Wind River powers advanced threat display for fast jets, helicopters and transport aircraft

Wind River (NASDAQ: WIND) today announced that Terma has selected VxWorks as the foundation for its Advanced Threat Display (ATD). The ATD will deliver threat information to pilots using VxWorks, a mission-critical, real-time operating system (RTOS) that provides Terma with a proven path to RTCA DO-178B / EUROCAE ED-12B software safety certification. By standardizing on the Wind River Workbench tool suite for VxWorks, Terma is also able to increase product development efficiency and enable the use of open architecture and a broad tool-partner ecosystem across a wide number of device software development projects.

The ATD is a family of self-protection, situational-awareness displays for fast jets, helicopters and transport aircraft. The ATD is a 3ATI dedicated self-protection display providing a real-time correlated threat environment picture to the pilot. Control functions on the front bezel of the ATD and self-protection sub-systems integrated into a single display save real estate in the cockpit and provide a capable, intuitive user interface to the pilot. The product family currently exists in two configurations; a 4x3" bezel for general applications and a 6x3" bezel especially developed for the F-16. The ATD will use VxWorks mission-critical RTOS running on a variety of embedded processors. Terma is also able to offer a Quick Reaction Program, an ATD upgrade program that can be implemented on a wide variety of aircraft in as few as three months.

"We needed a robust, real-time software solution for the ATD," said Jørgen Jakobsen, manager of Terma Airborne Systems. "A pilot typically has no more than a few seconds to respond to incoming threats. Every second counts when it comes to threat detection. Selecting VxWorks, an industry-accepted RTOS, was the only decision that made sense for Terma. When an airforce realizes that their aircraft lack sufficient protection for upcoming deployments in the battlefield, they demand urgent implementation from Terma. We, in turn, must rely on urgent and agile suppliers. Wind River's local support and professional services offering was both powerful and proven."

"The use of Wind River technology in aerospace and defense projects such as the Astute Submarine and the Dassault Neuron UCAV is well known," said Andreas Pabinger, vice president of EMEA, Wind River. "The deployment of Terma's Advanced Threat Display underscores the continued use of VxWorks platforms for mission- and life-critical applications throughout the defense industry. Software will continue to dominate new functionalities on civilian and military aircraft and Wind River is well positioned to work with industry leaders like Terma to develop fast, proven and robust solutions."