Phenomenology of integrated avionics and the currently fielded aircraft market

The Air Force has made a significant investment in Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) in the late 1980´ and 1990´s with the only real application of a totally integrated avionics suite in the F-22. The next new tactical platform, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), will also employ integrated avionics leveraging off of the F-22, but what about the existing fleet of tactical platforms like the F-15, F-16 and the F/A-18? Can currently fielded aircraft leverage the Air Force investment in integrated avionics to meet the requirements of weapon system deficiencies, function upgrades, and modernization? A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) was performed from Feb 95 to Apr 96 by the Air Force with participation from the Navy, comparing federated or a “black box” approach to an integrated avionics suite in the area of Communications, Navigation, Identification (CNI) for a specific waveforms/requirements. The integrated CNI system used in the CBA was based on portions of the F-22´s integrated avionics suite. Several phenomenon surfaced during the CBA when trying to fit IMA systems into today´s tactical weapon systems and the current federated “way of thinking”. These phenomena are discussed