TECHNOLOGY UPDATES IN MILITARY SYSTEMS
A console and cabinet Integrator’s view, by Robin Coley, Engineering Director, Aish Technologies Limited
Aish Technologies continues to rise to the challenge of ever-changing military IT and communications environment and in many cases is building flexibility into its cabinets and consoles to provide customers with options and flexibility while maximising the advantage of COTS technology.
Suppliers of command and control systems introduce innovative product and system developments at an impressive rate and those who offer greater flexibility and openness appear to be dominating the market.
Systems providers are able to bring about high levels of integration to meet military Network Enabled Capability (NEC) requirements – and using technology developed for domestic and commercial markets is fast becoming the way this is achieved.
For systems engineers this would seem to be a relatively straight forward step. Instead of elements containing bespoke interfaces, develop an equivalent that runs on modern commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processors and interface these with the latest networking technology.
Technology Refresh
Clearly, military technology is realising noteworthy performance improvements as IT and communications electronics underpinning military systems are enhanced by development in products for domestic and commercial use. Cost of acquisition of COTS products is appreciably reduced by market size and demand. System hardware is shrinking and the perceived low cost of rolling out new technology to replace existing components is becoming attractive.
Programme managers include Tech Refresh stages and product development plans include tech refresh milestones before initial release to ensure end-users receive latest technology rather than last year’s model. The impact of Tech Refresh is inevitably change. Managing and accommodating change in a timely manner is paramount to success.
Aish Technologies builds flexibility into its cabinets and consoles to provide customers with options for the future, while maximising the advantage of COTS technology. The degree of flexibility can be limited. To maximise the potential, it is vitally important to be aware of technology development programmes and future opportunity for this in military systems markets. Product awareness and innovative design have allowed Aish Technologies to provide solutions for the most demanding of customers and environments.
Legacy enclosures
Traditionally fabricated enclosures have often been dedicated to the equipment for which they were originally supplied. The shape, physical layout and construction techniques used can limit potential for accepting technology updates. While some customisation may be possible, the construction of legacy cabinets can limit scope and the cost of modifying can be greater than the cost of replacement, or the end result is a compromise in terms of performance and maintainability. |
