Software Architecture for Next-Generation Combat Training Systems

SYSGO has formally registered its support for the SAETA II program, Spain’s next-generation combat training system led by Airbus Defence and Space. The initiative will utilize European-developed, certifiable operating systems and virtualization technologies to meet the strict safety and security requirements of modern airborne mission architectures.

Real-Time Operating Systems and Hypervisors
The core of the software architecture relies on PikeOS, a real-time operating system and hypervisor, alongside the ELinOS embedded Linux platform. This combination provides a foundation for mixed-criticality aerospace systems, allowing the consolidation of safety-critical and general-purpose applications onto shared computing hardware. The software complies with ARINC 653 standards, enabling strict isolation, deterministic scheduling, and flexible partitioning through a separation kernel architecture. These capabilities ensure certification readiness up to the highest aerospace safety and security levels, specifically DAL A and SAL 3.

Avionics Integration and Secure Partitioning
Within the aircraft's onboard equipment, the software architecture supports primary flight displays, sensor fusion, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems. The separation kernel isolates classified identification logic from less critical mission software, improving cybersecurity and fault containment for encrypted tactical data exchange. For mission computers, the operating system allows multiple applications with varying criticality levels to execute simultaneously, supporting hardware-accelerated processing for real-time flight plan modifications based on incoming sensor data.

Communications and Data Management
The platform facilitates deterministic communication and inter-partition messaging for airborne data-link systems, ensuring the reliable transfer of tactical and telemetry data without interfering with flight-critical functions. Additionally, the software manages audio communications by prioritizing real-time voice processing and isolating it from non-critical tasks. This infrastructure also extends to remote interface units for sensor aggregation and mission recorders, providing partitioned storage management for post-mission analysis and certification compliance.

Additional Context: This section details technical specifications and competitive benchmarking not included in the original announcement
In military and commercial avionics, adherence to the ARINC 653 standard is a critical requirement for Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA). This standard defines a strict temporal and spatial partitioning environment, ensuring that a software failure in one partition (such as a non-critical logging system) cannot consume CPU cycles or memory allocated to a critical partition (such as flight controls). SYSGO's PikeOS competes directly with other highly certified RTOS platforms in the aerospace sector, such as Wind River's VxWorks 653 and Green Hills Software's INTEGRITY-178B. The use of a hypervisor natively integrated with an RTOS allows defense contractors to run legacy code, modern Linux environments, and highly deterministic flight software on the same multi-core processor, significantly reducing Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints on modern tactical aircraft.

Edited by Lekshman Ramdas, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

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