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CEDAR RAPIDS, IA and OTTAWA, ON (Aug. 30, 2006) – Rockwell Collins and Edgewater Computer Systems have successfully demonstrated Edgewater's Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5 compliant networking technology referred to by Edgewater as Extended 1553™ (E1553™) in a Rockwell Collins' simulated operational environment. E1553 was proven by Rockwell Collins to provide significantly higher throughput over legacy 1553 bus transfers with no degradation of legacy 1553 application data and messages.
“The E1553 technology enables cost-effective, incremental upgrades of aging aircraft, provides substantially improved performance, and enables Network Centric Operation (NCO) capabilities required to support today's warfighter,” said Woody Hogle, vice president and general manager, Integrated Systems for Rockwell Collins.
In March 2006, the United States Air Force announced an updated Military standard for data bus networking in avionics. Known as Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5, the standard was developed by Edgewater in support of the U.S. Government. Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5 increases the data throughput on the 1553 bus 200 times over legacy 1553B without the need for rewiring or changing the existing infrastructure of the platform. This delivers a cost-effective approach to incremental aircraft network upgrades while eliminating the proliferation of multiple, disconnected networking interfaces. Furthermore, changes to existing operational flight programs (OFPs) are minimized, substantially reducing costly software development and verification cycles associated with the addition of new networks within the platform.
”The deployment of Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5 is strategically important to the United States Air Force,” said William Urschel, U.S Air Force, Aeronautical Systems Chief Architect, Wright-Patterson A.F.B. “Rockwell Collins independent validation of the technology is an impressive and important step in support of this effort.”
In June 2006, Rockwell Collins and Edgewater entered into an agreement to validate the functionality of Edgewater's E1553 hardware in a simulated operational environment. Rockwell Collins and Edgewater chose a C-130 System Integration Lab (SIL), which replicates the C-130's avionics and data busses, to perform the testing.
“Edgewater is pleased to be working with Rockwell Collins to validate E1553 technology with real-world applications in operational environments,” said Edgewater president Duane Anderson. “Rockwell Collins continues to demonstrate why it is one of the pre-eminent leaders in communications and aviation electronics solutions by its leadership role in technology development and evaluation.”
Rockwell Collins integrated Edgewater's E1553 hardware with an avionics cockpit display and a Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) radio. The TTNT waveform, which has been selected as the Airborne Networking Waveform by the United States Air Force, provides a high-bandwidth, reliable, ad-hoc network required to connect forces at the tactical edge.
A data throughput in excess of 50 mbps was required to support the demonstrated applications. Edgewater's E1553 supported this requirement with no degradation to the legacy 1553 which ran concurrently at its maximum rate of approximately 700 kbps. The demonstration was performed with a hardware implementation of the standard developed several years ago by Edgewater for proof of concept purposes.
”The U.S. Navy is committed to the cost-savings, capabilities and advantages enabled by Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5,” according to Larry Hollingsworth, Director, Avionics Department, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). “We applaud the efforts of Edgewater and Rockwell Collins and will watch with keen interest as they continue their integration and validation of the technology within real-world, military tactical systems.”
Rockwell Collins and Edgewater will work together to further demonstrate and validate the increased performance capabilities of Edgewater's current Mil-Std 1553 Notice 5 compliant hardware, which will complement ongoing activities underway for the integration and flight test of Mil-Std 1553B Notice 5 technology in F-16, F-18, C-17 and other platforms.
About Edgewater
Edgewater Computer Systems Inc. is a privately-held provider of advanced computer and communications technology products for enterprise and embedded computing applications. Founded in 1988, Edgewater has an extensive background developing real-time high-performance multiprocessor systems for military, government, and commercial organizations. The company currently has two distinct product lines: multi-channel Wireless communications and wired data communications. For more information, please visit www.edgewater.ca.
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About Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is a pioneer in the development and deployment of innovative communication and aviation electronics solutions for both commercial and government applications. Our expertise in flight deck avionics, cabin electronics, mission communications and information management is strengthened by 17,000 employees, and a global service and support network that crosses 27 countries. To find out more, please visit www.rockwellcollins.com.
