RECOPS: Reconfiguring Programmable Devices for Military Hardware Electronics

This paper presents the RECOPS project that aims to study the use of reconfiguration in military applications. The project explores the new potentials and possibilities offered by reconfigurable components like FPGA. It identifies specificities related to the use of this technology in military applications and proposes solutions to support them. Specific techniques like dynamic reconfiguration or high speed serial I/Os are also covered. The paper gives a description of the project and then presents preliminary results on the advantages and impacts of using reconfiguration in military applications. It also gives a synthetic view of the needs and challenges that need to face this technology to be integrated in professional and military electronics applications. They are based on a study made over a broad range of seven demonstrators covering most of the fields of military applications