Patent ID: 7092867

Claim:
A control system architecture for controlling a multi-component armament system connected in a client-server configuration, the control system comprising: a plurality of client armament component nodes, each armament component node corresponding to an armament component having at least one operational characteristic and configured as one of a physical armament component and a virtual prototype of said physical armament component; at least one client man-machine interface component node; at least one client graphical user interface component node; at least one real-time controller component configured as a server master node, the real-time controller including a real-time operating system and a virtual/real/both switch, the real-time operating system programmably including a real-time scheduler, and the virtual/real/both switch being configured for dynamically switching between the physical armament component, the virtual prototype of the physical armament component, or both; and a multi-tiered network for operably connecting the plurality of the armament component client nodes, the at least one man-machine interface component client node, the at least one graphical user interface component client node, and said at least one server master node in a hierarchical arrangement having a plurality of tiers so as to form an intranet-like network with the nodes communicatively connected in a data connection configuration and a control signal configuration.