An Alternative Approach for System Architecture Design

In the frame of the avionics development, more and more risks have to be managed. The technology risk is the one which concerns most of the engineers. But industrial risk is perhaps more critical for a company. In the current context, the high level of integration to reduce weight and cost is the key factor that drives most of the Hardware developments. This paper addresses this problem, explains past experience, and provides rationale for evolution. The possibility to introduce a set of independent reusable sub-systems is proposed to ease incremental certification. The driven elements for selecting such a strategy are explained and will serve as Key Performance Indicators to manage system architecture choice, finalization of each independent reusable sub-systems perimeter and the sequence to implement them on the legacy and new helicopter fleet. Concrete applications are identified to deploy a scalable and configurable application of the modular and flexible architecture via a set of independent reusable sub-systems and Field Loadable Softwares. The EC175, developed according to this approach, is presented as an example. Finally, the topics to be discussed with the certification authorities are introduced.