Certifying avionics software has been, is, and always will be a daunting, time-consuming task for avionics hardware and software designers. Thanks to advances in aircraft technology, modernized software, a shift in the programming languages used, and the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) technology, certification continues to get more complex. Meanwhile, technical standards such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) are aiding not only software certification but also overall avionics software development.

There is a growing need across multiple sectors for devices to be able to support the greater intelligence required to transition from automated to autonomous systems.

Container technology is fundamentally changing how aerospace and defense systems are being developed, tested, deployed, and managed. People are most familiar with containers as part of cloud-native architectures in which applications are decoupled from the infrastructure — including hardware and operating systems — on which they are running. The benefits of this approach include being able to automate the software pipeline to remove manual errors, standardize tools, and accelerate the rate of product iterations.

Security and safety are critical to increasingly complex commercial and military avionics systems. Flight-critical performance for theses systems is driven by multicore processors with advanced security features that can be used with real-time operating systems (RTOSs) to meet safety and regulatory requirements for avionics systems.

On March 17 at 1 pm Est., Intel and Wind River experts cover the roles of hardware and software suppliers and application developers in meeting CAST-32A objectives, including how the newest Intel® Xeon® and Intel® Core™ processors combine with the Wind River VxWorks and Helix Platform in an online web seminar titled, "Designing High-Performance Real-Time Avionics Systems for Multi-core Processors."

The nature of cybersecurity has taken a dire turn across the aerospace and defense industry as threat vectors multiply and incidents such as the SolarWinds attack have caught many organizations unprepared.

The aerospace and defense sector has placed the greatest urgency on building the most complete intelligent systems now. CB Insights states, “In the aerospace and defense industry, supporting software has to make quick decisions in high-risk scenarios. Artificial intelligence [AI] is becoming integral to the $8.7 trillion space as companies and government agencies explore using technologies from robotics and autonomous systems to cybersecurity and telecommunication for national security.”

DUBLIN. Mobility-technology company Aptiv has agreed to acquire mission-critical software provider Wind River (Alameda, California) from private-equity firm TPG Capital for $4.3 billion in cash.