Published in Military Embedded Systems
Written by Sally Cole
The C4ISR/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) enables engineers and developers of systems used by the warfighter to move toward much faster technology insertions and refreshes, with a corresponding reduction in long-term life cycle costs.
The C4ISR/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) is a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) intended to converge select Army warfighting capabilities – such as mission command, movement and maneuver, and fires – into one system vs. integrating a multitude of separate capability “boxes” into vehicles.
CMOSS is one of the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) “successes in its early MOSA push,” says Nick Borton, machine intelligence hardware architect for SRC Inc. (Syracuse, New York). “It set the stage for how a standard architecture can shape the market, and reduce costs and integration times. Even though CMOSS was started by the Army, other branches of the armed forces are leveraging it to develop new systems.”
The main benefit of open standards for the warfighter is that they enable much faster technology insertions and refreshes. “Getting needed technology and capabilities into the hands of the warfighter in a timely manner is where CMOSS hits the mark well,” Borton says.
Other benefits are “maintainability, serviceability, supply chain logistics, and all of the other things that come with more modularity,” says David Jedynak, general manager for Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions’ Parvus Business Unit (Austin, Texas). “You get cost benefits when you’re lumping together what were previously separate systems – because you don’t need a separate chassis and power supply for each one of them once they’re all in one box. You also start to get cost savings in size, weight, and power as well.”