U.S. Air Force officials needed advanced rugged computer workstations for their Air Force Mission Support System, better known as AFMSS. They found their solution in the Mission Planning Systems (MPS III) computers from Rugged Portable Systems in Santa Ana, Calif.
The Rugged Portable MPS III computers integrate Sun Microsystems Unix-based dual Sparc processors and 20.1-inch high-resolution active-matrix liquid crystal displays.
These machines are for Air Force fighter, bomber, and cargo aircraft squadrons to perform mission planning. Users can configure the MPS III computer for different mission-planning needs. For example, A bomber pilot may need a large hard disk to store data from long reconnaissance missions. Fighter pilots may need data-recording cartridges to choose the best route to an air strike. Cargo jet pilots may need the capability to find airfields where they can land and refuel as they support ground operations.
The MPS III offers user-definable peripheral bays that can support any combination of removable hard disk drives, I/O devices, and cartridge recorders. This reduces the size and weight of the existing AFMSS MPS 1 and MPS II systems. - J.K.
For more on the MPS III, contact Rugged Portable Systems by phone at 714-953-1488, by fax at 714-953-8615, by post at 1507 E. McFadden Ave., Santa Ana, Calif., 92705, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.rpseagle.com/.
