Case Study

Comms-Control: Updating Legacy Military Equipment

Replacing outdated combat management system components isn’t always easy, especially when they are critical in ensuring the entire system can function correctly and safely. 


Critical Software was approached by a client who needed to replace a legacy GPS receiver used on a naval frigate, which was communicating incorrect location information to its ships. To do this, Critical needed to use reverse engineering to locate the outdated component and build an interface to replace it which would possess compatibility with STANAG and NMEA information protocols. 


Learn more about:

  • The importance of individual components in ensuring the integrity of safety-critical systems
  • The ‘legacy’ problems caused by lacking relevant documentation and complex system structures 
  • Why both reverse engineering and interface builds were needed to resolve compatibility issues
  • How project constraints were overcome using a modular approach
updating legacy defence equipment case study