Achieve Secure, Reliable Aerospace and Defense Systems
From advanced avionics and autonomous defense platforms to real-time communication systems, QNX software is trusted by aerospace and defense manufacturers to power a broad range of mission-critical and high-performance applications. Our foundational software is time-tested, cyber-resilient, and purpose-built for real-time, embedded systems operating in the most demanding environments. Our safety-certified QNX® OS for Safety and QNX® Hypervisor for Safety products are designed for use in applications requiring the highest up to ASIL D of ISO 26262 and SIL 3 of IEC 61508 and can be used in systems requiring DAL A of DO-178C, ARINC 653, and NIST SP 800-53 ensuring your systems are secure, reliable, and ready for operational excellence.
From the Past to the Present: Autonomy is the Future
The aerospace and defense industries have undergone significant evolution, from early mechanical systems and radar technology to advanced avionics and integrated communication systems. As these sectors progressed, the focus shifted toward electronics and computing setting the stage for more sophisticated, interconnected systems. Today, we stand at a turning point where the future is increasingly defined by software, and autonomy is becoming the new standard.
Enabling A&D with QNX
Our software plays a pivotal role in the intelligent and autonomous future, offering trusted, safety-certified solutions that power both mission-critical and high-performance applications across industries. As systems become increasingly complex, the demand for real-time, secure, and resilient operations in challenging environments continues to grow. QNX foundational software solutions are designed to address these rigorous demands, ensuring reliability and safety while supporting OEMs in delivering advanced, responsive systems.
Delivers Foundational Software That:
Enhances performance and reliability of aerospace and defense systems.
Improves mission-critical operations by reducing processor overhead, minimizing jitter and latency, and ensuring deterministic real-time performance.
Enables resilient system behavior with high reliability, supporting robust recovery mechanisms to maintain operations under adverse conditions.
Provides cybersecurity features designed to protect critical systems against evolving threats, ensuring data integrity, secure communications, and system-wide resilience.
Is safety-certified to IEC 61508 SIL 3, FACE and ISO 26262 ASIL D and can be deployed in systems requiring DO-178C, ARINC 653 and NIST SP 800-53, ensuring compliance with stringent safety, security, and reliability requirements.
Build Mission-Critical and Secure Autonomous Systems
Optimized Performance
QNX microkernel architecture ensures high-performance computing for mission-critical defense applications. The scalable platform handles complex AI, sensor fusion, and real-time data processing, with fault tolerance and real-time responsiveness, built to adapt to dynamic battlefield and aerospace environments.
Mission-Critical Safety and Reliability
Compliant with rigorous safety standards, QNX’s foundational software accelerates safety certification for aerospace and defense systems. Whether for autonomous drones, defense vehicles, or surveillance platforms, our toolchains provide a path to achieving the highest levels of safety and reliability.
Secure Platform
Provides secure, reliable foundational solutions with minimal attack surfaces, encrypted file systems, and isolation and containment ensuring resilient, fault-tolerance performance and robust data protections.
Secure and High-Performance Solutions for Aerospace and Defense Applications
The QNX® OS 8.0 offers a robust combination of security and performance, leveraging its microkernel architecture to ensure minimal attack surfaces and fault containment. This architecture is critical in reducing latency and jitter, providing the predictability and reliability needed for safety-critical defense applications.
- FLIGHT CONTROLS
- AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
- ROBOTICS
- DRONES
For aircraft and UAVs, low latency and real-time response are essential to maintain stability and safety. The QNX microkernel ensures reliable control, preventing system disruptions and enhancing precision in flight paths, sensor integration, and navigation systems.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
QNX enables secure and deterministic operations in autonomous ground and aerial vehicles, ensuring smooth, real-time responses in dynamic environments. Low latency and jitter are vital for decision-making in obstacle avoidance, targeting, and mission-critical tasks, enhancing both performance and safety.
ROBOTICS
Autonomous and semi-autonomous defense robots rely on hard real-time performance to execute tactical operations accurately. Whether for surveillance, bomb disposal, or reconnaissance, minimizing jitter and latency ensures reliable, responsive behavior, even in the most demanding combat situations.
DRONES
From surveillance to tactical deployment, drones require precise control and data processing. Any deviation caused by jitter or latency can affect mission-critical outcomes, such as target accuracy or sensor responsiveness, making QNX’s secure and high-performance platform essential for success in the field. The QNX microkernel’s small footprint and low CPU usage make it ideal for drones, as it reduces power consumption and helps optimize data processing, extending operational time and efficiency.
Secure and High-Performance Solutions for Aerospace and Defense Applications
The QNX® OS 8.0 offers a robust combination of security and performance, leveraging its microkernel architecture to ensure minimal attack surfaces and fault containment. This architecture is critical in reducing latency and jitter, providing the predictability and reliability needed for safety-critical defense applications.
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FLIGHT CONTROLS
For aircraft and UAVs, low latency and real-time response are essential to maintain stability and safety. The QNX microkernel ensures reliable control, preventing system disruptions and enhancing precision in flight paths, sensor integration, and navigation systems. -
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
QNX enables secure and deterministic operations in autonomous ground and aerial vehicles, ensuring smooth, real-time responses in dynamic environments. Low latency and jitter are vital for decision-making in obstacle avoidance, targeting, and mission-critical tasks, enhancing both performance and safety. -
ROBOTICS
Autonomous and semi-autonomous defense robots rely on hard real-time performance to execute tactical operations accurately. Whether for surveillance, bomb disposal, or reconnaissance, minimizing jitter and latency ensures reliable, responsive behavior, even in the most demanding combat situations. -
DRONES
From surveillance to tactical deployment, drones require precise control and data processing. Any deviation caused by jitter or latency can affect mission-critical outcomes, such as target accuracy or sensor responsiveness, making QNX’s secure and high-performance platform essential for success in the field. The QNX microkernel’s small footprint and low CPU usage make it ideal for drones, as it reduces power consumption and helps optimize data processing, extending operational time and efficiency.
Embedded System Security
Read about the “Ultimate Guide to Embedded Systems Security” to learn about the best practices of building and managing secure systems.
Related Solutions
QNX SDP 8.0
Foundational development platform for next-generation systems – merging unprecedented performance with unparalleled security and reliability.
QNX OS for Safety
Pre-certified to IEC 61508 SIL 3, QNX OS for Safety is a microkernel RTOS ideal for building safe devices.
QNX Hypervisor for Safety
Pre-certified to IEC 61508 SIL 3, QNX Hypervisor for Safety allows for mixed criticality of multiple OSes to safely co-exist on the same SoC.
QNX for Aerospace and Defense FAQ
How does the software ensure secure operations in mission-critical aerospace and defense systems?
The QNX microkernel architecture significantly reduces the attack surface by isolating critical components, protecting them from breaches even if other parts of the system are compromised. With full encryption and secure boot mechanisms, the platform provides a solid foundation for autonomous systems, flight controls, and robotics, ensuring reliable security for defense applications.
What makes the system suitable for handling low-latency, high-precision operations?
Optimized for hard real-time performance, the operating system guarantees deterministic responses with minimal latency and jitter. This precision is essential for tasks like managing flight paths or real-time decision-making in autonomous vehicles and drones, ensuring actions are completed within strict timing constraints.
How does the platform support scalability for future aerospace and defense applications?
The software is built for scalability, from low-core to high-core systems, enabling seamless handling of increased workloads as hardware evolves. This ensures that systems remain efficient and capable of meeting future demands, particularly important for the long-lifecycle applications typical in the defense industry.
What security certifications are held for defense applications?
Certified to key industry standards like ISO/SAE 21434 for cybersecurity and ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management, the platform provides a trusted and compliant solution for securing safety- and mission-critical systems in defense environments. These successes showcase a solid infrastructure and foundation for delivery secure solutions and can facilitate compliance to other cybersecurity standards like NIST SP 800-53.
How does the system handle failures and ensure fault tolerance?
With its architecture designed for fault containment, system components are isolated so that failures in one area do not affect the overall operation. This is crucial for maintaining continuous performance in high-stakes aerospace and defense systems where uninterrupted reliability is essential.
What safety standards does the platform comply with for aerospace and defense applications?
QNX OS for Safety and QNX Hypervisor for Safety is certified to both ISO 26262 ASIL D for functional safety in automotive systems and IEC 61508 SIL 3 for industrial safety-critical applications and can be certified to DO-178C for software safety in airborne systems and ARINC 653 for partitioned, real-time environments in avionics.