With S-PLANE’s Aircraft Automation Solutions, airframes designed for Manned or Unmanned operation are fully automated to become Unmanned or Optionally Piloted Vehicles (UAVs and OPVs). The primary building blocks of these solutions are S-PLANE’s state-of-the-art and certification-ready X-KIT products, combined with system engineering, integration, flight testing and certification support.
S-PLANE’s X-KIT is built around our X-SERIES and NX-SERIES FCUs and can be integrated into most manned rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft as well as MALE, HALE and sophisticated Tactical UAVs. The X-CUBE or NX-FCU serve as the heart of the kit, providing a certification-ready Automation Solution with up to triplex redundancy for all flight critical elements under its control. The X-KIT is compatible with high quality redundant servo mechanisms, guaranteeing safe operation. It also manages electrical power distribution, supplying multiple fully controlled and independent safety-critical power buses. Missions can be performed in fully autonomous mode throughout all phases of flight and over the entire flight envelope of the aircraft, where all on-board functions normally managed by the pilot are controlled and automated. Remote operators can also operate the aircraft in fly-by-wire remote piloting mode via S-PLANE’s Remote Piloting Unit (X-RPU) (see Ground Control Solutions), taking advantage of the flight safety and protection systems offered by the redundant on-board flight control unit.
S-PLANE’s Flight Control Units (FCUs) are designed and tested according to exacting standards, including RTCA DO-178, DO-254 and DO-160. Flight control is performed by software developed through model-based design and targeted to reliable hardware operated by industry-leading real-time operating systems. Verification is conducted with modern tools and processes to ensure a certification-ready product. Certification packs are available on demand for each system integration.
Each FCU employs a flight control architecture compatible with a wide variety of rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. The comprehensive automation process includes the provision of automated flight control modes, mission-level waypoint management, automated take-off and landing, automated on-board sub-system control and monitoring and many other functions. FCUs are available in a number of build variants, specified in collaboration with customers. With S-PLANE’s support, the FCUs can be quickly adapted to your aircraft.
ISR Mission and Payload Management within the X-KIT is provided by S-PLANE’s advanced multi-function Mission Computer (X-ADT). Sophisticated EO/IR, Radar, SigInt, and Transponder payloads interface with X-ADT. This appliance provides advanced data compression, encryption, recording and routing functionality as well as RF link management to make optimal use of costly ISR Payloads and Line of Sight (LOSCom) and Satellite Communication (SatCom) links. It has processing power to spare for complex data and signal processing and fusion tasks via containerised customer and 3rd party software. As an example, the X-ADT captures 5 SDI and composite video streams, plus several additional Ethernet streams. It encrypts them, records them in high definition, transcodes them to lower bandwidth encrypted streams and manages the transmission of these streams via variable bit-rate communication links to remote ground stations in real-time, with minimum latency.
Automation Solutions are supported by sophisticated Simulation Solutions, including Flight and Mission Simulation and Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) for integration testing. Systems are integrated to serve various ISR Aircraft Applications using S-PLANE’s combined Automation, Communication, Ground Control and Simulation Solutions. S-PLANE Solutions are also compatible with other largely STANAG 4586 compliant subsystems.
