Introduction

Safety-related aviation software is prevalent on all ADF aircraft and often developed or modified to meet ADF-specific requirements. The ADF must ensure proper behaviour of aviation software to meet safety and capability requirements. This is accomplished through appropriate treatment of the contribution of aviation software to aircraft hazards by the application of system safety, software safety, software assurance and software development disciplines throughout the life cycle of software.

Aviation software relates to those aspects of certification that pertain to software within airborne systems and equipment used on aircraft, engines, and propellers. Software is considered a ‘part and appliance’ under the Defence Aviation Safety Regulations (DASR). The term ‘development assurance’ is frequently used regarding aviation software, since certification of software cannot be achieved by solely observing the code. It is the processes and activities that underpin the development of software that is fundamental to achieving certification.

Software is defined as computer programs and, possibly, associated documentation and data pertaining to the operation of a computer system (RTCA DO-178C).

Note DASA does not attempt to define firmware. Firmware should be classified as hardware or software during the system definition and addressed by the applicable process.

What We Do

DASA performs the following roles for aviation software:

  • Interpret, prescribe, and apply aviation software related airworthiness standards
  • Sponsor chapters of the Defence Aviation Safety Design Requirements Manual (DASDRM) including:
  • Align DASA with civil international good practice:
    • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) adopt the SAE ARP 4761 and 4754 standards for the application of system safety and software safety
    • RTCA DO-178C Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, alternatively known as EUROCAE ED-12C, is recognised by these National Airworthiness Authorities (NAA) as acceptable means of compliance for aviation software assurance
    • For legacy aircraft undergoing design changes related to aviation software:
  • Align with international good practice in military aviation:
    • MIL-HDBK-516C Airworthiness Certification Criteria defines the United States Department of Defence (US DoD) aviation software requirements for military systems within Sections 14 and 15 and references various specifications, standards, and handbooks as acceptable means of compliance
    • The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) standard for aviation software is ‘Safety Related Programmable Elements’ as detailed within DEF STAN 00-970 Part 13 Issue 13
  • Assess the competence of aviation software development organisations that hold Military Design Organisations Approvals (MDOA)
  • Assist in Type Certification activities by:
    • Reviewing aviation software aspects of Certification Program Plans (CPP)
    • Reviewing Plans for Software Aspects of Certification (PSAC)
    • Aviation software development Stage of Involvement (SOI) audits
    • Approving major changes to type design involving aviation software
    • Reviewing software aspects of airworthiness instruments, such as Statements of Operating Intent and Usage (SOIU), Military Certificate Review Items (MCRI), Airworthiness Issue Papers (AwIP), and Military Permits to Fly (MPTF)
  • Sponsor training:
    • Aviation Software Certification (Fundamentals) course
    • Aviation Software Certification (Intermediate) course
    • Master of Software Engineering (through DP-AF Expression of Interest (EOI))

I Want To Learn More…

If you want to learn more about aviation software, please consult the following resources:

Factsheets

Training and Education

Support

If you have questions about this topic please contact DASA DTS Enquiries.

For DASR queries please submit a DASR Query Form (DQF) Form 110