Realization of Automatic Test System for Flight Critical Avionics LRU Based on LabVIEW Platform

Abstract

In a fighter aircraft development program like the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, test system design activities play a major role towards operational clearances of its major avionics subsystems. A realization of a test system for automated hardware testing of flight critical LRU is described in this paper. This test system reduced the lead time for production of flight critical units. Due to its time and cost benefits the same approach is being used for development of test systems of other flight critical LRUs of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Figure 1 shows the flight critical LRU to be tested by using this test system.

Using open system architecture a test system can be assembled by using COTS Products and then can be configured for a particular use in short duration. This gives potential cost savings and reduces test system development time. But this approach may not be effective when COTS products are not available for testing all interfaces of the LRU which has one or more application specific circuits. On the other side designing customized test system that is capable of testing flight critical avionics subsystems is very costly and time consuming.

We have successfully adopted hybrid architecture for automatic test system which has the benefit of both approaches. On one hand it gives the cost and development time advantage of open system architecture and at the same time gives the solution for testing application specific circuits where COTS products are not available. A PXI instrumentation platform, Lab VIEW application software and specially designed self test system comprise the base for the test system. The system has been used in real production for testing of flight critical LRU of a fighter aircraft.