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Connext Software Enables to Align with the FACE Technical Standard
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a world-leading aerospace and defense company, has selected RTI Connext® DDS for real-time connectivity as part of its Operational Avionics Layer (OPAL) Application Framework.
IAI’s OPAL serves as the infrastructure for networking connectivity, data sharing, and operative actions for air, land and naval forces.
By using Connext to manage data communications, IAI is able to help customers
- implement new applications in a fraction of the time, while
- reducing operational costs
- decreasing development complexity
- enabling faster time to market.
In addition, the OPAL application framework built on Connext DDS will readily enable companies to meet Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) program requirements.
Real-time interoperability capabilities
Under combat conditions, critical variables, such as poor visibility and unpredictable enemy behavior emphasize why it is vital that warfighter teams must be able to securely and reliably communicate at all times. However, if each friendly force operates on its individual network domain or communication channel, interoperability and joint operations are challenging if not impossible. Without the right technology in place, important data can easily remain stalled in operational silos and not instantly accessible to Command-and-Control (C2) system operators.
Conquering this barrier and introducing real-time interoperability capabilities is critical to securing optimal results from any innovative new operational application that is added to a combat platform. Traditionally, the process of adding these new applications to an airborne platform and achieving full integration could easily take upwards of five to eight years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Shorter implementation cycles
Shortening these implementation cycles was the primary mission for IAI to develop the OPAL application framework. By implementing RTI Connext DDS, IAI was able to reduce the process of adding applications to airborne platforms from roughly 60 months to just five months.
RTI enabled a turnkey approach that now allows defense customers to introduce new applications faster than ever before, which in turn, equates to significant cost savings while accelerating time to market. Connext DDS also delivers the software architecture needed to achieve real-time situational awareness and unified communication to gain a comprehensive operational picture of the battlefield.
Conformity with FACE Standard
Another key highlight of basing OPAL on the DDS standard is that this aligns OPAL with the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™) Technical Standard, Edition 3.1, which defines an open avionics environment for all military airborne platform types.
In addition, deploying an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architecture enables OPAL to efficiently introduce new applications while reducing the impact of change and advancing the FACE approach. With this standards-based architecture, OPAL can continue to evolve and deliver even broader compatibility and capability into global avionics platforms.
Read more about IAI’s challenges and their RTI Connext-based solution here.
About Real-Time Innovations (RTI)
Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the largest software framework company for autonomous systems. RTI Connext is the world's leading architecture for developing intelligent distributed systems. Uniquely, Connext shares data directly, connecting AI algorithms to real-time networks of devices to build autonomous systems.
RTI is the best in the world at ensuring our customers’ success in deploying production systems. With over 1,700 designs, RTI software runs over 250 autonomous vehicle programs, controls the largest power plants in North America, coordinates combat management on U.S. Navy ships, drives a new generation of medical robotics, enables flying cars, and provides 24/7 intelligence for hospital and emergency medicine. RTI runs a smarter world.
RTI is the leading vendor of products compliant with the Object Management Group® (OMG®) Data Distribution Service™ (DDS) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with regional offices in Colorado, Spain and Singapore.