WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- The Air Force's F-22 air superiority fighter reached another major milestone in September when Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, Calif., delivered to Westinghouse Electric Co., Baltimore, the world's most advanced, high-speed, computer system for use on board a fighter aircraft.
Called a common integrated processor, or CIP, this computer system is a next-generation, integrated suite of signal and data processors that will serve as the aircraft's computer brain. It is a key element in providing the F-22 with its unique war-fighting abilities, Aeronautical Systems Center officials said here. When combined with stealth technology, the CIP is a primary contributor to the F-22's first-look, first-kill capability, which program managers say is critical to maintaining air superiority in the next century.
"To see without being seen, and kill an enemy aircraft without being killed will afford Air Force pilots a major advantage over an enemy. The CIP will give us the means to do that," said F-22 System Program Office director Maj. Gen. Robert Raggio.
Traditionally, aircraft use "federated" processing systems in which the various radar, communication navigation and identification, electronic warfare, and mission systems each had its own processor and distributed its output to separate displays.
"The idea behind the CIP is to provide a single 'platform' capable of supporting all of the aircraft's avionics software. This allows us to tie together all the signal and data processing giving pilots a single, integrated understanding of their in-flight situations," explained John Howard, avionics core processing integrated product team lead for the F-22 SPO here.
The CIP will host and run software for the F-22's multiple aircraft sensors, control systems and information displays.
Huges Aircraft, which is responsible for developing the F-22's integrated processor, delivered the first CIP to Westinghouse in early August. Westinghouse, teamed with Texas Instruments, Dallas, is contracted to produce the radar sensor and software programs that will provide the F-22's radar function. The CIP will host the radar's software and execute its commands. The F-22 program's initial 35 CIPs will be delivered during the next year.
Each F-22 aircraft will carry two CIPs. Room for a third CIP will be available for future growth of the computer system as the F-22 expands its capabilities.
