Avionics designers at the L-3 Communications Display Systems segment in Alpharetta, Ga., needed a safety-critical real-time operating system (RTOS) for a portion of the Panoramic Cockpit Display (PCD) subsystem for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

They found their solution in the LynxOS-178 DO-178B-certifiable ARINC-653 and POSIX-conformant RTOS from LynuxWorks Inc. in San Jose, Calif.

The F-35 panoramic display system delivers information for all the major functions of the aircraft, including flight and sensor displays, communications, radio and navigation systems, as well as an identification system that provides situational awareness.

The key factors in L-3 Display System’s choice of the LynuxWorks RTOS were its adherence to open standards, its Linux compatibility, the interoperability benefits of a POSIX API and support for the ARINC-653 specification, L-3 officials say.

“We chose LynuxWorks’ operating system because the company offered a very complete RTOS and artifact package, along with support services and business models that were unmatched by other vendors,” says Bob McGill, president of L-3 Displays Group. “In the military and defense market, we are required to work with stable vendors that have a solid and complete track record. With LynuxWorks, we were able to capitalize on their product’s strengths and deliver a solution that will exceed our customers’ expectations with respect to performance and safety.”

Based on open standards, the LynxOS-178 RTOS provides security through virtual machine brick-wall partitions to prevent system events in one partition of the RTOS to interfere with events in another. For more information, visit LynuxWorks online at www.lnxw.com.