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Engineers can reduce aircraft-system design risk by combining model-based systems engineering (MBSE), which helps teams reason about system behavior before building hardware, with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, which exercises real devices against simulated inputs, loads, and communications. These methods can expose integration and fault-handling problems earlier; they do not, by themselves, establish certification compliance or eliminate the need for physical testing. That is the central approach described in Pickering Interfaces’ vendor-authored white paper.
Why aircraft-system integration is difficult
Modern aircraft systems bring together sensors, embedded controllers, data buses, and links to external systems. Engineers must verify not only that each device works, but also that data moves correctly among subsystems and that the aircraft responds as intended when components or communications fail. The design has to meet size, weight, power, and cost constraints while accounting for cybersecurity, supply-chain disruption, and certification needs, as Pickering’s paper outlines.
To convey the scale, Pickering estimates that an aircraft may generate “tens of TB per flight” and says the Boeing 787 has approximately 6.5 million lines of code embedded across its processors. Those are figures reported by the paper, whose publication year is not established in the opened document; they should not be read as independently verified industry-wide statistics.
Network architecture also varies by aircraft and program. Pickering discusses AFDX/ARINC 664 and deterministic scheduling as examples of avionics communication concerns, not as a claim that every next-generation aircraft uses the same network.
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How MBSE helps teams find design problems earlier
Model-based systems engineering uses detailed system models to describe components, interfaces, and expected behavior. Rather than relying only on documents and tests of physical prototypes, teams can use a model to examine how subsystems interact and identify inconsistencies while design changes are still less costly to make. Pickering also describes augmented- and virtual-reality visualization as a possible aid for collaboration around those models.
MBSE is most useful when the models stay connected to engineering decisions and verification needs: what a component should do, what signals or data it exchanges, and what evidence will show that it behaves correctly. A model can help organize that reasoning, but it is not proof that the built system will behave identically in every real operating condition.
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What hardware-in-the-loop testing does
In HIL testing, a real device under test—such as a controller—is connected to a controlled test rig. The rig supplies simulated inputs, emulates output loads and communications, and evaluates the device’s responses. Engineers can therefore exercise actual hardware against a simulated aircraft environment without exposing the component to the real operating environment.
A typical setup, as described by Pickering, combines these elements:
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| Element | Role in the HIL setup |
|---|---|
| Host computer | Provides the operator interface and supports test setup and execution. |
| Real-time controller and system models | Run the simulated system behavior and keep interactions sufficiently coordinated for the test. |
| I/O and interfaces | Connect the simulated environment to the device’s electrical and communications interfaces. |
| Signal routing and conditioning | Route and adapt signals between the test equipment and the device under test. |
| Load simulation | Emulate the loads the device would normally drive. |
| Breakout access | Allow engineers to measure signals or insert faults into the test path. |
The purpose is controlled, repeatable interaction between a real component and simulated surroundings—not a complete substitute for the aircraft or every physical test.
Using HIL to test normal operation and faults
Engineers can script test cases and sequences, then record results to support repeatability and traceability across design changes and upgrades. A repeatable setup makes it easier to compare how a device responds before and after a change, provided the test conditions and expected results are defined and retained.
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Fault insertion can probe whether a system detects, contains, or responds appropriately to abnormal conditions. Examples in Pickering’s paper include open or short circuits, a stuck actuator, and lost or corrupted data. HIL makes it possible to introduce such conditions in a controlled test environment rather than relying on an uncontrolled failure in service. The test results are verification evidence; simulation alone does not establish that a system satisfies certification requirements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Choosing a HIL platform for an aircraft program
Pickering presents modular PXI/PXIe and LXI approaches as options for flexible, scalable test systems. There is no universal platform ranking in the paper. A project should evaluate the requirements of its devices, existing rigs, verification process, and lifecycle rather than selecting an architecture from its name alone.
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- Real-time capability: Can the system run the models and exchanges at the timing needed by the device under test?
- I/O and signal coverage: Does it support the electrical, communications, and load interfaces the test actually needs?
- Fault insertion: Can engineers create the required failure conditions safely and repeatably?
- Interoperability and scale: Will it work with existing rigs, and can the setup expand as the number of interfaces or test cases grows?
- Traceability and security: Can tests and results be retained in a way that supports the program’s evidence needs, while meeting its cybersecurity requirements?
- Lifecycle support and cost: Are support, maintenance, and long-term operating costs acceptable for the expected life of the test system?
These are selection criteria, not a claim that any one vendor or platform meets every program’s needs.
How simulation fits into certification and aircraft design
Certification is a safety and evidence process, not simply a successful simulation. Section 310 of the House-engrossed text of H.R. 3935 called for an independent study of future type-certification processes, including digital evaluation tools, MBSE, risk-based approaches, and the cybersecurity, interoperability, cost, scalability, adoption, and safety implications of such tools. The cited bill text is evidence of a proposed study in that legislative text; it does not establish that the study was completed or that a new certification process is in force.
System verification also sits within wider aircraft-design goals. In a 2020 account, NASA discussed efficiency, electrification, environmental impact, and economy, including hybrid-electric propulsion and reducing weight where practical without compromising safety. NASA described a future subsonic passenger-aircraft concept in the 150–175-passenger class and discussed a possible 2030 timeframe; that is historical program context, not a current delivery forecast. The larger design challenge was captured by NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Robert Pearce: “In order to lessen our impact on the environment we must increase aircraft efficiency in every way we can, integrate electrification to aid or replace current propulsion methods, and do it all in a way to benefit the economy,” in NASA’s April 16, 2020 article.
MBSE and HIL can help teams manage that complexity by making system assumptions explicit and testing real hardware against controlled scenarios. Their value depends on the quality of the models, interfaces, test cases, and evidence—and on using physical verification where the simulated setup cannot establish real-world behavior.
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