Published in Military Embedded Systems
The C4ISR/EW [electronic warfare] Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) is defined by the Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR (Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) Center. The suite of open architecture industry and U.S. Army standards included in CMOSS enables the reduction of C4ISR system size, weight, and power (SWaP) and facilitates commonality across multiple platforms by enabling the sharing of hardware and software components. The C5ISR Center is actively working with the military acquisition community to include CMOSS requirements in current and emerging programs. To ensure the sustainment of the standards, C5ISR is actively participating in the associated standards bodies to address emerging requirements and technology.
Moreover, C5ISR is collaborating with other services to align open architecture activities and enable the procurement of common hardware and capabilities. CMOSS has been included in the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) effort and has been aligned with the Navy’s Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST).
The open standards currently included in CMOSS include the following: Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY), which optimizes SWaP, enables platform systems to share information, and prepares platforms to accept future technologies without the need for significant redesign; Modular Open RF Architecture (MORA), which extends VICTORY to support radio frequency (RF) systems; OpenVPX, an open hardware standard maintained by the VITA industry working group and ratified as an ANSI standard; and software frameworks including REDHAWK/TOA, SALVAGE, X-Midas, and Photon (when suitable) intended to maximize portability of applications between hardware platforms.