Analysis of a SAE AS5643 Mil-1394b Based High-Speed Avionics Network Architecture for Space and Defense Applications

To satisfy the increasing needs of more information transmission among subsystems, and to minimize the latency of data transmission between high-speed processors, the avionics interconnection in future aerospace vehicles is required to provide high bandwidth data path. IEEE 1394 was designed as a high speed (up to 3.2 Gbps) data bus for consumer electronics. The Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program was the first significant implementation of IEEE 1394b for aerospace vehicles. Its approach has been standardized by SAE AS5643. This article is to explain the standard in details and provide insights into it, using failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) tools. The analysis results and recommendations could be used for ongoing and future aerospace vehicle programs such as NASA Orion crew exploration vehicle.