Airborne Instrumentation Modular Data Recorder (MDR) system hardware and associated repair services

A multitude of Navy aircraft programs have instrumentation systems that utilize SDS MDR units. These recorder system’s design is proprietary to SDS. Specific areas that make SDS MDRs highly specialized include:

size, weight, physical interface compatibility, software and programming compatibility, unique data bandwidth requirements, and ability to adapt to different size requirements.

Since SDS's products have gone through the significant environmental testing required for each program, as well as flight readiness reviews prior to installation, utilizing any other vendor's recorders would require the Navy to duplicate these efforts with regard to aircraft data system modifications in building, installing, testing, and qualifying a completely new data recording system. The required recorders have to be identical in form and fit, so they are compatible with recorders that are currently deployed.

The existing proprietary technical data and specifications for the items developed by SDS include a design that is a complex collection of data recorder system and subsystem components. Components of existing SDS systems must be completely compatible in order to work as part of an integrated instrumentation system. Many of the items to be procured will be direct replacements for existing hardware in use.

While other manufacturers make aircraft instrumentation recorders that are similar in function, the equipment is neither electrically or mechanically compatible with the existing SDS hardware in use; and therefore, will not work as part of the developed integrated system. As a result, changing to a different vendor would result in a substantial duplication of costs to integrate, test, and certify a new recorder to systems of the aircraft.

First, changing to another contractor’s MDR system would require the replacement of $15 million in existing SDS hardware due to incompatibility issues that would arise with another MDR product. In addition, the Government would incur as much as $250K per aircraft to certify a new recorder unit based on the required environmental testing and flight readiness reviews described above.

In addition, changing to another instrumentation vendor would pose unacceptable schedule risks to current and future flight test programs. At the Test and Evaluation (T&E) phase of development, schedules are critical to ensure programs are able to meet major milestones.

For each program utilizing MDR instrumentation hardware under the current contract, a one-month delay in schedule due to certification testing and flight reviews of new MDR instrumentation, could cause up to $1 million per month in increased costs to staff the entire Integrated Test Team (ITT).