A process direction for common avionics developments using commercial hardware and software components: the avionics systems engineering challenge

Shortened military avionics life cycles, growing real time processing performance requirements, and commercial product technology adaptation to military operational environments makes the move to COTS challenging. Avionics systems integrators must focus on procuring avionics box enclosures that support military operational environments. Aircraft wiring modification processes have to be developed to provide upgrades that support high speed computing systems using greater data bandwidths. Software engineering processes have to be tailored to incorporate new computing system standards and methodologies. Avionics Systems Engineering processes must evolve and adapt to dynamically changing COTS NDI product lines that incorporate emerging standards. COTS-OSEP embraces the combination of art and science that includes insight, intuition, and technology projection necessary to upgrade avionics suites with the latest capabilities. With the convergence of telecommunication, high definition television, multimedia, and super computing desktop technologies, traditional military ECBS architecting paradigms have to significantly evolve in order to reap 'value engineering' benefits from the commercial marketplace.