 |
| Two NAVAIR AV-8B Harrier II aircraft. Photo: General Dynamics |
[Avionics Today 05-26-2015] General Dynamics Mission Systems’ Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) team has delivered the third software release to the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The software upgrades are loaded into the Mission System Computer (MSC) in AV-8B Harrier II aircraft used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The software release, using the FACE Technical Standard, aims to provide improved functionality for faster, less expensive integration of MSC applications. General Dynamics received the contract to upgrade AV-8B Harrier’s MSCs with the next-generation FACE Infrastructure and capability in 2013.
“This is the first military aircraft computer to have the NAVAIR advanced computing environment,” said Carlo Zaffanella, vice president of maritime and strategic systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems. “The goal of this capability will be for technical professionals working on the AV-8B Harrier to swap applications in a way that’s similar to changing and upgrading applications on a smartphone.”
Following the latest release, General Dynamics will begin rigorously testing additional processor and core software in AV-8B Harrier MSCs. The government will then test to ensure that the upgraded mission system computers support flight clearance and fleet introduction.