Defence and aerospace programs still depend on Ada systems written in the 80s and 90s. The language did its job: the systems are reliable, precise and still flying. What's disappearing is everything around them, the engineers, the toolchains and the budget lines that kept Ada viable.
Modernize Software migrates Ada to C++, Java or C# with DMS, our symbolic AI and enhanced compiler technology. Deterministic translation, behavioural verification and delivery models that fit classified and controlled environments.
Trusted By
| Pressure | What we see on programs |
|---|---|
| Staffing | Ada engineers are scarce and concentrated near retirement. Every departure raises the cost of the next change. |
| Toolchain | Compiler and runtime licensing for legacy Ada environments keeps narrowing, while target hardware moves on. |
| Integration | New sensors, links and platforms speak C++ and Java ecosystems. Every interface to Ada is friction. |
| Program timelines | A rewrite risks the certified behaviour that took decades to prove. Automated translation preserves it. |
Ada's type constraints and range checks map to explicit, reviewable constructs in the target language instead of silently disappearing.
Task structures and rendezvous logic convert to modern threading models with the coordination semantics preserved.
Package architecture translates to coherent target-language modules, so the design intent stays visible to new engineers.
Timing-sensitive structure is identified during analysis and treated as a first-class migration requirement.
Semantic Designs' tools re-engineered embedded software for the US Air Force's B-2 strategic aircraft, translating the JOVIAL mission software to C so the platform could keep evolving. The same DMS machinery, discipline and verification approach behind that work drives our Ada migrations.
Engagements can run entirely inside your environment. Tools come to the code.
General questions
Ada 83 through later standards, including programs that mix eras and vendor extensions. The assessment inventories exactly which constructs your codebase uses.
C++ for embedded and real-time systems, Java or C# for ground and enterprise software. The target follows your platform roadmap, and mixed outcomes across one program are common.
Yes, deliberately. Range constraints and type distinctions convert to explicit constructs rather than being flattened away, so reviewers can see the safety intent in the new code.
Tasking and rendezvous structures convert to modern concurrency primitives with the coordination logic preserved, then verified under test alongside the legacy behaviour.
Yes. Delivery can be fully on-premises and air-gapped, with the translator operating inside your facility. Source code doesn't have to leave your control.
Deterministic translation gives you a traceable mapping from legacy to new code, which supports re-verification arguments far better than a hand rewrite. Certification strategy is planned with your team early.
Yes. Semantic Designs' tools re-engineered mission software for the Air Force's B-2, and DMS has been applied across defence, aerospace and industrial control for decades.
For small utilities, sometimes. For systems with decades of proven behaviour, a rewrite re-litigates every requirement and risks the exact correctness you're trying to keep. Automated translation preserves behaviour first, then lets you improve deliberately.
Translation is done by DMS using its symbolic AI technology, deterministically and offline where required. Gen AI is a separate, optional layer for documentation support and is excluded entirely from controlled environments on request.
With a free assessment: language and construct inventory, dependency map, target recommendation and a phased plan sized to your program's constraints.
Book a free Ada assessment scoped for your security environment.
.png)
info@semanticdesigns.com
