A High Performance Multi-Level Secure Fiberoptic Backbone for Next Generation Navy Aircraft

Rydal Research proposes to develop and demonstrate a high performance hardware based multi-level secure fiberoptic backbone for next generation Navy aircraft. The network will be based on a high-performance COTS protocol. Multi-level security will be implemented by adding a "sensitivity field" to the Logical Layer header within the existing protocol. Packet filtering will be performed at the endpoints and switches, so that no single failure will result in classified data being revealed. Feasibility and performance will be demonstrated by fine-grain modeling and simulation. Key networking components including switches and interfaces to one or more legacy data buses will be designed and demonstrated in an FPGA environment. Timing results from the hardware synthesis and place-and-route for these key components will be used to achieve realistic performance predictions from the simulation models. In addition, an FPGA-based network prototype will be demonstrated in Phase I to verify simulation results. The components that will be developed in the Phase I effort together with Rydal's existing line of high-performance networking products will provide a full network solution that offers all the necessary building blocks needed to realize a complete system.