New technical standard set to reduce development and integration costs for military capabilities and reduce time to field
The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium published a new Technical Standard for SOSA™ Reference Architecture, Edition 1.0.
Streamlining US military capabilities, the new standard will enable rapid, affordable, cross-platform capability advancements based upon fundamentals of the system, software, hardware, and electrical and mechanical engineering best practices and Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles to develop a solution that addresses Department of Defense (DoD) needs for a cohesive unified set of sensor capabilities.
The 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. The open architecture supports airborne, subsurface, surface, ground, and space. The goal of The Open Group SOSA Consortium is to reduce development and integration costs and reduce time to field new sensor capabilities.
“The future belongs to those who strive for it. The release of SOSA Technical Standard 1.0 represents a major step forward in implementing the DoD’s vision of a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) for sensor systems as advocated in the Tri-Service memorandum for Service Acquisition Executives and Program Executive Officers issued on January 7, 2019,” said Dr. Ilya Lipkin, Air Force Steering Committee Chair for the SOSA Consortium. “We are very excited about the release of version 1.0. This achievement culminates the collaborative efforts over the past 5 years by a team of government, industry, and academia to define a standard for sensing systems. This standard will enable rapid acquisition and fielding of state-of-the-art components to support our competitive edge in the global environment. The SOSA Consortium success is owned and shared by the community of volunteers who dedicate their expertise, effort, and long hours beyond their work responsibilities toward a common goal.”
“The much-anticipated release of the SOSA Technical Standard 1.0 marks a significant advance in MOSA within the DoD,” said Jason Dirner, Team Leader, Architecture Team, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM). “The new SOSA Technical Standard, and its alignment with other standards such as CMOSS, lays the foundation for greater reuse, faster upgrades, increased competition, and lower costs within the acquisition community.”
“The PMA-209 Avionics Architecture Team is thrilled to witness the release of the SOSA Technical Standard 1.0. This now available important work not only benefits the entire open architecture community, but it also supports NAVAIR’s efforts to increase the speed of acquisitions to the Fleet, stated LCDR Whitesell, PMA-209 AAT IPT Team Co-lead. This new eagerly awaited technical standard enables the possibility of enterprise-wide reusable components, reduced total ownership costs, and products that can be quickly customized, modified, and extended throughout product life cycles in response to changing user requirements. We applaud the tireless efforts of the SOSA Consortium members and look forward to many more successes in the future.”