Military Embedded Systems Spring 2005 Volume 1 Number 1

Software
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Resource Guide
Standards and interoperability
to drive RTOS industry
Q & A with John Fanelli, VP of Product Planning,
Wind River Systems
EDITOR’S FOREWORD
Most experts agree: the VxWorks Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is one of the most visible in embedded military systems
today. And for good reason. Wind River Systems has had a focus on military applications since the company’s inception. Over
the years, Wind River has continued to migrate its product line closer to defense applications, both through R&D efforts and
via acquisitions such as ISI (makers of pSOS).
As Wind River continues to expand its sphere into telecom, portable appliances and enterprise infrastructure, the military’s
never far from view and the company continues to improve VxWorks with new ties to Linux and the Eclipse environment.
Military Embedded Systems recently spent some time with John Fanelli, the man responsible for tying it all together. – Ed.
MIL EMBEDDED: Tell us briefly about
your company’s focus as applied to the
military.
FANELLI: Though Wind River’s business
continues to maintain a balanced portfolio
among the major market segments
– automotive, consumer electronics, networking,
industrial, and aerospace and
defense – the company has always relied
upon its aerospace and defense business
as one of its strongest and most consistent
segments. Wind River VxWorks is
the most widely deployed RTOS in the
military, and is found at the heart of a
vast array of military systems, including
F-35 (JSF), F-22, Global Hawk
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), most
US and European fighter aircraft, air,
land and sea missiles, helicopters, and
many miscellaneous military avionics
systems, among others.
According to market analysts at Venture
Development Corporation, we are the
acknowledged leader in both North
America and Europe for operating system
technology in the military. Additionally,
Wind River is focused on addressing the
safety critical and security requirements
of the military and is actively supporting
major programs in manned and unmanned
vehicles.
MIL EMBEDDED: We’ve heard from
a number of hardware vendors, but
what does Wind River see new in COTS
(Commercial Off-the-Shelf) and/or
military systems?
FANELLI: Interoperability is the hot topic
today. Most of the technologies employed
by the individual US Services such as
the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines
are to a degree incompatible forcing the
field soldiers to improvise solutions to
overcome communication and bandwidth
limitations on existing systems. Key
programs include Joint Tactical Radio
Systems (JTRS) and the Global Information
Grid.
Standards such as Multiple Independent
Levels of Security (MILS), POSIX, and
SCA, among others, are the foundation
of military interoperability, all the time.
Of course, reusability of technology is
important as well, but in order for this
to become more of a reality, the Joint
Services need to share development costs
across programs, something that is not
done today. Additionally, open source,
specifically Linux, is starting to spring up
more and more in military systems, which
is great since we support Linux.
MIL EMBEDDED: What are the top
three embedded technologies you’re
seeing in the market today?
FANELLI: Trends include Multiple
Independent Levels of Security (MILS),
Integrated Modular Avionics (ARINC
653), and as highlighted before, Linux.
For example, classified and unclassified
information will coexist on the same
hardware platform using MILS technology,
replacing the “stovepipe” solutions
that exist today.
MIL EMBEDDED: What are some of
the key challenges the military faces
with COTS insertion and sustainment?
FANELLI: In order for software insertion
to occur, it’s important that vendors
achieve conformance with standards such
as POSIX; Common Criteria certification
for moderate and high-assurance applications;
and they must provide long-term
product support and software reuse for
sustainment.
Sustainment becomes equally more tractable
if strict standards are applied and
adhered to. As systems require replacing
over the years, newer applications and
systems can more easily be inserted into
legacy systems if both pieces have been
designed to follow strict standards.
By embracing standards such as POSIX,
ARINC-653, and Eclipse, Wind River
and other vendors can help guide the
industry in the direction mandated by the
military to ensure an interoperable future
for device software systems.
MIL EMBEDDED: What effects will
market consolidation have on the
military customer?
FANELLI: I actually see synergies, not
consolidation “problems,” and the military
customer will benefit by some of them.
Some of these synergies occur around
the open-software development framework
called Eclipse, where tools become
extendable plug-ins within a development
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