BAE Systems has selected Wind River to provide the software development and testing platform for the development of the Tempest sixth generation fighter jet’s development.
Last August the Ministry of Defence (MOD) awarded a contract worth approximately £250m (US$348m) to BAE Systems to progress the design and development of Tempest, the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS). An industrial consortium that also includes lead partners Rolls Royce, Leonardo and MBDA are working with the UK’s RAF Rapid Capabilities Office and the MOD to develop the fighter jet by 2035.
The Tempest future combat air system will use artificial intelligence (AI) systems to use new capabilities such as flying manned or unmanned or to use swarming technology to control drones.
Tempest is currently in the concept and assessment phase, which will see a range of digital concepts developed and new tools and techniques to design, evaluate and shape the final design and capabilities of Tempest used.
BAE Systems will be using Wind River’s VxWorks 653 platform and associated DO-178C DAL B safety certification evidence packages, and AdaCore GNAT Pro Assurance as part of ongoing technology demonstration project work in support of the program.
Wind River Studio is a cloud-native platform for the development, deployment, operations, and servicing of mission-critical intelligent systems.
Avijit Sinha, chief product officer of Wind River said, “The selection of our industry-leading technology demonstrates continuing Wind River leadership in safety-critical real-time software solutions for avionics.”
According to research by Wind River the use of intelligent systems is of growing importance in aerospace and defense. “True compute on the far edge and the ability to emulate and simulate in real time are two of the most important intelligent systems characteristics for future success. In this industry, the ability to make accurate, quick decisions in high-risk scenarios is critical, and artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important investment,” said the company.
