The nEUROn is an experimental UCAV program led by Dassault Aviation in partnership with several European companies including Saab Aerosystems, Alenia Aermacchi and EADS CASA. The System Acra KAM-500 data acquisition units (DAUs) are integrated into the nEUROn’s Ethernet distributed FTI system for analog sensor data acquisition and to view real-time video from 3 cameras.   The Results Compact and lightweight DAUs yielding more flight test measurements Reliable accurate data delivered to the onboard and ground test systems Flexible Ethernet based video monitoring system More details available at www.cwc-ae.com

1. The nEUROn is an experimental
UCAV program led by Dassault
Aviation in partnership with several
European companies including
Saab Aerosystems, Alenia
Aermacchi and EADS CASA.
The System
Acra KAM-500 data acquisition
units (DAUs) are integrated into the
nEUROn’s Ethernet distributed FTI
system for analog sensor data
acquisition and to view real-time
video from 3 cameras.
The Results
• Compact and lightweight DAUs
yielding more flight test
measurements
• Reliable accurate data
delivered to the onboard and
ground test systems
• Flexible Ethernet based video
monitoring system
Dassault instruments the
nEUROn UCAV with Acra
KAM-500 data acquisition
HC-130H

2. COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF
MODULAR DESIGN
The System
Six KAM-500 DAUs are integrated into the
distributed system to acquire
• Pressure
• Temperature
• Video
The KAM-500 was chosen because of its small footprint.
Especially important on the nEUROn, the KAM-500’s
compact design and MIL-STD ruggedness means it can
be located anywhere on the airframe, even in the severe
environment of the internal bay.
A six user slot Acra KAM- 500 DAU with a video acquisition
module and Ethernet encoder is connected to 3 cameras
in the weapons bay.
The video module can manage up to three video input
signals which are packaged in Ethernet frames by the
encoder and sent over a data link to the Ground Control
Station.
Acra KAM-500
Lowers Risk
Proven on every platform type in
all environmental conditions
COTS hardware with short delivery
times
Reduces Cost of Ownership
Reduced inventory of spares due
to common product line
Lower installation, setup and
maintenance requirements
Modular design greatly extends
system lifetime
FTI by Design
Designed to minimize the data
transfer time from sensor to screen
Guaranteed predictable data
Simultaneous sampling occurs
across the complete system

3. COMPACT &
LIGHTWEIGHT
“We have been using
Acra equipment for over
10 years and it always
produces accurate,
reliable data on time.
The Results I
Compact and lightweight DAUs yielding more flight
test measurements
The KAM-500’s compact design and MIL-STD
ruggedness meant the DAUs could be located in
spaces where alternative DAU’s would not have
fit.
• The overall weight allocation for FTI was less than
90kgs
• The compact size enabled Dassault to get more
measurements onto the platform than would have
been possible with any other system
• More measurements means better data for
designers which is the goal of the platform
• The compact size of the KAM-500 opened up
additional possible locations on the platform for
the DAU’s thus enabling easier and more flexible
system design
“
Jean Pierre Rouby
Dassault Aviation, Istres,
France

4. The compact size of the
KAM-500 DAU enables
us to get more
measurements onto the
platform than would be
possible with any other
system.
“
The Results II
Reliable accurate data delivered on time to
the onboard and ground flight test systems
The KAM-500 data acquisition is based on a simple and
robust concept - the ‘acquisition cycle’.
• Finite state machines are implemented on fixed
function FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays),
not software dependent microprocessors
• The FPGA is configured to repeatedly perform the
same set of actions so that hardware performs
reliably and in a completely deterministic manner
This combined with the high performance achieved
using an all digital backplane means reliable accurate
data is delivered on time to the nEUROn onboard and
ground segments.
“
WORKS ONCE
WORKS ALWAYS

5. HIGH QUALITY DATA
FLIGHT AFTER FLIGHT
The Results III
A low risk, flexible and reusable flight test
instrumentation system
At the early stages of system design an alternate
approach to video monitoring was planned.
Acra was asked if it could accommodate the
requirements.
The flexibility of the KAM-500 meant the unique
needs of the program could be quickly satisfied
with COTS hardware.
The solution was the installation of an Acra 6U
KAM- 500 DAU with a video acquisition module
and an Ethernet encoder, connected to the
three FTI cameras

6. For more information visit
www.cwc-ae.com
Curtiss-Wright Controls Avionics & Electronics
cwc-ae@curtisswright.com
665 North Baldwin Park Boulevard
City of Industry, CA 91746, USA
Phone: 626-851-3100
Landscape House, Landscape Road
Dublin 14, Ireland
Phone: +353-1295-1264