The Integrated Sensor System (ISS) program includes a task to define an Open System Architecture (OSA) for Radio Frequency (RF) electronics, which now represent the largest portion of an advanced aircraft's avionics flyaway cost. An integrated architecture reduces costs in a number of ways, including time-sharing, centralization of resources, and reduction of the number of unique module types. The OSA approach extends these cost reductions by simplifying technology insertion, using well-understood standards, and increasing use of commercial hardware and software. Innovative approaches to OSA development have been applied. Considerable effort has gone into the development of a process using metrics that assess the life cycle cost benefits of an OSA. These metrics guide the development of the OSA. The same basic processes applied here, in the RF electronics domain, have proven to be a good foundation for general OSA development. This paper describes interim results of work funded by the Open Systems Joint Task Force (OS-JTF).
展开▼
