U.S. Air Force aviation experts choose real-time software from Green Hills software for C-130J avionics

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – U.S. Air Force aviation experts needed real-time operating system (RTOS) software for an open-systems aircraft mission processor avionics intended to replace outdated equipment aboard U.S. Air Force C-130J utility aircraft. They found their solution from Green Hills Software Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Air Force officials have chosen the Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 RTOS for the Special Mission Display Processor (SMDP) aboard the Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J.

The SMDP requires the RTOS to meet the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)-defined separation kernel protection profile (SKPP) for high robustness security, which provides the ability to host multi-level security (MLS) software applications.

Security is a top priority for the SMDP because it controls the flow of secure and unsecure information between aircraft systems, and incorporates Link 16 situational awareness into the C-130J.

Related: New frontiers in real-time software

The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is the latest and most technologically advanced version of the C-130 four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. Compared to the first versions of the C-130 that entered service in the mid 1950s, the C-130J has new engines, flight deck, avionics, and other systems, and is the latest in the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history.

The plane's SMDP is a centralized, scalable, high-performance processing system based on an open-systems architecture that runs the INTEGRITY-178 RTOS. In addition to meeting the SKPP and hosting MLS applications, INTEGRITY-178 provides an ARINC 653 partitioning software environment that runs OpenGL ES-SC 1.0 graphics for the displays.

The SMDP can combine video input from the mission computers with Link 16 data to output Link 16 graphics overlaid onto the video. INTEGRITY-178 meets DO-178C DAL A airborne safety requirements and the NSA-defined Separation Kernel Protection Profile. INTEGRITY-178 provides application programming interfaces (APIs) for use by multi-level security applications within a secure partition. For more information contact Green Hills Software online at www.ghs.com.