US Patent 7698025 Integrating communication and surveillance

An aircraft control unit has modules for interfacing with various systems of an aircraft to integrate control of the systems. The modules include a communication module configured to be coupled to a communication system of the aircraft and a surveillance module configured to be coupled to a surveillance system of the aircraft. The aircraft control unit also includes a display screen for displaying information and a user interface usable to interact with the modules. Each of the modules is configured to display information on the display screen and to receive user input from the user interface.