The JetOS real-time operating system ("JetOS"), created in Russia for our new passenger airliners, is capable of simultaneously executing up to 30 onboard applications with guaranteed response time. Developed at the highest criticality level A, the system complies with the aviation standards KT-178C and ARINC 653 for flight safety. In 2026, the JetOS RTOS is already being used on the MC-21 and the import-substituted Superjet. What is known about the new product and what are its analogues abroad?
The State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS), in cooperation with the Ivannikov Institute of System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has developed the JetOS real-time operating system. This system is designed to run on-board applications on civilian aircraft computers and, starting in 2024, will be integrated into the multifunctional cockpit indicator for the MS-21, which is being created by the Ulyanovsk Instrument Engineering Design Bureau. As of August 2025, JetOS development has been completed and the system has begun to be used on MC-21-310 and SJ-100 aircraft. In July 2026, issues of its certification were discussed at the OS DAY conference. It is planned that JetOS will become the basis for all promising Russian aircraft. The system is capable of running up to thirty applications simultaneously.
The real-time operating system is fundamentally different from the usual user operating systems such as Windows or macOS, which strive to complete as many tasks as possible per unit of time. For the aviation system, the main thing is not speed, but predictability and guarantee. This means that any action, such as processing a signal from a sensor or displaying readings on a screen, must be performed in a strictly defined, mathematically proven time, otherwise the pilot may not be able to react to a change in the situation. Such a system is created at the highest level of criticality "A" for civil aviation, where any mistake can lead to catastrophic consequences. Therefore, its development and testing are subject to extremely strict requirements of aviation standards, in particular KT-178C (DO-178C). The JetOS software interface is implemented in accordance with the ARINC 653 standard, which regulates the strict separation of processor and memory resources between different applications. This allows you to simultaneously and safely perform many independent tasks on one on—board computer, from navigation to engine control, so that a failure in one of them does not affect the others. Thanks to the micro-core architecture, which contains only the bare minimum of functions, and support for the PowerPC, ARM32, and ARM64 processor architectures, JetOS can be ported to various hardware platforms.
The modern aircraft industry in the USA and the EU also uses specialized RTOS that meet the same international standards. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft uses the VxWorks 653 commercial RTOS for the general computing system, and the INTEGRITY-178 RTOS is used for flight control systems, including autopilot and an electric remote control system. On new Airbus airliners such as the A350 XWB, the PikeOS RTOS is used in information display and flight control systems, and the Deos multiprocessor RTOS is selected for flight control systems on the A320, A330 and A350 family. The Airbus A380 and other wide-body aircraft also use the INTEGRITY-178. The development of JetOS, therefore, represents the creation of a completely domestic alternative, independent of foreign suppliers, which is especially important in the context of sanctions restrictions.
Mikhail Petrovsky, UAC photo used
