ASSC/110/6/2 – Issue 3 : Guide to digital interface standards for military avionic applications (September 2006) (249 Pages)

This guide has been prepared and updated by the Data-Networks and Interfaces Working Group of the ASSC. Its purpose is to give introductory guidance on data networks and interfaces for use in avionic systems by providing information on the main features and status of existing and/or emerging standards, in a common format. The guide is intended for both MoD and Industry personnel involved in avionic systems engineering in order to help determine what choices of interface standards are available in the marketplace and provide information on the developments and features in relation to their use for avionics.

Issue 3 of this Guide represents a major revision. All commentary and references that appeared in version 2 has been reviewed on grounds of currency and correctness. A number of sections concerning non-current and lesser used standards have been removed. Details on new avionics standards, such as those that build upon the legacy of MIL-STD 1553B, and technologies that have the potential to play a major role in future avionics systems (e.g. WiFi /802.11x) have been introduced. Comments on this updated Guide are very welcome. These should be sent by Email to assc@era.co.uk.

ASSC/110/4/41 - Issue 2 Final - Guide to US MIL-STD-1553B/UK DEF STAN 00-18 (Part 2)/NATO STANAG 3838 - Serial, Time Division, Command/Response Multiplex Data Bus Standards (July 2006) (277 pages)
This guide is intended to provide users and potential users of the Defence Standard Serial, Time Division, Command/Response Multiplex Data Bus (Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2)) with an understanding of its background, characteristics and potential. Users of this guide are considered to fall into the following general categories:

• Project Managers
• Equipment and Component Suppliers
• Constructors and System Designers

ERA Report 2006-0010 – Study of Maximum Signalling Speed For Electrical Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2)/ US MIL-STD-1553B Data Buses (December 2005) (122 Pages)

This report brings together a number of previous papers produced by the ASSC’s Data-Networks & Interface Working Group, including;
	ASSC, “Study of Maximum Signalling Speed for DEF STAN 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B Data Buses”, ASSC/110/2/85 Draft 1, February 1997. [Section A]
	ASSC, “Further Study of Maximum Signalling Speed for DEF STAN 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B Data Buses”, ASSC/110/2/97 Draft 1, March 1998. [Section B]
	ASSC, “Continued Study of Maximum Signalling Speed for DEF STAN 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B Data Buses”, ASSC/110/2/111 Draft 1, February 1999. [Section C]
	ASSC, “Engineering Bulletin of the Operation of DEF STAN 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B Data Buses at Enhanced Data Rates.”, ASSC/110/5/2 Issue 2 June 2000. [Section D]

Though the studies were carried out sometime ago, many of the findings still remain relevant today.

ASSC/120/2/81- Issue 3 : Guide to avionic fibre optic system design (August 2003) (179 pages)
This guide has been prepared by the Network Systems Subcommittee of the ASSC. This is a generic guide which includes latest developments of fibre optic technology and implementation methodology. The document maintains coverage of the areas already included in Def Stan 00-18 (Part 1) Section 5/2 - Guide to Fibre Optic Interface Standardisation, and also provides guidance on all relevant aspects of the implementation of optical interconnects for both military and civil applications. It is anticipated that the guidance document will be of interest to all those implementing and/or procuring avionic fibre optic networks.

ASSC/110/2/124-Issue 2 : Test plan for faultfinding in installed Def-Stan 00-18 (Part 2) bus networks (July 03) (23 pages)
This test plan outlines tests that may be carried out on installed Def-Stan 00-18 (Part 2) (US MIL-STD-1553B) bus networks to assist operational investigation, testing and fault finding. The test plan has been validated by carrying out practical testing on real bus structures and checking the results against those predicted. As part of the same undertaking the Test Plan text was also critically reviewed and subsequently revised after being validated by carrying out practical testing on real bus structures and checking the results against those predicted.

ASSC/110/5/1-Issue 3 : Proposal for analogue interface standardisation activity (Jul 03) (50 pages)
The purpose of this proposal is to recommend a number of standard analogue interfaces for future military aircraft programmes. BAe Airbus has estimated that standardisation can be achieved for 80% of analogue inputs and that, while analogue outputs need more study, around 80% of these could be standardised. Given the similarities in military and civil avionics, and the evidence of proliferation of interface specifications in military applications, it is probable that standardisation of a similar order could be achieved in military aircraft.

This document provides tabulations of analogue interface types currently in use. These are based on material relating to military aircraft supplied by BAe Military Aircraft Systems Engineering Integrated Systems and Architectures team, by BAe Military Aircraft Power and Mechanical Systems, BAe Military Aircraft General Systems Engineering, Normalair-Garrett Ltd (NGL) and GKN Westland Helicopters. Data on civil Airbus interface types is also included.

ASSC/ 130/2/163 – Issue 1 : Study of the application of the MPEG-2 digital video compression standard for use in uninhabited aerial vehicle systems (March 2002) (41 pages)
The investigation reported herein follows on from work reported in ASSC/130/6/2 “Investigation of Digital Video Compression Standards”, issued in April 2001. That report compared the characteristics of various digital video compression standards with the requirements for compression in military avionics.

This report sets out the results of a brief study aiming to identify and define the issues effecting the application of the MPEG-2 digital video compression/decompression standard in Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems. The report summarises a wide variety of of UAV types and missions and briefly outlines the sensor systems used where this information has been determined.

The study failed to identify a ‘typical UAV requirement’ and it seems unlikely that such an entity exists. However, the parameters of various UAV sensor systems, particularly with regard to image format and frame rate, have been established either quantitatively or qualitatively to a sufficient degree to permit a comparison with the characteristics of MPEG-2.

ASSC/130/6/2 - Issue 2 : Investigation of digital video compression standards (April 01) (65 pages)
This report sets out the results of an investigation aimed at comparing the characteristics of various digital video compression standards with the requirements for compression in military avionics as set out in a number of ASSC reports. The need for compression of data representing video images is discussed together with possible application areas, benefits, disadvantages and trade-offs.

The criteria for selection of standards for consideration are set out and a set of standards proposed for investigation. The requirements set out in various ASSC documents, together with some additional generalised requirements and applications from other sources are summarised. It is concluded that only one of the ASSC documents gives any definitive requirements that may be compared with the characteristics of standards. Tabulated comparisons of those requirements and the characteristics of the selected standards are provided with supporting text.

ASSC/110/5/2-Issue 2 : Engineering bulletin on the operation of Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B data buses at enhanced data rates (June 2000) (16 Pages)
This engineering bulletin summarises the investigations carried out by ASSC and provides guidance on the issues involved in the operation of installed Def Stan 00-18 Part 2/US MIL-STD-1553B data bus networks at enhanced bit rates. The text concentrates on achievement of modest improvements in bit rate (target 5Mbit/s) with minimal modifications to terminal hardware.

ASSC/120/3/258 : Repair and Maintenance Strategy (47 pages)
This document aims to encapsulate all of the recommendations generated by the Fibre Optic Harness Study on the topic of Repair and Maintenance. It contains;

• Information on all current fault notification, location and repair techniques and which situations they should be used in.
• Information on symptoms that indicate a fault in an optical fibre harness and which faults they relate to
• A definitive list of potential harness faults.

• General good practices for maintenance of optical fibre harnesses.
• Design recommendations to ease the maintenance of harness.

ASSC/130/2/134-Issue 1 : Digital video techniques and the possible adoption of commercial digital video standards in future military avionic systems (May 00) (17 pages)
This discussion paper is intended to contribute to determining the way forward in the use of digital video techniques and the adoption of commercial digital video standards in future military avionic systems. This document will also be used as an input to the NATO AVSWG meeting to be held in July 2000 (Exchange of Information on Digital Video Standards).
The immediate aim is to identify key aspects, issues and problems associated with the application of digital video to military avionics. This paper does not identify solutions to these issues and problems.

ASSC/130/2/97-Issue 2 : Guide to avionic video systems (Jun 00) (112 pages) (Download zipped pdf file)
The purpose of this document is to give guidance and promote MoD (PE) Project Officers' understanding of video systems and assist them in understanding their application in avionics.

This document provides guidance in all the areas defined below to form a suite of document as follows:

Review of commercial video standards Provides an overview of relevant video standards and standards organisations from the commercial field. A list of relevant commercial standards with details of their status is included in Appendix A.

ASSC/110/2/42-Issue 2 : Guide to low and medium speed digital interface standards for avionic applications (Jun 00) (36 pages)
Document compares the Def Stan 00-18 series of interface standards with several Electronic Industries Association (EIA) civil data transmission standards and two civil avionics data transmission standards developed by Air Radio Incorporated (ARINC) under the auspices of the Airlines Electrical Engineering Committee (AEEC), ARINC 429 and ARINC 629. The guide also includes a review of Time Triggered Protocol (TTP), Adaptive Standard PredictivE Network (ASPEN™), Universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394 - Standard for a high performance serial backplane bus, and the Controller Area Network (CAN) standard which originated in the automobile industry and WorldFIP Fieldbus which originated in the industrial & process control industry. The large difference in component cost between Def Stan 00-18 and EIA standards has been seen as an opportunity to save money by using these particular civil standards in military avionics systems. A suggestion in this vein has been made with particular reference to Def Stan 00-18 (Part 3), the Simplex and Half Duplex Serial Interface. This text is a careful technical summary of the issues involved so that there is a prepared position available.

ASSC/120/2/77-Issue 1 : Guide to high speed interface standards (Jun 99) (34 pages)
The purpose of this document is to give introductory guidance on network applications for future avionic systems by providing information on emerging standards and their current status. The document is intended as a guide for MoD Desk Officers and Industry on what choices of interface standard are available and inform them of development relating to avionics. The standards under consideration were selected by the working group and consist of the following:

The report provides an overview of the communications revolution that is taking place everywhere which is intended to illustrate the problem of transferring best commercial practices into candidates for the corresponding task in weapons platforms. In contrast the text further illustrates that, despite the best of intentions, there is no visibility of an imminent, clear cut Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution that solves most problems.

ASSC/130/2/116-Issue 1 - Requirements for the distribution and transmission of video images for airborne platforms (Dec 99) (8 pages)
This document has been prepared by the ASSC Video Systems Subcommittee to provide guidance regarding the digital data rates which are anticipated to be required for interconnection of existing and future avionic video systems. It has been produced to assist other ASSC Subcommittees to address these requirements, covering video distribution within an avionics system architecture.

The document encompasses three areas of the anticipated requirement, addressing interconnection between sensor to processing, processing to display, and sensor to display. These are termed processing, display and direct links. It deals with the data payload requirements for display modes ranging from VGA, through VXGA, to HDTV, and a table is provided showing data rate requirements for thermal and daylight cameras. Consideration is also given to issues of latency affecting video distribution.

ASSC/110/2/111 : Continued study of maximum signalling speed for Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2) / US MIL-STD 1553B Data Buses (February 1999) (63 pages) (Down load zipped pdf file)
This report describes the latest phase of a practical study undertaken to examine the extent to which bit rate could be increased using standard terminal protocol devices together with transceivers having minor modifications. This work follows on from an initial assessment carried out by ERA Technology in February 1997 (Ref. ) and further work in March 1998 (Ref. ). The objective of this latest phase was to determine and, where feasible, quantify the factors constraining the operation of Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2) data bus systems at enhanced bit rates, with a target of 5Mbps.

ASSC/130/2/37-draft 8 : Review of commercial video standards (Jun 98) (45 pages) now included in Guide to Avionic Video Systems (ASSC/130/2/97)
This report provides details of several different areas of technology. Broadly, HDTV, video transmission, Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN) components including Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) with Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Switched Multi-megabit Data Services (SMDS). Later standards in compression standards are also covered such as those developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), and Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group (MHEG). The report details some aspects of these initiatives that are relevant to avionics. Some of these are now significant civil implementations, for example, ATM borne on Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)/SDH fibre optic bearers have been nominated as the global telephone/data network. Others, notably domestic HDTV is still in a state of flux. However, video in the civil arena has fractioned into discrete markets with different needs. Examples are CD-ROM, Medical X-ray, TV studio applications, as well as TV preparation, distribution, and recording. Across these important subjects there is clearly an underlying coherent technical community of knowledge and at the same time an increasing spectrum of applications. The respective interests of ITU-R (International Telecommunication Union-Radio) (broadcast), ITU-T (cable), International Standards Organisation (ISO)/International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) (Information Technology) meet together in a serious attempt to rationalise and harmonise standards across markets.

ASSC/130/2/38-Issue 1 : ASSC advisory document on the characteristics of avionic display performance (Feb 98) (61 pages)
The purpose of this document is to promote MoD (PE) Project Officers' understanding of the information supplied by vendors of display equipment and assist them in the procurement of displays. It is anticipated that its use will facilitate comparison between tenders from different equipment suppliers by ensuring that suppliers provide the information detailed in the document so as to facilitate the MoD decision making process.

This document is not prescriptive; its objective is to list the key characteristics of each type of display. It provides a description of each parameter, shows how it might be specified, and provides an example using typical "ballpark" figures.

ASSC/130/2/77- draft 5 : ASSC advisory document on avionic video compression technology (Apr 97) (28 pages) Now included in Guide to avionic video systems (ASSC/130/2/97)
Compression techniques are discussed in the context of a model of compression which allows reversible and potentially irreversible data coding operations to be separated. Based on this model, a number of the more prominent coding techniques are outlined. Following this, the more significant established and evolving standards for video compression are discussed in the context of the compression techniques which they employ.

ASSC/110/2/85-draft 1 : Study of maximum signalling speed for electrical Def Stan 00-18 (Part 2)/US MIL-STD-1553B data buses (Feb 97) (18 pages)
This report describes a study aimed at determining the extent to which bit rate could be increased. It consists of four phases: