Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Techniques Used in the Development of the Sea Harrier Avionic System,

Simulation using airborne hardware in the loop during the development of avionic systems is now a well established technique used by airframe and weapon system contractors. However, each new weapon system produces a different set of problems that usually requires a change of technique in order to satisfy test requirements for the system. This paper gives a brief overview of the Sea Harrier avionic system and describes the techniques used by British Aerospace in the development of this system. Descriptions of the special-to-type interfaces required to drive the forward looking radar, navigation system, automatic flight control and HUDweapon aiming computer are given, along with some specific development problems that were overcome using the techniques described.