Advanced UAI Integration Tools for Air to Ground Weapon Integration 2012-01-2136

Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS) is performing an integration of Universal Armament Interface (UAI) Mission Store, with a UAI compatible Carriage System and UAI Platform. The program design requirements for the Threshold Platforms, Carriage Systems and Mission Stores required the implementation of the Universal Armament Interface (UAI). To allow the RMS team to successfully integrate the RMS Mission Store with the Aircraft Platforms, and to support the verification of all interface requirements, RMS designed and built a highly representative UAI Mission Store simulator. In addition, significant effort was required to design and implement the supporting hardware and software required for control and analysis of the UAI devices (Carriage System and Mission Stores).

The hardware platform (Mission Store Simulator) and software analysis systems were developed to implement the first “Advanced” Universal Armament Interface (UAI) integration. Advanced UAI capabilities include UAI's Master Mode function, GeoZone control and monitoring, Weapon Data Link (WDL) Initialization, and Target Prioritization. These are essential functions that support mission requirements, but were not used by the previous UAI Pathfinder programs. The Mission Store Simulator also supports multiple Mission Data Exchange Format (MiDEF) file capabilities in accordance with MIL-STD-3014.

With the latest inclusion of advanced weapon systems in today's flight test and integration efforts, hardware and software tools are required to provide a highly representative test environment. The introduction of UAI has placed added requirements on the verification of functionality of the advanced capability weapons.

New capabilities for integration and testing were required; the hardware and software tools that were developed and evolved during the initial integration efforts are described. These tools which include both a weapon (hereafter referred to as a Mission Store) Simulator, Carriage System simulator, and aircraft avionics (Platform) simulator will carry forward to future UAI integrations of UAI weapons implemented by Raytheon Missile Systems.

The overall Carriage and Mission Store Simulator system consists of up to four Mission Store Modules, integrated with a Carriage System Simulator. The Carriage System Simulator and the Mission Store Simulator Module combination is the hardware platform used for UAI integration efforts at the various avionics benches.

Each Mission Store simulator module consists of a high fidelity simulation (pre- and post- launch), which runs using the actual Tactical Interface Software and Firmware (with only minor modifications to emulate functionality not included in the Hardware Design).

Developed specifically to support the Advanced UAI integration effort, the primary software integration tool was the Missile Integration / Analyzer (MIA) program. This software package provides a comprehensive set of MIL-STD-1553 (Standard and “Enhanced Bit Rate” (EBR)) control, monitoring and analysis functionality.

Raytheon developed a hardware platform defined as the Munitions Test Set (MTS) that provides the environment for the Platform (MIL-STD-1760 Interface) and the Carriage System (Miniature Munitions Store Interface (MMSI)) simulator. The MTS can operate as either a standalone bus controller, or can function as a monitor and analysis tool.

The key to the successful development of the UAI interface was the Missile Integration / Analyzer (MIA) software tool. When used with the appropriate hardware installed in the MTS (typically an Excalibur MK4000 MIL-STD-1553B / EBR-1553 Board), the MIA tool can collect and playback logical Platform to Carriage (MIL-STD-1553B Interface), and/or Carriage to Mission Store (EBR-1553) interface traffic, as well as control the appropriate analog signals to provide full interface emulation.

The MTS hardware platform, together with the MIA's software control and analysis tools provide unprecedented capability for “near-real-time” analysis, and give the integration team the capability to provide accurate playback of collected data from highly representative test scenarios during UAI interface development.

The integration tools (hardware platforms and software applications) described in the paper have been developed under contract and are Company Proprietary. However, the concepts and processes identified in the paper can be used by other avionics designers/integrators for similar (UAI or non-UAI) integration efforts. These concepts include: the use of high fidelity simulation systems implemented from actual program hardware (and running actual tactical software); the ability to capture message data from integration labs and then replay that message data with high fidelity timing; the capability to easily review, analyze and isolate message sequences through the use of graphical representations of the message data; and the laboratory test, integration and debug methods and processes that are facilitated by the MIA application. The concepts presented in the paper have a wide application and can provide a significant benefit to the developer of any advanced avionic interface.

The concepts discussed in this paper are applicable to a generic UAI weapon integration program. No program specific items have been disclosed or mentioned. This paper has been reviewed and approved for submission by both the RMS formal approval process and the U.S. government customer's program office (PAIRS Case Number 96ABW-2012-0281). Therefore, all information in this paper is suitable for public release.