T-bird II training system avionics

The Lockheed Martin T-BIRD II Avionic System incorporates a modular federated processor configuration interconnected by commercially available software and industry standard data buses. This suite, used on the Lockheed Martin entry into the Joint Primary Air Training System (JPATS) competition, represents a complete departure from the single source electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) avionics suites used on similar aircraft. Instead, we chose each component for the optimum performance, availability, supportability, training effectiveness, acquisition and life cycle costs. The modularity and standardization available in today's avionics allowed us to integrate diverse instruments easily. This paper describes the system and its development and some of the advantages of this approach to avionics acquisition.