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View Full Version : F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program uses Linux-Based Hardware for flight tests


dgray_from_dc
January 17th, 2008, 06:10 PM
I'm a Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer for the DoD and I work on the new F-35 program designing the instrumentation systems onboard one of the newly built aircraft. These systems are connected to sensors and data buses in the plane taking measurements for other engineers to analyze and interpret for the continued evolution of the aircraft.

I was working on a test setup yesterday and noticed upon turning the system on that was equipped with a new view screen, that there was a Linux kernel booting. After bootup, x-windows kicked in, and began to display measurements for the test pilot to see in the cockpit.

Just a little announcement to instill pride in the Linux community!
FuturePilot
January 17th, 2008, 06:20 PM
Awesome! :guitar:
Malta paul
January 17th, 2008, 06:26 PM
Great to hear, made my day:popcorn:
Joeb454
January 17th, 2008, 06:26 PM
It is awesome, but should you really be talking about the test system etc. ?

Just wondering...though I did know a lot of military things run Linux
forrestcupp
January 17th, 2008, 06:40 PM
That's privileged information that you weren't supposed to share. The FBI will be knocking on your door any minute now.
aimran
January 17th, 2008, 06:42 PM
That's privileged information that you weren't supposed to share. The FBI will be knocking on your door any minute now.

Party Van?
Joeb454
January 17th, 2008, 06:42 PM
That's privileged information that you weren't supposed to share. The FBI will be knocking on your door any minute now.

:lolflag: That's what I was thinking ;)
dgray_from_dc
January 17th, 2008, 07:52 PM
That's privileged information that you weren't supposed to share. The FBI will be knocking on your door any minute now.

I'm only talking about the equipment purchased to test the aircraft. It's commercially available of-the-shelf equipment. Consider it a customized black box recorder. I have little to no knowledge about the military systems used to actually run the plane. What I'm talking about is little more than fancy multimeters and AtoD converters. Those devices feed a computer in a little box with embedded Linux to measure things like wing strain and temperature. There's nothing classified about that information. Trust me.
mips
January 17th, 2008, 09:55 PM
Trust me.

Is that you Hammer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sledge_Hammer!)?