An Open System Architecture Approach to Providing CNS/ATM Compliant Solutions for Helicopters

Understanding how Open System Architectures can be used to produce capable, flexible, and affordable systems is essential to meeting the needs of today’s aircraft operators and customers. Likewise, civil airspace authority initiatives known as Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/ Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM), are introducing both technology insertion and procedural changes which must be satisfied to operate with unrestricted access to global airspace. Unfortunately, the evolutionary implementation schedule of CNS/ATM complicates attempts to develop CNS/ATM compliant avionics solutions in advance of regulatory definition. Open System Architecture (OSA) designs can provide the necessary elements for meeting this objective with the benefit of providing lower life cycle costs and potentially greater flexibility to integrate lower cost COTS solutions. Leveraging its experience in the fixed wing market, Rockwell Collins is applying its open systems avionics approach to helicopter applications to develop a similar set of open systems avionics for the Common Avionics Architecture System.