Collins Aerospace to enhance CRIIS software and operator consoles for Air Force, Navy and Army test ranges

August 12, 2019

Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), has been awarded multiple task orders totaling more than $7.6 million to update computer operating systems (OS) and operator consoles of the Common Range Integrated Instrumentation System (CRIIS) for U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army test ranges. This effort resolves OS obsolescence, improves system security and incorporates lessons learned to enhance system operator workflow.

CRIIS is replacing legacy Department of Defense (DoD) test range systems including Advanced Range Data System (ARDS) and Air-to-Air Range Infrastructure (AARI) systems in use at major U.S. military ranges. The system supports the DoD’s vision of a common test and training infrastructure for improved operational realism by providing:

• Accurate time, space and position information under highly-dynamic aircraft conditions with an extended area control of air, land and sea participants
• Real-time tracking of air exercise participants up to approximately 430 nautical miles
• Open architecture design to support range flexibility
• Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS) architecture
• Standardization of interface protocols including Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA)
• Software-defined radio for waveform and frequency agility
• Support for synthetic threats and forces

Collins Aerospace’s CRIIS includes operator consoles for mission setup, datalink network control, real-time evaluation, post-mission data analysis and system maintenance. With the new updates, a single, common operating system configuration for all system computers will be in place to greatly reduce the life-cycle cost to perform updates over time.

“By updating the user interface consoles, we’re able to streamline operator’s workload for all phases that lead to easier pre-mission setup and improved user experience during real-time operations,'' said Brad Haselhorst, vice president and general manager, Training and Mission Solutions for Collins Aerospace.

In addition to the traditional data collection capability of an instrumentation system, CRIIS includes the ability to uplink and downlink ground and aircraft data. This enables seamless interaction between live and synthetic participants for highly-realistic test or training missions.

Source : Collins Aerospace