy C-17 I-level ATE with a commercial ATE.     

Developing error-free software

The authors describe experience gained in designing reconfiguration-error-free software at IBM's Federal Systems Division in Houston. From 1982-5, this division reduced software product defects to 0.11 errors per thousand lines of source code. Four measurements defining software quality are described. Also discussed is NASA's development of a standardized software support environment, and the US Department of Defense Software Technology for Adaptive Reliable Systems (STARS) program. These environments provide for early control, standardization, and integration of requirements, leading to more easily maintained software and reduction of critical skill level for its maintenance     

UAVs in Civil Airspace: Safety Requirements

This addresses topics concerning the development of future Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) so they can operate safely within the community of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Studies by the Defense Science Board, the Office of Science and Technology, Government Accountability Office, and the Congressional Research Service Library of Congress have all emphasized that soon there will be a significant number of UAVs operating side-by-side with manned civil aircraft in the FAA's National Airspace System (NAS). It is anticipated that future UAVs will perform many of the dull, dirty, and dangerous civilian missions. In 2006, about 600 UAVs were manufactured in the US alone. Therefore, there is an urgent need for developers of UAVs to understand safety certification for operations in the NAS, and that safety certification starts with safety requirements, safety design, safe development processes, safety verification, and safe operating procedures in the planned operational environment.     

燃气轮机分布式仿真的现状与展望

燃气轮机仿真正在从单一的、定制的仿真程序,向多学科综合的、适应各种需要的仿真环境发展。由于燃气轮机各个部件模型通常使用不同的编程模型和编程语言,需要在系统层次采用统一的编程模型来进行集成,同时屏蔽编程语言的差异。本文从编程模型的角度出发,对各种分布式仿真技术进行比较分析,并介绍了国内外燃气轮机仿真的发展现状。最后对国内燃气轮机分布式仿真的发展方向进行了探讨。     

Infrared Sky Surveys

A retrospective is given on infrared sky surveys from Thomas Edison’s proposal in the late 1870s to IRAS, the first sensitive mid- to far-infrared all-sky survey, and the mid-1990s experiments that filled in the IRAS deficiencies. The emerging technology for space-based surveys is highlighted, as is the prominent role the US Defense Department, particularly the Air Force, played in developing and applying detector and cryogenic sensor advances to early mid-infrared probe-rocket and satellite-based surveys. This technology was transitioned to the infrared astronomical community in relatively short order and was essential to the success of IRAS, COBE and ISO. Mention is made of several of the little known early observational programs that were superseded by more successful efforts.