Software Systems Integration

The Advanced Heads-Up Display (AHUD) was developed to improve helicopter operations. To survive in the modern battlefield, combat and assault helicopters must fly fast and low, using the contours or nap of the earth profiles to avoid hostile guns and missiles. These flight profiles cause major problems in peacetime and in war. Training is much more hazardous and navigation becomes extremely difficult. With an integrated Night Vision Goggle (NVG) HUD, the system provides helicopter crews with a basis for a comprehensive flight management system, which is optimized for night operations.

The AHUD is an Advanced Electro-Optical System that combines the images seen through the NVG with computer-generated graphics and digital symbols depicting essential flight data such as horizontal and vertical attitude, air data and weapon aiming.

Program Support

STI, through the United States Army Communications and Electronics Command Software Engineering Center (US ARMY CECOM SEC), has the responsibility for performing Life Cycle Software Engineering Support (LCSES) for all Battlefield Automated Systems (BAS). LCSES is the overall system support necessary to develop, sustain, modify, refine, and improve BAS software to include computer code, data documentation, and all other support software and hardware elements.

STI provides Software Engineering Services to support SEC in LCSES performance of AHUD software. These services include providing support to SEC in AHUD software acquisition and AHUD Post-Production Software Support (PPSS) operations to include special projects like the PDU to support PM Warrior.

Transition to SEC

STI performed the necessary coordination, verification and validation to transition the AHUD software System to the US ARMY CECOM SEC for LCSES.

STI provided Software Engineering Services to support SEC in the transition process, including review of software documentation; baseline establishment, re-compilation and verification of the source code; Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) evaluation; and transition of the software to the SEC AHUD Maintenance Environment.

Post-Production Software Support

STI now serves as the Post Production Software (PPSS) contractor responsible for all maintenance and upgrade requirements.

STI currently performs the following PPSS operations:

• Re-compilation of the baseline AHUD software.
  
• Formal Qualification Test (FQT) validation of the baseline AHUD software.
  
• AHUD software modification to support engine modifications to the prescribed airborne platforms.
  
• AHUD software modification for new airborne platform integration.