Automated Testing for Operational Flight Programs with Hardware-in-the-Loop

The A-10 Operational Flight Program (OFP) team at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) has successfully implemented automated testing on hardware-in-the-loop systems in order to pursue a DevSecOps environment. This paper discusses the challenges hardware-in-the-loop creates for automated testing and how A-10 OFP is overcoming them. A major obstacle to achieving the “software on-demand” goal of DevSecOps is the necessity of hardware-in-the-loop testing to verify OFP functionality. External systems, such as targeting pods, software-controlled radios, and smart weapons are often too complex to be accurately emulated, so manual testing is required using test stands that are either repurposed A-10 aircraft or their functional duplicates. Prior to our initiative, all testing was fully manual. This manual approach slowed down our verification process and hindered progress towards DevSecOps. To address this issue, the A-10 OFP has created a unique Python-based, in-house tool that has turned its predominantly manual test equipment into a semi-automated testing environment. This approach has several innovative features, including the ability to loop tests, verify visual outputs, pause for manual intervention, and produce automated test reports. Already, the team's testing tool has reduced manual testing hours and has become a crucial instrument for transitioning the A-10 OFP program from an original waterfall approach to Agile cyclic development with a goal of DevSecOps. This paper provides an overview of the A-10 OFP and the Hill AFB team, discusses why hardware-in-the-loop will always be required, and introduces the Python-based solution that has turned the manual system to something that can be automated.