MANNED/UNMANNED COMMON ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM (MCAP) A RE VIEW

摘要

The Future Combat System (FCS) will transform the deployment and engagement of the US Army. Manned and unmanned rotorcraft will play an integral role in these operations notionally shown in Figure 1. FCS is defined as a networked system of systems, backbone of the Objective Force, that will serve as the core building block within all maneuver Unit of Action echelons to develop overmatching combat power, sustainability, agility, and versatility necessary for full spectrum military operations. As can be seen from this definition communications interoperability is critical to the performance of FCS. Mission avionics systems cannot be affordably upgraded to meet Objective Force transformation requirements using traditional technical design approaches. Three barriers must be overcome to meet the transformation goals. Proprietary, custom, closed architecture avionics subsystem designs (or inadequately supported open systems) based on processors become obsolete every 3 to 5 years. Technical obsolescence prevents hosting and running new, more powerful functions to meet emerging requirements and take advantage of technology advances. High performance, affordable, commercial electronics cannot survive military rotorcraft operational environments (i.e., vibration, temperature, moisture, humidity, maintenance).