In ground, air and naval defence applications, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, is an industry leader providing highly rugged and reliable critical systems and components.

With design and manufacturing facilities located across North America and Europe, and sales and support teams located around the globe, it is uniquely positioned to satisfy the most demanding electronics and systems challenges.

Rugged, secure data recording and storage systems

Rugged, secure data storage systems from Curtiss-Wright provide guaranteed solutions for the retrieval, archiving and processing of digital video and intelligence in real time, along with mission data to support ground force operations.

Rugged, secure data storage systems offer a proven solution for retrieving, archiving and processing mission data, digital video and intelligence in real time to support ground force operations.

Curtiss-Wright solutions for EW include powerful modules implementing cutting edge Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs), and Digital-to-Analog converters (DACs).

Curtiss-Wright has been delivering fire control processors for a wide range of ground vehicles for many years. To minimise latency, all of the specific I/O required for a specific vehicles sensor suite and vehicle information bus are integrated directly to the processor.

From FPGA technology for image acquisition or image processing, to high-performance Intel processors to general purpose graphics processors (GPGPUs), Curtiss-Wright has solutions to fit. With more and more data available to the drivers of our military vehicles, the need to display this data concisely and quickly grows every day. Curtiss-Wright had provided display processors to a number of different applications and our latest products provide cutting edge solutions.

Curtiss-Wright is a technological leader in providing open architecture Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) based rugged processor, graphics, video, data recorder, storage, I/O and communication, and networking cards for mission computing.

Optimised for the Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constraints of military platforms, Curtiss-Wright’s networking solutions are widely used to link on-board devices (vetronics, mission computers, cameras, command-and-control equipment) in manageable, highly secure IP networks.

A modular equipment system approach that suits a range of applications from weapon stations to main battle tanks with turrets up to 20t. A typical system consists of linear and rotary drives, a motor controller, single and dual axis gyroscopes, hand controllers and integrated software. Depending on the size and weight of the turret, the system can be paired down or scaled up to meet the performance and precision requirements.

The network attached storage systems are compact, transportable and eligible for applications requiring critical data sharing within adverse ground mobile environments. These storage systems are ruggedised for severe shock and vibration within combat vehicle applications, such as extreme temperatures between -40° to 71°C. The systems supply affordable, high-capacity, high-performance network, MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-461 qualified attached storage.

Electronic warfare

Electronic Warfare (EW) consists of spoofing or jamming an adversary’s electronic communications or electronic sensing, commonly by detecting communications at specific frequency then jamming it, or detecting an incoming radar signal and giving a simulated return signal response to indicate a false location.

The main requirement for designers’ building this system is high-performance, embedded computing, which is able to detect, identify and respond to signals within the short time intervals that characterise the electronic battlefield.

Curtiss-Wright offers solutions for EW such as innovative Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs), and Digital-to-Analog converters (DACs). They also supply large banks of Digital RF Memory (DRFM) for radar spoofing and other Electronic Countermeasures (ECM).

Fire control for military weapon use

The fire control computer is at the forefront of many military weapons, and gathers data from a range of sources including radar, various sensors, inertial systems and occasionally human input.

Curtiss-Wright deliver fire control processors for a variety of ground vehicles, and for minimal latency, the entire specific Interoperability (I/O) necessary for a specific vehicles sensor suite and vehicle information bus are directly integrated to the processor.

Image and data display processing for rugged military vehicles

The products supplying image processing are as diverse as the required applications, from differing Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology for image acquisition or image processing, high-performance Intel processors to general purpose graphics processors (GPGPs).

Image processors can require considerable processing power that has proven challenging to deploy within rugged military vehicle environments.

There is a continual need to display data to our military vehicle drivers in an efficient way, and as the display resolution increases, so does the ability to display even more data on a clear single screen. This could include vehicle, targeting and guidance information or external camera imaging.

We continually supply high-quality solutions for display processing needs within the industry, such as the latest processor technology features, a vast I/O capability range and graphics outputs to drive up to four high-definition displays in a single card.

Rugged computer systems for vehicle management

Curtiss-Wright extends its COTS technology processors and interfaces portfolio to supply rugged computer systems that support vehicle management functions. We are a developer and deployer of surveillance, heath, payload and mission management, as well as networking and data encryption solutions for ground platforms.

Our vehicle management systems are Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions delivered within several weeks, or specific customer-developed customised solutions.

Curtiss-Wright continually invests in developing new and upgraded solutions that simplify vehicle management, for example, the DBH-672 Digital Beachhead GbE Switch and Vehicle Processor.

Turret control for armoured land vehicle use

Deployed troops rely on their armament’s precision and reliability for self-protection. Modern-day turrets are usually mounted on an armoured land vehicle, which proves most useful when traversing adverse, rugged terrain. Accurately locating a target and stabilising the shot whilst moving out of the line of site potentially makes all the difference.

The Turret Drive Servo System (TDSS) has been developed from more than 60 years worth of industry experience and is based on a modular equipment system approach. It fits with a variety of applications including weapon stations and main battle tanks, with up to 20t turrets.

Typically, a TDSS is made up of integrated software, hand controllers, single and dual axis gyroscopes, a motor controller and linear and rotary drives. Depending on the turret’s size and weight, the system can be scaled up or paired down in order to match the performance and precision requirements.

Networking solutions and mission processing for ground vehicle platforms

Reliable IP networking solutions, such as rugged network routers and Ethernet switches are essential for mobile networks on-board ground vehicle platforms in order to connect tactical sensors and mission systems at the network edge.

Curtiss-Wright’s rugged Ethernet subsystems and card solutions enable manned and unmanned systems to deploy digital network architectures securely and in a cost-effective manner. These have become fundamental for the delivery of secure data, video and voice services to mobile networks within challenging environments.

Our networking solutions are optimised for the Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) civil and military platform constraints, as well as used across a range of platforms for connecting on-board devices in highly secure, manageable IP networks.

Ground vehicles continually have growing payload options to allow for changeable mission requirements, including cameras, communications and weapons.

Curtiss-Wright’s mission management computers provide interface to an array of functions through expandable and modular components, enabling the systems to be easily modified.

Mission management computers offer an interface opportunity for legacy data buses including state-of-the-art processing, networking capability, graphics input and output and 1553.