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Certified ISO9001:2015+AS9100D Designed & Built in the USA | Used & Supported Worldwide
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Mission Data

Mission-Ready Data Recording

Ampex builds rugged mission data recorders for programs that need to capture, process, store, host, and secure high-value data at the edge across land, maritime, aerospace, and space environments.

This page is built around the mission data itself. The problem is not choosing from a parts list. The problem is ensuring the recorder can survive the platform, keep up with the data, preserve timing and metadata, and secure the dataset during offload and exploitation.

Operating Domains

Ampex recorders support missions across four operating domains with very different environmental and integration constraints.

  • Land systems need rugged recording for vehicles, tactical nodes, mobile command systems, and other shock- and vibration-heavy deployments.
  • Maritime platforms need stable long-duration recording in high-reliability salt-air environments across ships, patrol aircraft, and ISR collections.
  • Aerospace missions need SWaP-C discipline for fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, UAVs, pods, and other airborne platforms.
  • Space and high-altitude environments need compact, rugged, and in some cases radiation-tolerant recording architectures.

Mission Data Types

Ampex supports six core mission data types that define most defense and aerospace recording problems.

EW & ISR data

This includes RF activity, SIGINT, radar-related data, packet traffic, and mixed sensor streams that must remain correlated throughout collection and post-mission analysis. These missions typically demand high-throughput recording, precise timing, and strong encryption options for sensitive data at the tactical edge.

F-15EXs, F-35s at Northern Edge

Flight test instrumentation

This includes PCM telemetry, IRIG 106 data, video, and modular test signals collected during developmental and operational tests. These environments need synchronized time sources, flexible interfaces, and recording architectures that adapt to changing instrumentation plans.

EO/IR - Texas Military Department deploys 147th Attack Wing MQ-9 to support wildfires

EO/IR imagery and full-motion video

This includes EO/IR video, FMV, KLV-linked metadata, and other imagery products used for exploitation, review, and downstream analysis. Some programs prioritize compressed video efficiency, while others need true uncompressed recording to preserve maximum fidelity.

Mission data and operational records

This includes mission packages, operator logs, metadata, mission files, and post-mission datasets that must remain secure in storage and during transfer. These workflows often require removable media, controlled offload, and strong key-handling discipline.

Prognostic and health data

This includes engine data, airframe monitoring, subsystem diagnostics, and long-duration platform health records. The data rate is often lower than ISR video or RF collection, but continuity, timestamp integrity, and long-duration reliability matter more.

Bradley Patrol

Avionics and bus data

This includes MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, CAN, Ethernet, and other onboard network traffic used for system monitoring, maintenance analysis, and post-flight reconstruction. The value is usually in correlation across sources, not in one isolated bus.

Core Engineering Requirements

Mission data recording works only when six technical conditions are met.

  • Ruggedization for shock, vibration, EMI, and wide operating conditions.
  • SWaP-C optimization for platforms where every pound, watt, and cubic inch matters.
  • Edge throughput and storage matched to the actual sensor output and mission duration.
  • Encryption and secure handling for sensitive data at rest, in transit, and during offload.
  • Open architecture so interfaces, formats, and software workflows can evolve without forcing a full hardware reset.
  • Tailored integration so the final solution matches the mission instead of forcing the mission to work around the recorder.
Aircraft closeup.

Common Architecture

Ampex uses ACCE as a common software-defined environment for data capture, timing, indexing, transfer, removable media management, and device control. That matters because the data problem varies by platform, but the operating model should remain coherent for the user.

ACCE supports software-defined recording, synchronization with external time sources such as GPS, IRIG, and IEEE 1588, file indexing, third-party software integration, and zero-data-loss functionality. That lets the system adapt to changing interfaces and workflows without turning every new requirement into a clean-sheet redesign.

Aircraft closeup.

Secure Data Workflow

Mission data remains sensitive even after the recording ends. Secure handling has to continue through removal, transfer, decryption, and analysis.

Ampex supports encrypted workflows with AES-256, FIPS, CSfC, and configuration-based Type 1 options, along with secure removable-media handling and protected post-mission transfer. SmartDock extends that workflow by supporting controlled download and key-handling functions for compatible encrypted media.

Why this matters

Programs do not buy “data” in the abstract. They buy confidence that the mission record will survive the platform, preserve context across interfaces, remain secure through offload, and stay usable for exploitation afterward.

That is the real job of mission-ready data recording. Match the recorder to the mission data type, operating domain, throughput, timing model, and security requirement, and the rest of the architecture gets easier.

Talk to Ampex about your data type, domain, throughput, storage, SWaP-C limits, and security requirements.