AFRL, in partnership with Edgewater Computer Systems, Inc. (Ottawa, Canada), increased avionics bandwidth by a factor of 200, enabling the transition of advanced displays and network-centric warfare capabilities. The team developed an expanded MIL-STD-1553B capability that removes defense-wide roadblocks preventing required upgrades to current air fleets.

Manufacturers install MIL-STD-1553B bus cables deep inside tens of thousands of aircraft, tanks, ships, and satellites, as well as in the space shuttle. The growth of weapon system capability requires electronics upgrades in the cockpit area as well as in sensors and onboard computer suites. However, defense system and logistics program offices cannot accept these component technologies due to bandwidth limitations and the prohibitive costs associated with installing fiber-optic or copper-based cabling in local area networks and disassembling aircraft to access the cables.

The bandwidth required for legacy platforms warrants an increase of the current 1 Mbps MIL-STD-1553B to at least 30 Mbps, and preferably to >100 Mbps; AFRL managed the Air Force Dual-Use Science and Technology effort to develop technology for increasing available bandwidth on installed MIL-STD-1553B avionics cable from 1 Mbps to >200 Mbps. The program was an integral part of other extended MIL-STD-1553 development efforts with both Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) and the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC).

This 200x bandwidth increase enables legacy platforms to accommodate technology upgrades in displays, sensors, and processors across AFRL. A specific technology example is the F-16 Block 30 fleet’s ongoing instrument panel upgrade and planned adoption of panoramic night vision goggles. Neither activity would be a possibility without AFRL’s improved bandwidth avionics bus transceivers. AFRL transferred this technology both to OO-ALC for the F-16 upgrade program and to ASC.

In this effort, AFRL successfully moved data over MIL-STD-1553B bus cables at a rate of 204 Mbps, with just one error per trillion bits--the bit error rate required in critical real-time avionics. AFRL’s technology clearly exceeds the current requirement and provides sufficient bandwidth for the remaining (20-30 year) service life of aging air fleets. Manufacturers can affordably install this technology by simply replacing existing bus terminals.