Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

E_M;

I think we covered this, but just to make sure; you aren't talking about the ICP modules, or the use of COTS components, correct? Thanks; Ernie P.



EAGAN, MN, July 28th, 2003 Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has delivered the first advanced Integrated Core Processor (ICP) modules for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter under a $300 million System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract. The initial prototype modules - delivered two months ahead of schedule - will be used by aircraft mission planners for software development and design verification. Employing advanced bus structures and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, the ICP is a liquid-cooled, ruggedized military computer capable of performing 40 billion sustained operations per second. Lockheed Martin Tactical Systems was awarded the ICP contract as part of the initial F-35 JSF award to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.
Tactical Systems delivered four initial ICP prototype General Purpose Processor Input/Output (GPIO) modules to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company F-35 lead and partner Northrop Grumman as a risk reduction effort, delivered in response to requests for early operating hardware to complete advanced software development. The GPIO modules are used for general mission processing, computation and operational logic, control and processing of miscellaneous input/output, and data storage.
The first production unit delivery of the GPIO module is scheduled for September 2003. Tactical Systems will provide a series of ICP module deliveries leading up to the delivery of the final ICP configuration in 2004.
"This is truly a milestone event," said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin F-35 JSF program. "The delivery is key to helping the JSF program achieve early progress toward a successful first flight."
A leader in airborne surveillance systems integration and the design, development, packaging and production of ruggedized COTS-based computer systems, Tactical Systems is one of five major lines of business within the Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems business segment.

fireplug1111

My Feedback: (21)

is it the "PILOT"

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Nope, it does involve the CPU, ICP, GPIO and even the COTS, but its not them.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

About the only thing I can think of that fits your definition is that all the planes you mentioned use a remote control room to monitor all of the on board functions of the plane. Every thing that happens on the aircraft is relayed, real time, to an on the ground control room which records, for later analysis, how the systems are working in the real world. The engineers know what the plane is doing and how well it is doing it. Thanks; Ernie P.


Up to 40 flight test engineers from the F-35 ITF will work in the control room, Ms. Bergren said. Eight people on the range support the operations and maintenance of the control room.
During missions, the control room will receive telemetry data from the F-35 and video data from the range, Ms. Bergren said.
"The technology in this control room is state of the art in real-time data-processing capabilities," Mr. Cronk said. "When the JSF is full up and running, this control room will process about 250,000 parameters from the aircraft at 3 million samples per second. The F-22 had 120,000 parameters processed at about 1 million samples per second. So you can see how technology has improved in just a few years.

on_your_six

My Feedback: (11)

gyro?

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

Is it the engine????

Bob

lbrande

My Feedback: (16)

The HUD??

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Nope not the engine...

And you guys are missing an important piece that ties everything together...

scubajohn

the wires cat/5 type or IEEE 1394bi  i will add a little more in another post if this one is gos thru

The Raven

RAT or INS?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

E-M; you have to be talking about the software source code. Thanks; Ernie P.


(Reuters) - The United States will keep to itself sensitive software code that controls Lockheed Martin Corp's new radar-evading F-35 fighter jet despite requests from partner countries, a senior Pentagon program official said.
Access to the technology had been publicly sought by Britain, which had threatened to scrub plans to buy as many as 138 F-35s if it were unable to maintain and upgrade its fleet without U.S. involvement.
No other country is getting the so-called source code, the key to the plane's electronic brains, Jon Schreiber, who heads the program's international affairs, told Reuters in an interview Monday.
"That includes everybody," he said, acknowledging this was not overly popular among the eight that have co-financed F-35 development Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
The single-engine F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is in early stages of production. It is designed to escape radar detection and switch quickly between air-to-ground and air-to-air missions while still flying tricks heavily dependent on its 8 million lines of onboard software code.
Schreiber said the United States had accommodated all of its partners' requirements, providing ways for them to upgrade projected F-35 purchases even without the keys to the software.
"Nobody's happy with it completely. but everybody's satisfied and understands," he said of withholding the code. It is also a rebuff to Israel, which has sought the technology transfer as part of a possible purchase of up to 75 F-35s.
REPROGRAMMING FACILITY
Instead, the United States plans to set up a "reprogramming facility," probably at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, to further develop F-35-related software and distribute upgrades, Schreiber said.
Software changes will be integrated there "and new operational flight programs will be disseminated out to everybody who's flying the jet," he said.
Representatives of the British defense staff in Washington did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Britain has committed $2 billion to develop the F-35, the most of any U.S. partner.
In March 2006, Paul Drayson, then Britain's minister for defense procurement, told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that Britain might quit the program if the United States withheld such things as the software code.
The issue rose to the top. In May 2006, then-President George W. Bush and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that both governments had agreed "that the UK will have the ability to successfully operate, upgrade, employ, and maintain the Joint Strike Fighter such that the UK retains operational sovereignty over the aircraft."
HOLY GRAIL
The source code is "kind of the holy grail" for this, controlling everything from weapons integration to radar to flight dynamics, said Joel Johnson of TEAL Group, an aerospace consultancy in Fairfax, Virginia.

The Raven

Oh, the question must be related to ADA (sorry if the spelling is wrong). I believe this is a standard coding/communications protocol for military aircraft systems (and possibly others).

As for Ernie's comments:

The JSF source code isn't to be released by the USA, however; Israel is doing the usual "We want it our way, and you will comply". Without getting too political, Israel didn't even bother with the SDD phase so why would they get preference over partner countries that coughed up development money and indicated intent to purchase.... Anyhow, most people agree the US will NOT be releasing any mission critical systems source code to ANYONE! Apparently the Israelis now want to use their own source code, which can be simply described as a "Dream On".

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

BINGO! Or close enough.

More specifically, the operating system. Since the F-16, MOST modern aircraft with a brain fly with one very particular OS. Specifically the Integrity DO-178B real-time operating system.

There is so much cool about Integrity (and some folks that think some of those features make it dangerous), that its very much worth a read up on.

Integrity controls the computing systems on the Airbus A380, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-22, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16, Airbus A400M military transport, T-6B trainer aircraft, Boeing C-17, Boeing B-1B, Boeing B-52, Boeing X-45C Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems and Sikorsky S-92 and H-92 helicopter.

Integrity is considered a game changer since its release.


The floor is all yours Ernie.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Thank you, Sir. Okay; let's talk about the people who flew the planes, instead of the planes themselves. This question will be easy, once you figure out where it's headed. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

tevans55

Erich Barkhorn?

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

(3) He also flew the Do-23.

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

Wait, Wait, I know!!

It's either swept wings, or Money!!

Bob

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Uh.... Um.... No. But maybe this will help. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

(3) He also flew the Do-23.

(4) He flew the first jet bomber; the Ar-234.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

Last clue of the evening. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

(3) He also flew the Do-23.

(4) He flew the first jet bomber; the Ar-234.

(5) But, most of the time, he flew an He-111.

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

OK, Erich Hartmann That's my guess.

Bob

psb667

Gerhard Nitschke?

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Wilhelm L. Kriessmann

Totally loved flying the Hs 123, Also flew the Stuka, and the Storch.

Over 170 flights in the Ju-52.

Later transferred to Russia to fly the He 111 following that he moved into the Ju-88, Do 217, Ju 188, He 177 and finally the Ar 234.


Oh it just so happens the Ar 234 in NASM was flown a few times by Kriessman.

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. But I think E_M is on the right track. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

(3) He also flew the Do-23.

(4) He flew the first jet bomber; the Ar-234.

(5) But, most of the time, he flew an He-111.

(6) He survived the war.

deatonbt

Kurt Welter

Ernie P.

My Feedback: (3)

No correct answers thus far. He is often ranked in the top three of German WWII pilots. Thanks; Ernie P.


Question: What pilot do I describe?

Clues:

(1) Certainly one of the highest rated pilots of WWII; but of that group, almost certainly the least well known.

(2) He flew the Me-262

(3) He also flew the Do-23.

(4) He flew the first jet bomber; the Ar-234.

(5) But, most of the time, he flew an He-111.

(6) He survived the war.

(7) He logged 658 combat sorties.