Capability and flexibility for interconnection of advanced weapons and other payloads on aircraft combat platforms is significantly limited by the available data throughput paths and associated capacities of the legacy data and signal transfer technologies in current platform/payload interfaces. Reserved fiber optic provisions in these interfaces offer promise to enhance platform/payload interconnectivity by orders of magnitude. This would bring payload interconnectivity in line with evolving trends in platform avionics networks, and facilitate a number of useful new operational capabilities that cannot currently be supported. While some preliminary work has been accomplished toward definition of a fiber optic interface capability, applied resources to date have been limited and significant work remains to be done to define and prove feasibility of a practical fiber optic payload interface. The Phase I effort proposed here would establish a requirements baseline for a fiber optics based advanced platform/payload integration capability and associated networking, investigate candidate implementation technologies and approaches for practical realization of this capability, and define a recommended networking concept for follow-on prototyping and demonstration. A program plan for accomplishment of the recommended prototyping and demonstration under a subsequent Phase II effort would also be documented, along with potential commercialization opportunities.;
Benefit: The technology developed under this effort will facilitate greatly enhanced integration of payloads with airborne carriage platforms, significantly improving mission effectiveness and operational flexibility of future platform/payload systems.
