Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division today announced the newest member of its Parvus family of extremely small form factor, rugged network, commercial off the shelf (COTS) mission computer subsystems.

The Parvus DuraCOR 310 Mission Computer is the company’s first ultra-small form factor (USFF) mission computer to feature a very low-power, quad-core ARM microprocessor.

Ideal for a wide range of applications and platforms that require an extreme size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) optimised mission computer, the DuraCOR 310 is designed to meet the demanding MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461F, MIL-STD-1275D, MIL-STD-704F and RTCA / DO-160G environmental, power and EMI standards.

The DuraCOR 310 is 75% smaller than traditional mission computers and 50% lighter than Curtiss-Wright’s previous small, rugged mission computer, and further establishes the company as a leading supplier of open standards-based, COTS, miniature mission computer solutions.

This groundbreaking miniature mission computer features an NXP Semiconductor (formerly Freescale) i.MX6 ARM processor on an industrial-grade Computer-on-Module (COM) tightly integrated with a Flash SSD. The super compact unit weighs less than 1.5lbs, measures an estimated ~39in³ volume, requires less than 10W of power, and supports a wide operating temperature range of -40 to 71°C (-40 to 160ºF) without fans or active cooling requirements.

"With the introduction of our new Parvus DuraCOR 310 Mission Computer, Curtiss-Wright extends its leadership position as a provider of ultra small form factor network and computing solutions for SWaP-C sensitive air, ground and seaborne platforms deployed in harsh environments," said Lynn Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense Solutions division.

"We are proud to be an industry leader in developing next generation rugged subsystems that meet the unique demands of unmanned platforms, rotorcraft and other applications where size, weight, power and cost are a premium."

The DuraCOR 310 comes with a full complement of standard vetronics I/O interfaces (including CANbus, USB, Ethernet, Serial, DIO, Video, and Audio). It also supports modification, provided NRE-free at the factory, via two slots for optional add-on Mini-PCIe I/O modules.

The dual Mini-PCIe expansion slots enable mission computer system designers to leverage the broad ecosystem of standards-based, industrial Mini-PCIe modules that support avionics databuses (such as MIL-STD-1553 and ARINC 429) in addition to other traditional I/O types. The DuraCOR 310 also features MIL-performance circular connectors.

Software support includes drivers for Linux operating environments. The unit’s ARM processor supports HD-class video acceleration, including OpenGL, OpenCL, and OpenVG.

The Parvus Family of Miniature COTS Subsystems

The DuraCOR 310 complements Curtiss-Wright’s previously announced DuraNET 20-11 miniature Ethernet Switch. The DuraNET 20-11 is an USFF rugged COTS 8-port Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch optimised for extremely demanding SWaP-C constrained vehicle and aircraft platforms exposed to harsh environmental and noisy electrical conditions (for example, high altitude, extreme shock and vibration, extended temperatures, humidity, dust and water exposure, noisy EMI, and / or dirty power).

The unit boasts an ultra-miniature ‘pocket sized’ design with a physical size of roughly 10in³ in volume, 0.50lbs in weight, and only 5W typical power consumption.