ETTC 2025 EUROPEAN TEST AND TELEMETRY CONFERENCE (Booth #10-1) – TOULOUSE, FRANCE – June 10, 2025 – Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions Division has further expanded its Axon™ range of data acquisition systems designed for use in demanding flight test programs with the introduction of the AXN/VID/401 digital video encoder module. The compact H.264 video encoder card can automatically detect, capture and compress a single HD-SDI/3G-SDI channel. For telemetry applications, the module supports a separate, independent 720p low-data-rate transport stream to enable real-time monitoring on the ground, without using valuable bandwidth required to support for other flight test data. The compressed HD-SDI/3G-SDI channel’s video bitrate is kept constant (set to between 500 kbps and 40 Mbps) with multi-pass encoding and padding of the transport stream. The AXN/VID/401’s packetizer can also be configured to generate multiple industry standard formats, including iNET-X, IENA or IRIG 106 Chapter 10 packet streams. Examples of applications for this rugged module include video monitoring of cockpits, control surfaces, landing gear, direct monitoring of video compatible head/up and head/down displays and monitoring of space launcher separation and stores deployment.
“Our new AXN/VID/401 module is the first to bring H.264 video encoding capability to SWaP-optimized, high-performance Axon FTI systems,” said Brian Perry, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “Because it can separately encode a single HD-SDI/3G-SDI input to two independent video streams users can send high quality video to an on-board recorder for post-flight analysis, while telemetering a low bitrate video stream in real-time via a link such as Chapter 4/7.”
The AXN/VID/401 is designed to meet the specific needs of flight test applications with flexible encoding options and dual-independent stream outputs for storage and telemetry to optimize bandwidth needs. Its support for multiple industry standard formats allows captured video data to be easily integrated with other FTI data. The module’s video output, from a FIFO parameter, can be placed into an IRIG 106 chapter 4 PCM stream using an AXN/ENC/401 module or from its Ethernet output, over IRIG 106 Chapter 7 using an AXN/ENC/402.
About the Axon Product Family
The Axon product family is the most advanced airborne data acquisition system available today, offering low SWaP with the best feature set, data acquisition, and thermal performance on the market. The Axon product family builds on Curtiss-Wright’s heritage as the leading supplier of rugged, reliable data acquisition for aerospace applications.
Axon’s future-proof design, using a high-speed serial backplane (1 Gbps dedicated link per module), ensures future high data rates are supported. Its SWaP optimized design enables an Axon module to be located in tight spaces and operate reliably without requiring bulky heatsinks. Axon modules can be hosted in ultra-miniature Axonite housings and located remotely, separated from the chassis by up to 10 meters. Locating data acquisition closer to the sensors can significantly decrease the installation time and cost of the instrumentation while simultaneously reducing wiring weight. Axonites can also save significant system costs in larger installations by minimizing the number of DAUs required in remote locations and eliminating the need for extra chassis controllers and power supplies.
Axon AXN family modules are optimized for use with Curtiss-Wright Acra KAM-500 network-based DAUs and DAS Studio software.
The AXN/VID/401 product sheet is available for download here.
For additional information about Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions products, please visit www.curtisswrightds.com and LinkedIn.
About Curtiss-Wright Corporation
Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a global integrated business that provides highly engineered products, solutions and services mainly to Aerospace & Defense markets, as well as critical technologies in demanding Commercial Power, Process and Industrial markets. We leverage a workforce of approximately 8,900 highly skilled employees who develop, design and build what we believe are the best engineered solutions to the markets we serve. Building on the heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, Curtiss-Wright has a long tradition of providing innovative solutions through trusted customer relationships. For more information, visit www.curtisswright.com.
