VPX mission computers embedded mission computer

The MPMC-9336 is a 3-slot 3U VPX mission computer from Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, built as a rugged embedded computer for processing sensor data and running mission software on military and unmanned platforms.

The system combines a processing board with signal-conversion hardware. Its processing relies on a VPX3-1258/9 single-board computer with an Intel Core i7 processor, a VPX3-530 3U VPX transceiver module that carries a Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA, and an optional XCLK1 low-phase-noise clock generator. The Core i7 handles general-purpose application code, while the FPGA carries signal processing close to the converters. The clock generator is intended for applications where the phase noise of the sampling clock limits the quality of the captured signal.

The enclosure holds three 3U VPX slots in a package of less than 300 cubic inches, so an integrator can fit it into a payload bay or equipment rack where volume is limited. Cooling is by cold plate, and the specification gives a baseplate temperature of up to +65 C. Optional internal heaters allow the unit to cold-start at -51 C, and the unit is qualified for 200 g, 3 ms ballistic shock, which matters for installation in vehicles and airframes that see high mechanical loads.

For integration, the computer is fed by a 28 VDC power supply unit able to support 150 W, in line with the bus voltage of many military aircraft and unmanned systems. The summary table of the product lists ADC, DAC, clock, DVI, Gigabit Ethernet, M-LVDS, RS-422, SATA and USB connections, and the vehicle-network connection is CAN. Payload equipment such as radar, electronic-warfare and communications sensors can therefore be attached through the converters, the Ethernet link and the serial ports.

Typical applications are mission computing for large unmanned aircraft, radar and signal-intelligence processing, software-defined radio and sensor fusion, where a defence integrator needs a conduction-cooled, VPX-based computer that can be reconfigured by changing the modules rather than redesigning the box.