Common and reusable avionics for the rotorcraft market

Rockwell Collins has partnered with Sikorsky Aircraft to develop a flexible glass cockpit system designed to reuse several blocks of existing civil application software, and to interface with the various avionics subsystems using industry standards. A systematic process is used to define avionics attributes, major capabilities and cost targets in the beginning phases and tracked through development. The system is designed to provide flight and mission redundancy without impacting system recurring costs. With this new integrated glass cockpit system, Sikorsky and Rockwell Collins have been able to offer this new configuration to several international customers. This glass cockpit system is being offered on the S-70A and S-70B series of helicopters and the most current helicopter, the S-92. There has been a shift in the rotorcraft business from a high volume production of US military aircraft in a single configuration to multi-customer/multi-mission aircraft for both US and international customers.