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Wind River, the world’s leading provider of intelligent systems software, today announced that it has partnered with Airbus to develop and certify an automated air-to-air refueling (A3R) system for the A330 Multi-Role Tanker (MRTT). The MRTT aircraft is the first tanker in the world to be certified for daytime automatic air-to-air refueling boom operations.

Airbus has selected VxWorks 653 for the A330 MRTT Air-to-Air Refueling Boom System (ARBS). The system consists of multiple application subsystems that comply with ARINC 653 standards, operates at multiple safety-critical levels, and has obtained DO-178C DAL A certification.

In this engineering development, the Airbus A330 MRTT A3R was certified by the Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), which contains multiple ED-12C/DO-178C DAL A applications running simultaneously on multi-core processors.

Avijit Sinha, chief product officer at Wind River, said: “A3R is a major milestone in the development of aerial refueling systems. We are honored to partner with Airbus and play a major role in their latest A3R achievement. Our technology leads the industry, This application demonstrates Wind River’s leadership in safety-critical real-time software solutions for avionics and its ability to help customers successfully navigate the challenges and complexities of certification.”

Andrés Morán Valero, head of the multi-core certification team of Airbus Air Refueling Software Group, said: “Airbus is the world’s first military airborne embedded multi-core processor device that has passed this certification, reaching the highest security level DAL-A and covering CAST-32A requirements. With the support of Wind River, Airbus has successfully completed the entire process of multi-core certification, crossing this critical milestone. Wind River not only provides proven industry-leading technology, but also A trusted advisor who helped us identify important issues and potential roadblocks, and along the way, develop key metrics to keep our system architecture on track.”

The automated A3R system enables more efficient operations, reduces aerial refueling operator (ARO) workload, reduces operational risk, and optimizes air-to-air refueling delivery rates. Advanced technology is adopted in A3R, which can recognize the shape and refueling volume of the refueling aircraft, and perform automatic docking and fuel delivery when flying at high altitude.

VxWorks 653 has been verified in the most challenging safety-critical applications, helping technology providers meet the safety certification requirements of EN 50128, IEC 61508, ISO 26262, DO-178C and ED-12C more conveniently and economically.