Revolutionizing India's Aerospace and Defense Sector: Exploring the Impact of FPGA-Based Innovations
By Sanjay Panday, Group Captain(retd), VP(BD & Operations) Logic Fruit Technologies
Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices have recently gained importance in Aerospace and defense applications due to their flexibility, as reconfiguration and signal processing capabilities are greatly needed.
The global FPGA market, as per Grand View Research, reached $10.46 billion in 2022 and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2023 to 2030.
Additionally, the military and aerospace segment is set to grow the fastest, at a rate of 12.7% during this period.
FPGA offers significant benefits in terms of adaptability to evolving standards and mission-critical requirements. This adaptability is crucial for systems that may be designed over a long period and implemented for a decade or longer. FPGA chips, however, have several serious drawbacks, especially for aerospace and defense applications.
Compared to typical FPGAs, new embedded FPGA technology is more dependable, consumes less power, and is smaller. This is especially advantageous for aerospace and defense applications.
FPGA applications in aerospace and military include electronic warfare, avionics, radar systems, and communication systems. Their field-level customization and updates are made possible by their re-programmability.
The aerospace and the military sectors are increasingly utilizing embedded FPGAs, fueling the market's expansion. These industries need electrical components that are extremely dependable, ruggedized, and able to operate in harsh settings.
To provide the required resilience, high performance, and flexibility, these industries use embedded FPGAs for a variety of applications, from satellite communications and military gear to avionics systems. Furthermore, the high processing speeds and low latency of embedded FPGAs are crucial in real-time decision-making situations that are frequently encountered in aerospace and defense operations.
Benefits of using FPGA in the Aerospace and Defense Industry
Flexibility and Cost-Efficiency of FPGAs: FPGAs are extremely configurable for a particular application and can be reprogrammed to accommodate changing needs. ASIC creation is very expensive and time-consuming, but it may also be customized for certain uses. Without having to pay for spinning up an ASIC design, FPGAs can speed up the process of developing specialized hardware.
FPGAs offer flexibility and cost-efficiency over traditional chips, but their initial investment impact on budgets can still be significant.
Parallel Data Processing Capabilities: FPGAs are capable of handling several data processes at once. Typically, a general-purpose processor completes one job before moving on to the next. Multiple jobs can be processed simultaneously with FPGAs. Large data sets can be handled more effectively and usefully with this. More effectively sorted, filtered, and decimated activities free up the core processors to concentrate on signal processing methods. This reduces the amount of power and resources used by the system overall.
Rugged Reliability of FPGAs for Embedded Systems: Extreme heat and vibration are only two examples of the harsh environments that embedded network interface cards need to survive. FPGAs are available in military-grade and extended-temperature packaging, which gives them an advantage over many conventional commercial CPUs. Apart from the alternatives for robust packages, FPGAs are frequently supported for extended periods.
They are a top option in military and aerospace applications that deal with extreme temperatures and situations like high altitude, shock, vibration, and salt corrosion because of their long lifespan, availability, and dependability.
In addition to the inherent benefits of FPGA technology in aerospace and defense, Logic Fruit Technology stands out as a leading provider with extensive experience and a strong presence in these sectors.
Logic Fruit Technologies has graduated from a traditional FPGA-based system to a new era of FPGA usage in data centers and the aerospace sector. Major developments have been for DRDO and ISRO labs like LEON SoC, radar, and telemetry devices like waveform generators, IF/RF recorders, and RF signal generators.
With the creation of a high-capacity data recorder and a data acquisition system for the rocket parameters, Logic Fruit also made a significant entry into the aerospace industry. Parallel to this, Logic Fruit has been creating cutting-edge technology products for the defense forces to help them become Atma nirbhar.
These products include radio modems, large-capacity radio relay lines, and most importantly ARINC IP-based graphic cards for IAF fighter fleet upgrades. Our extensive knowledge of embedded software systems and FPGA technology made this possible.
Examples of Aerospace & Defense FPGA applications:
Phased array Systems like satellite communication and radar need to be able to handle and compute large amounts of data quickly, which is why FPGAs are ideally suited for these kinds of applications. With phased array technology, the radiation pattern is controlled by varying the relative phases of the antenna elements arranged in a particular arrangement. Only a hardware solution like an FPGA can provide the high-performance Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and huge I/O bandwidth needed for this architecture.
FPGAs are used for minimal latency in missile guidance systems and other military applications. FPGA technologies are used in Electronic Warfare Systems and secure communication systems, including wireless radios and network encryptors, to benefit from their high throughput processing capacity and reconfigurability.
The secure communication, image processing, and data processing applications of FPGAs in the aerospace and military sectors are driving the market's expansion.
The growing use of FPGAs in fields such as data encryption, waveform creation, and image processing in the aerospace and military industries is expected to propel market expansion.
In the aerospace and defense industries, FPGAs play a crucial role in complex real-time systems like electronic warfare and radar. Logic Fruit Technologies specializes in these areas, reducing development time and risks for clients. Our expertise ensures seamless integration of FPGA technology into mission-critical applications.
FPGAs have also been presented with new prospects by the development of edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). To enable smarter and more autonomous systems, these devices can be integrated into edge devices and IoT endpoints to perform real-time data processing, sensor fusion, and AI inference.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities being integrated directly into FPGA chips is a major trend that is reshaping the FPGA market. The demand for hardware capable of handling AI and ML workloads—which call for a significant amount of flexibility and processing power is what is driving this trend. The integration of AI and ML functionalities enhances the power and adaptability of FPGAs, enabling them to process massive datasets and complex algorithms more efficiently and with less latency.
Growing FPGA Innovation in India's Aerospace and Defense Sector
FPGA is widely utilized in the aerospace industry, both domestic and international, particularly in commercial satellites. FPGA key statistics show that FPGAs are utilized in more than 60 deep space exploration programs, several military satellite projects, and scientific and commercial satellites.
The private sector's involvement, particularly in reshaping the aerospace education landscape, has played a vital role in propelling India's aerospace industry through a deep revolution.
The Indian Aerospace and Defence sector has had remarkable growth, with the private sector accounting for more than 20% of its Rs. 80,000 crore in revenue, despite its humble beginnings.
The country's reliance on foreign OEMs has decreased as a result of "Make in India," which opened the door for the Indian aerospace and defense industry. The Indian Government has committed to invest $10 billion as in incentives and help to boost the development of chip manufacturing in India, indicating that the country has the potential to be a major player in the global semiconductor supply chain. This could make a difference in leveraging the FPGA market in India and also it has created opportunities for local players to share their deep tech knowledge and experience in the OEM space for aerospace and defense.
Ref: https://www.fpgakey.com/technology/details/what-are-the-applications-of-fpga-in-the-aerospace-field
