Chatsworth, Calif., 26 July 2006. Aitech Defense Systems Inc., a developer and manufacturer of board and subsystem level products for harsh environment defense, aerospace, and space applications, has delivered the first production lot of 30 Display & Mission Computers (DMCs) that drive the glass cockpit avionics of the Indian Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Program to the LAHAV Division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
The ALH helicopter, designed and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was displayed and flown at the Farnborough International Air Show. IAI/LAHAV is under contract to HAL to develop and provide the avionics system for this aircraft.
The DMC, a cooperative design effort of IAI/LAHAV and Aitech, will provide IAI COTS and open systems architecture-compliant, integrated and tested DMC systems. Aitech will build and deliver 400 DMC units for the ALH program over the next several years.
Aitech is also under contract with IAI to provide the next generation of the Digital Map Module (DMM), which will be part of the DMC.
The DMC is an avionics computer that includes a processor, memory, I/O and quad-head graphics boards packed in a 1 ATR short enclosure with a MIL-STD-704-compliant power supply.
The DMC is capable of driving four digital (DVI) multi-function displays simultaneously, displaying high-resolution synthetic graphics with instrumentation, navigation, and mission data, as well as multiple sources of video.
The DMC also includes communication interfaces -- such as MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, Fast Ethernet, USB, high speed RS-422/485/232 serial I/O, and high-quality audio -- and support for ARINC 708 weather radar equipment.
The DMC was designed using a modular approach based on the VMEbus open architecture, providing the path for future growth, expansion, and additional
enhancements. In its present configuration, the computer has built-in provisions for internal and external mass-storage devices and for the DMM.
