The Boeing Company

Advanced Light Weight Combat Aircraft (ALCA)

J73 JOVIAL to C++

History: In April 2002, the Boeing Company, minority shareholder of Aero, successfully obtained export authorization for the Advanced Light Weight Combat Aircraft (ALCA). The ALCA incorporates advanced avionics and sensors, which required modernization for this authorization.

TSRI was asked to assist Boeing's ALCA modernization of the Integrated Tactical Avionics Program (ITAP).

Challenge: ITAP was a real-time embedded J73 JOVIAL mission-critical avionics software package. The US Air Force developed J73 JOVIAL for embedded systems with real time requirements and tight hardware tolerances. Boeing decided to convert ITAP into C++ reducing software maintenance and supporting foreign military aircraft sales. The C++ version of ITAP was required to exhibit real-time performance equal or better than the original system with platform independence.

The ITAP modernization project included two phases. Phase-1 was a pilot project involving the transformation of a small self-contained ITAP module and its successful execution using test data provided by Boeing. Following this successful pilot, Boeing contracted with TSRI for Phase-2, a comprehensive transformation of ITAP. The Head-Up Display, Head-Down Display, Doppler Radar, Radar Warning Receiver, and Countermeasures Dispensers where included in this ITAP J73 JOVIAL to C++ transformation.

Results: TSRI's deliverable was a 100% accurate, error-free transformation of ITAP J3 JOVIAL into C++, which compiled and linked cleanly. Boeing completed the testing and deployment of the modernized ITAP without further assistance. Further specifics about this project are not releasable.