In September 2005, DID wrote an article pointing out that the need for data transfer speed was taking military avionics in two directions – one that depended on the old reliable MIL-STD-1553 data bus standard, and another that looked to faster protocols like IEEE 1394 (Firewire) et. al. Now an industry team of Boeing Phantom works, Honeywell Aerospace, and Data Device Corp. has demonstrated a third approach, one familiar to computer users with USB or Ethernet: speed up the old protocol.
The new data “bus” technology, which uses existing aircraft wiring, has proven it can transfer electronic data at least 40 times faster than current data bus technology. Data Device Corp.’s HyPer-1553(TM) is similar to Digital Subscriber Line technology that’s used to expand the data-carrying capability of ordinary telephone lines – without replacing the wiring. In a December 17, 2005 test using an F-15E1 ATD test aircraft, HyPer-1553 transferred data at 40 megabits per second in parallel with MIL-STD-1553 data being transferred at 1 megabit per second. The team also transferred data at 40, 80 and 120 megabits per second on a second bus dedicated to the higher speed data. Given the relative cheapness of HyPer1553(TM) upgrades compared to just about any other approach, this team may have a winner. Read the Boeing release.