Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft, NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD -- Rapidly advancing technology prompted the NAVAIR F/A-18 Program Office (PMA-265) to investigate developing a new Advanced Mission Computer (AMC) for the U. S Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The AMC, an integrated information processing system, which provides complete hardware and software solutions to the platform, is part of a new generation of technologies paving the way to Network Centric Warfare.

Faced with several obsolescence issues, including an increasing number of new systems projected to exhaust the throughput capacity of the existing AMC Type II computer originally slated for use in future Super Hornets, the F/A-18 Program Office formed a team to address the need for an upgraded Type III AMC. They quickly began searching for solutions that best balanced cost, performance and schedule. With less than three years’ time from concept exploration to product deliveries, the Type III team worked closely with other NAVAIR programs, activities and industry. Core Avionics Deputy IPT Leader, Shirley Bacon recounted the effort saying, “Teams from Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell, PMA-265, PMA-209 and the F/A-18 Advanced Weapons Lab at China Lake worked very hard to develop a very good design in less than four months. The design included several potential trade offs that could reduce future readiness costs.”

The new Type III version of the AMC will bring faster processing speed and throughput capability to the Fleet, the ability to capture and view digital and analog video in the cockpit and provide the resources to pave the way for the EA-18G and Sea Power 21 capability. Its advanced design will also resolve numerous obsolescence issues facing the existing Type II AMC. “Type III will help enable the F/A-18 to achieve the vision of interoperability and Network Centric Operations (NCO) and revolutionize the way we engage, similar to the way the Type II supports the Advanced Crew Station (ACS) and the revolution that capability has brought to the aircraft,” said Don Blottenberger, Core Avionics IPT Leader.

The AMC leverages Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) technology, non-development item products, and proven expertise in application-specific requirements to provide high performance, state-of-the-art computing resources. “By using commercial/industrial components in the Type III AMC design we've been able to reap significant cost and schedule reductions,” said Bacon. “Additionally, it allows for reducing upfront development costs by spreading some of those costs across AMC procurements in much the same way that the commercial market does.”

The fourth Higher Order Language (HOL) Software Configuration Set (SCS), to be utilized in the Type III, is now being developed for the Super Hornet fleet, which will bring the capability to design software in modules, significantly reducing time requirements during system testing and maintenance.

The new software will include upgrades to accommodate the EA-18G and several advanced weapons capabilities. Together with advanced displays the Super Hornet will process and present a large amount of data to the cockpit, and respond equally as well to pilot inputs.

Capt. “BD” Gaddis, F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Manager explains the significance of the Type III saying, “The AMC is a principal enabler for Sea Power 21 capabilities and is a good example of transitioning our thinking from product to network centric warfare. Programs such as the EA-18G, AESA, and ATFLIR will benefit enormously from this upgrade. It’s also interesting to note that up to the present time new F/A-18 systems have been fielded on the existing F/A-18C/D models and then forward fitted to the F/A-18E/F models as resources permitted. Here we have a system developed and improved upon for the Super Hornet that is being retrofitted to the F/A-18C/D… it’s a win-win situation.”

Because of its configurability and flexibility, the AMC can be used efficiently in a wide range of applications. The system operates reliably in extreme conditions, and in ground-based and shipboard avionics, providing easy mission and display processing.

The AMC Type III is scheduled to be retrofitted into aircraft already serving in the Fleet beginning in 2007.

For more information about the AMC type III or the F/A-18 program please contact Denise Deon Wilson, Public Affairs Officer for PEO-T at 301-481-6263 or [email protected].

# # #