Alenia chooses rugged tablet computer from DRS to host portable maintenance unit for C-27J cargo aircraft

ROME, 2 Dec. 2010. Aircraft systems designers at Alenia Aeronautica in Rome needed a rugged tablet computer to host a portable maintenance unit for the company's C-27J cargo aircraft. They found their solution from DRS Tactical Systems Inc. in Melbourne, Fla. DRS Tactical is supplying its ARMOR X10gxmil-spec tablet PC for a portable maintenance unit designed for the Alenia C-27J twin-engine military cargo turboprop to test the aircraft's onboard systems, load aircraft software, and support ground maintenance and training.

DRS customized the ARMOR X10gx rugged tablet to function as the portable maintenance unit. The handheld computer can capture and display technical documents, provide interactive training, display aircraft 3D models, analyze flight data, search for damage, load onboard software, and record electrical and digital measurements in harsh operational conditions.

The portable maintenance unit is similar in size to an 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of paper and weighs about 4.5 pounds with a sunlight-readable display. Certified to MIL-STD-810G and IP67, the unit is extremely rugged and capable of surviving drops and vibration, extreme hot and cold temperatures, high humidity, and is sealed from water and sand.

The DRS X10gx rugged tablet, on which the portable maintenance unit is based, has the Intel Core2 Duo processor, docking system, AT&T wireless certification, and an optional integrated Gobi 2000 mobile broadband that connects to several different wireless networks. It has standard 802.11n Wireless LAN connectivity and Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR (Class 2), as well as integrated GPS satellite navigation.

Standard routing of GPS and WLAN to two RF ports allows switching between internal antennas within the unit and external antennas, such as those mounted on a vehicle roof. Other features include as much as 4 gigabytes RAM, Intel embedded Montevina system architecture, and a 64-gigabyte solid-state hard drive with options for user-replaceable hard drive as large as 160 gigabytes.

Alenia Aeronautica is already offering the ARMOR X10gx-based portable maintenance unit on some C-27J airplanes for logistics support as a replacement for the previous Portable Maintenance Aid system which was heavier and provided less capability.

DRS Tactical Systems and Alenia Aeronautica are owned by Finmeccanica spa in Rome. For more information contact DRS Tactical Systems online at www.drs-ts.com, Alenia Aeronautica at www.alenia-aeronautica.it, or Finmeccanica at www.finmeccanica.it.