Integrated Communication, Navigation, Identification (CNI) For Future Army Aircraft

Communication, Navigation and Identification (CNI) devices have proliferated on Army aircraft over the last two decades. When first introduced, CNI devices for the most part gave the aviator an advantage over adversaries but were not commonly considered mission critical. In today's sophisticated electrontc battlefield the most modern CNI avionics is often essential for aircraft survivability and mission success. Unfortunately these CNI devices are using ever increasing proportions of valuable space and weight allotments. This is one of the reasons that avionics, in general, has become a major contributor to development costs of new aircraft. This paper will address the Army's plans for using an integrated CNI approach for future avionic suites. Advantages and possible trouble areas for this approach will be discussed. Advantages include savings in size, weight and life cycle costs. Also expected are significant improvements in Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM). The opportunity an integrated CNI approach provides for a tri-service standardized common modules program will also be discussed.