Raytheon develops weapon interface bridge
Raytheon has developed a new software solution, Envoy, to integrate newer weapons onto legacy aircraft, it announced on 16 March.
Envoy is designed to offer several integration options for Universal Armament Interface (UAI) weapons without the need for costly hardware changes. It is adaptable across various platforms, carriage systems and platform-to-weapon interfaces.
The system is adaptable software and an optional hardware suite that provides a communication bridge between MIL-STD-1760 and Miniature Munition Store Interface (MMSI) weapon interfaces. This functionality will allow legacy platforms to communicate with new, UAI type weapons. Envoy allows conversion between the physical layer and converts legacy interfaces into the UAI message set so that advanced weapons can receive initialisation and tasking messages.
The software has already been demonstrated on F-16 and F-18 fighter aircraft, and work is underway for integration on the MQ-9.
Mike Jarrett, vice president, Raytheon Air Warfare Systems, said: ‘The Envoy software solution is a real breakthrough for weapons integration. With Envoy, today’s state-of-the-art weapons can be easily and affordably integrated into legacy aircraft worldwide.’
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