Higher Standards Within the Mil/Aero Industry

My father served 25+ years as a Sergeant in the United States Air Force. As a military kid, I never really understood what his job entailed. Honestly, my only thought was “cool, my dad is traveling all over the world…”. Little did I appreciate the precise and rugged avionics and mechanics found on aircraft carriers.

My eyes were opened to the inner workings of Mil/Aero electronics at the recent Sea-Air-Space Expo. This event attracts global leaders, key decision makers and solutions providers for educational, policy and networking opportunities. As a former military child, it was finally a chance to connect the missing puzzle pieces regarding my dad’s former job and responsibilities.

State-of-the-Art Applications

Collins Aerospace was one of the key exhibitors. As a leader on avionics, they showcased their newest integrated cockpit solutions. The simulator enabled naval aviators to “fly” next-generation SW/HW platforms and communications provided throughout the cockpit.

Integrated cockpits rely on high-speed and rugged interconnect to route data chip-to-chip and board-to-board. The Samtec FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™ offers the flexibility optical and copper interconnects within same connector system. Extended temperature FireFly is available, and rugged options are under development.

Increased Adoption of Industry Standards

High-performance Mil/Aero applications like integrated cockpit solutions leverage interoperability and flexibility industry standard Small Form Factor (SFF) infrastructure. Many systems utilize OpenVPX solutions, but SWAP-C optimized alternatives like VITA 74 VNX and the new VITA 90 VNX+ offer building blocks for next-gen applications.

VITA 74 VNX introduces a new approach to rugged SFF design. Its unique module-based format offers system architects greater freedom in developing COTS SFF systems. VNX’s machined chassis, robust backplane, and conduction-cooled modules unite to form an extremely rugged assembly.

Defining mechanical and electrical requirements, VNX embodies a small-scale VPX architecture, simplified to satisfy a new range of applications. The Standard encourages vendors to supply system components, including modules, backplanes, enclosures, and completed solutions.

Building on the successful performance of the VITA 57.1 FMC standard, engineers selected Samtec’s SEARAY^™ High-Density Open-Pin-Field Arrays as the primary module-to-backplane interface. Also, SEARAY is used as the interface between the backplane and the front panel I/O transition board (IOTB).

The original NanoATR design defined two module sizes: a 19 mm module using the 400-pin SEARAY, and a 12.5 mm module using the 200-pin SEARAY. For more information on SFF modules standards and Samtec’s high-speed capabilities, please click here.

Samtec Mil/Aero Solutions

Samtec delivers Sudden Service® solutions for standard and application-specific military and aerospace designs to meet the stringent quality, production and compliance requirements of our customers.

The combined efforts of Samtec’s on-going Severe Environment Testing initiative with our extremely flexible high-speed interconnects provides a quick turn and cost-effective solution for military and aerospace applications that require reliable performance and durability.

Explore what Samtec has to offer by checking out our recently released Military/Aerospace Industry page. You might also want to check out this blog on AI in mil/aero. Feel free to e-mail our experts at Military@samtec.com.