Self-Testing and Verification Techniques as Applied to an Airborne Military Guidance Computer

A major problem in the field of unattended military airborne guidance equipment is the reliability and verification of proper operation. The testing techniques used to provide the maximum assurance of correct operation are a function of the level of complexity of testing. The levels of testing are: 1) Depot 2) Field Maintenance 3) Preflight 4) Inflight This paper examines the testing requirements at each level of test. A hypothetical guidance digital computer is used as an example to present some of the techniques that could be used to meet these requirements. Techniques discussed include the computer self-test, an automonitor program, fill-compare process, protection against program lock-up, and the return echo method of detecting information transfer errors.