Streamlining the Airborne Systems Certification

There is a current stagnation in the evolution of the certification methods for airborne systems. Despite the rapid change in the technology landscape, nothing substantial has emerged in the last ten years since the release of DO-178C/DO-254. A few attempts aimed to find an alternative to the current prescriptive method but did not have broad agreement to find their way to being adopted. However, that changed when the certification authorities and the standardization bodies had a consensus on the basics of potentially an alternative certification method, the Overarching Properties. The Overarching Properties present an opportunity to address the current challenges of airborne system development. In this paper, we review, elaborate, and discuss the motivation and current status of the Overarching Properties and lay down a research objective for the future.