Simon Collins ADLINK Technology

As VPX completes its first decade since ratification, it is clear this standard is here for the long haul. A healthy competitive marketplace has driven product adoption in actual programs, which have been proven in real combat operations. However, the true strength of VPX is its continuing evolution to keep pace with technological advancements.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

The FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) standard has become the defacto mezzanine standard for anyone wanting a modular solution for platforms using an FPGA [field-programmable gate array]. The convenience of having modular I/O for any FPGA family makes it hard to not use an FMC as the I/O front-end. Consequently, the FMC standard, VITA 57, has gained worldwide acceptance and is endorsed by the major FPGA manufacturers.

Ken Braund Meritec

The military circular connectors have been around since the beginning of time, or so it seems. They were developed in the 1930s for Army and Navy severe applications. The "AN" Series of Circular connectors, as they were known, originated in the 1930s as a dependable, rugged military electrical connector that has evolved into the 38999 electrical interconnect system today that now has many more demands on it than simple point-to-point electrical connections. It has been utilized by not only the military, but has also found its way into Industrial, Aerospace, and Automotive applications where dependability is paramount.

Ken Grob Elma Electronic

Over the past five years, 3U OpenVPX has been the architecture of choice to implement rugged military electronic systems. Application areas include Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW), radar, and network communications. Current technology roadmaps show that signaling rates for PCIe and Ethernet are rapidly increasing and that the mentioned applications are sure to utilize all of the incremental bandwidth.

John McHale Editorial Director

Budget cuts and sequestration, while handcuffing the defense industry and the warfighter, have also forced the government to embrace a movement toward more commonality across multiple platforms through open standards and establishing a culture of re-us...

Michael Munroe Elma Electronic

VITA’s Standards Organization (VSO) has been working diligently to finalize a major update to the VITA 65 standard, also known as OpenVPX. In addition, CERDEC [U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center] has been instrumental in supplying some of the additions to the standard. Even broader than these specification updates are additional efforts being made on other VITA standards that strengthen the overall VPX environment itself.

Michael Munroe Elma Electronic

VITA’s Standards Organization (VSO) has been working diligently to finalize a major update to the VITA 65 standard, also known as OpenVPX. In addition, CERDEC [U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center] has been instrumental in supplying some of the additions to the standard. Even broader than these specification updates are additional efforts being made on other VITA standards that strengthen the overall VPX environment itself.

John McHale Editorial Director

Every month the McHale Report will host an online roundtable with experts from the defense electronics industry – from major prime contractors to defense component suppliers. Each roundtable will explore topics important to the military embedded elec...

Serge Tissot Kontron

Of the two VPX mechanical form factors, 3U is very popular in certain applications, and 6U is sometimes necessary to build highly parallel systems with optimal computing density. While air and conduction cooling are often implemented to address cooling challenges, liquid cooling solutions can be effective for designs at the chassis, board, and chip levels. Today’s designs must be standardized for VPX to maintain interoperability and availability of common building blocks, and to ensure the success of this modular architecture now and in the future.

Jerry Gipper Editorial Director

I am often approached by individuals and companies that are new to the world of VPX. One of the first questions they ask is, “What does the business ecosystem look like for VPX technology?” My first response is that it is a collection of suppliers and users with VPX as a common interest. But usually the question begs more detail; who the players are and what role they fulfill are foremost among the critical points. VITA has recently formed a study group to develop a map of the VPX ecosystem. This article takes a closer look at the VPX ecosystem and its benefits.