It’s a different time, probably normal civilian chips to hitch onto the massive industry that now exists. Kind of like how the F-14 was probably made of normal metal instead of something new they invented.
It’s a different time, probably normal civilian chips to hitch onto the massive industry that now exists. Kind of like how the F-14 was probably made of normal metal instead of something new they invented.
jqubed@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Unless they’re seeing actual benefits for a neural processing unit, I’d guess you’re right about the processors. The ISS runs on 386 processors and those were a surprisingly outdated choice in that era. Even with the advanced flight characteristics of a modern fighter, I’d guess they don’t really need the power modern chips are capable of offering.
But yeah, the radars and other sensors? Certainly not off-the-shelf for flagship aircraft.
shalafi@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I thought NASA was well stocked with 486 CPUs? Quite a cut about the 386! (I know the ISS is not all NASA.) In any case, the wide wires make for less bit flipping. :)
CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 days ago
I mean, it’s not just fly-by-wire. If they do any signal processing in CPU or GPU they’d need power - and I’m sure they do for the higher level processing, since they’re always updating things like target identification and electronic countermeasures to keep pace.
The F-35, for example, also famously has all kinds of automatic combat information and networked communications management, and includes a display that allows pilots to virtually see through the floor. It adds up to 4 million lines of code or so. (All proprietary and controlled by America, which has made Canada’s acquisition deal a political hot potato post-Trump)