Historic Tri-Services memo, signed by Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force calls for use of OMS/UCI, SOSA, FACE, and VICTORY standards “to the maximum extent possible”
San Francisco, California, June 5, 2019: The Sensor Open Systems Architecture™ (SOSA) Consortium, a consortium of The Open Group, today announced its agreement with and support for the recent Tri-Service acquisition memorandum signed by the Secretaries of the U.S. military – the Army, Navy, and Air Force – directing that Modular Open Systems (MOSA) standards should be included in all requirements, programming and development activities for future weapon system modifications and new start development programs to the maximum extent possible. The memo, titled “Modular Open Systems Approaches for our Weapon Systems is a Warfighting Imperative,” specifically cites the SOSA Consortium, in addition to the Open Mission Systems/Universal Command and Control Interface (OMS/UCI), Future Airborne Capability Environment™ (FACE) and Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY) standards, “as vital to our success”.
The memo aligns with the mission of the SOSA Consortium to create a common framework for transitioning sensor systems to an open systems architecture, based on key interfaces and open standards established by industry-government consensus. All of the standards cited in the memorandum are embraced by the open system reference architectures being developed by the SOSA Consortium.
The SOSA Consortium is set to provide a fair and neutral environment for cooperation between industry and government partners, resulting in a collaborative effort across the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) community, Air Force and Department of Defense, and industry. The architecture will incorporate both hardware and software components to handle demanding processing and data requirements, ease system upgrades, reduce total cost of ownership, and promote competitive acquisition with minimal system reworks.
John C. Bowling, Technical Expert, Avionics Architectures and Interoperability, AFLCMC/EZAC states,“The Tri-Service Secretaries memorandum clearly validates the integrative approach to multi-function sensor open architecture by the SOSA Consortium. This provides additional incentive for industry collaboration in sensor standards development which, in turn, should advance maturation and broaden acceptance of the emerging SOSA Technical Standard”.
Please find the Technical Standard here.
About the SOSA Consortium
The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture™ (SOSA) Consortium aims to create a common framework for transitioning sensor systems to an open systems architecture, based on key interfaces and open standards established by industry-government consensus. Originally an initiative under The Open Group Future Airborne Capabilities Environment™ (FACE) Consortium, the SOSA Consortium enables government and industry to collaboratively develop open standards and best practices to enable, enhance, and accelerate the deployment of affordable, capable, interoperable sensor systems.
For more information about the SOSA Consortium, please visit www.opengroup.org/content/sensor-open-systems-architecture-sosa.
About The Open Group
The Open Group is a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through technology standards. Our diverse membership of more than 675 organizations includes customers, systems and solutions suppliers, tool vendors, integrators, academics, and consultants across multiple industries. Further information on The Open Group can be found at www.opengroup.org.
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