LETCHWORTH, U.K., 2 July 2012. Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions (CWCDS), a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls, has introduced a rugged, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system for airborne platforms, the SYS-C365 Deployable Rugged System.

The SYS-C365, designed for a specific military program and with more than 500 units airborne worldwide, is a compact, rugged Power Architecture (PowerPC)-based processing unit offering an array of input/output (I/O) and standard multi-protocol communication channels. With the SYS-C365, system designers gain a qualified, low-risk processor subsystem solution with no non-recurring engineering (NRE) fees required for standard SYS-C365 units, helping to speed and simplify deployment in size, weight, and power (SWaP)-constrained applications.

The SYS-C365’s three-slot 3U CompactPCI (cPCI) backplane supports a CWCDS DCP-124 single-board computer (SBC), a CWCDS DPMC-601 MIL-STD-1553 module, a dedicated discrete I/O module, and a modular power supply. The system also boasts a spare 3U cPCI slot for user configuration. The system communicates with other equipment via a variety of interfaces, including: MIL-STD-1553B, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), serial, USB 2.0, and 51 discrete I/O lines.

The SYS-C365 is designed for deployment in harsh military environments, features a rugged conduction-cooled enclosure, and has been designed, tested, and qualified to meet rugged industrial and military applications over an operating temperature range of -40 ºC to +71ºC, with specific emphasis on avionic requirements. It requires neither forced air-cooling nor cold-plate mounting, says a spokesperson.