Some environmental constraints for deployed military computing systems are operational temperature, humidity, sand, dust, vibration, shock/basic, leakage (immersion), steam and water jet cleaning, rapid decompression, contamination by fluids (e.g. oil, fuel, cleaning), nuclear hardness, and input voltage.

The proliferation of connected systems has been enabled by the U.S. military embrace of the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) revolution.

In order to keep up with the continued acceleration of new technology and to be able to protect the warfighter from the latest threats, it is essential that we can turn our deployed platforms into adaptable entities that can evolve over time and are not static. The SOSA [Sensor Open Systems Architecture] Technical Standard is the next major step in realizing this goal.

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components are being embraced so the technology can be serviced at the base instead of waiting for specialized parts or sending the system back state-side.

Tammy Carter and David Jedynak discuss how huge data demands are pushing radar and electronic warfare (EW) developers to seek new ways to deliver multifunction systems that also meet strict size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements.

Aaron Frank and Ivan Straznicky look at VITA 47. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard VITA 47 gives system integrators a baseline for reliable and rugged products.

ANSI/VITA 47 is an American National Standards Institute standard that defines a rigorous test regime, enabling vendors to demonstrate that their VPX product is designed to perform optimally, while complying with specific environmental, manufacture, safety and quality criteria.

Aaron Frank and Ivan Straznicky look at VITA 47 for ruggedization and reliability. The VITA Standards Organization’s ANSI/VITA 47 targets the Environments, Design and Construction, Safety, and Quality for Plug-In Units.