Military Embedded Systems

Momentum behind the the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open system approach (MOSA) mandate is growing, especially as it was reaffirmed by Army, Navy, and Air Force leadership at the end of 2024. In this podcast with Clif Basnight, Vice President, Strategic Technologies, Ultra Intelligence and Communications, we discuss MOSA and how to measure MOSA success; Ultra’s participation in the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Consortium; speeding up defense acquisition; and engineering talent recruitment. We also discuss a concept Clif and his team are developing called sentient radio, which is different than the cognitive radio technology currently in use.

Uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) provide a decisive advantage on the battlefield for the U.S., its allies, and its adversaries. However, complex UAS tactics and proliferation makes countering them a challenge of approach, acquisition strategy, and technology.

Fans of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open systems approach (MOSA) mandate got a nice surprise before the December holiday season: a new Tri-Service memo emphasizing continued support for MOSA, well-timed with new DoD leadership coming in focused on reforming acquisition.

Rapid Response, SV Microwave's single port cable assembly builder, now has NanoRF Cable Connectors available, allowing better support for embedded system designs that comply with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard as well as VITA standards.

Leveraging open architecture designs for EW [electronic warfare], PNT [position, navigation, and timing], and other applications, Pacific Defense is pushing innovation and adding to the momentum of the U.S. Defense Department’s (DoD's) MOSA [modular open systems approach] mandate. In this Q&A with Travis Slocumb, co-founder and CEO of Pacific Defense, he elaborates on the benefits of MOSA and how 2025 will be a pivotal year for MOSA. Slocumb also covers the impact MOSA initiatives like CMOSS [C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards] and CMMF [CMOSS Mounted Form Factor] will have on military technology shares while also sharing Pacific Defense’s origin story. We also discuss how to speed up the DoD’s acquisition process and recruit engineering talent to the U.S. defense industry.

President-elect Donald Trump says he is looking to disrupt government and eliminate waste and no department will go untouched, especially the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Aligning with billionaire and well-known cost-cutter Elon Musk, along with entrepreneur and erstwhile presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, he is forming the Department of Government Efficiency, what is planned to be a presidential advisory commission, to enact this promise.

61st AOC INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM & CONVENTION, NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. Engineers at AMD in Santa Clara, California, looking to bring digital signal-processing performance as close the antenna as possible, announced the launch of the Versal RF series, which has high compute performance in a single-chip device with integrated direct RF-sampling data converters. The announcement was made at the AOC International Symposium in National Harbor, Maryland, this week.  

This week the 61^st Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention is being held at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Electronic warfare (EW), spectrum dominance, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) and the RF, microwave, and signal-processing technologies behind them are key components of both the conference and the exhibition. The theme of this year’s event is “Electromagnetic Spectrum Warfare – The Great Power Competition.”

For a preview of AOC event and a look at the RF and microwave trends in EW and military communications, applications, I sat down with Mike Jones, a Senior Systems Integration Engineer at Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). Following are several excerpts:

WASHINGTON. Officials at goTenna joined hands with experts from EVERYWHERE Communications to leverage commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) encryption technologies to enable global connectivity for shared situational data for the warfighter while operating in hazardous environments. goTenna is showcasing the technology this week at AUSA Annual Meeting in Washington.

WASHINGTON. Members of the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Consortium today at the AUSA Annual Meeting in Washington announced that to date, that about $228 million in Army programs of record have specific SOSA requirements. While they say that number is growing, they are seeking more participation and feedback from program managers.

WASHINGTON.  During U.S. Army’s Vanguard demonstrations that took place in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, on Sept. 17–18, 2024, a GA-ASI Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) provided by the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) showcased new capabilities, such as the integration of an Expeditionary Cyber Chassis (ECC) for C5ISR and Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) with communications intelligence (COMINT) and mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) radios from Silvus Technologies.

WASHINGTON.  Officials at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and Wind River joined hands in an expanded strategic partnership to deliver industry-leading technologies to government customers by easing mission-oriented integration, speeding development, and enhancing functionality in systems, for the U.S. Army and other government entities, including cabinet-level departments and independent agencies. The announcement was made at the AUSA Annual Meeting in Washington this week at the Washington Convention Center.

For the U.S. military and its allies, domination of the electromagnetic spectrum will be how future battles are won. Enabling this superiority will revolve around how well these forces manage spectrum-sharing and foster innovation in RF [radio frequency], signal-processing, and testing solutions.

When I said I wanted to be a journalist and a writer, my dad, John McHale, Jr., told my mother, “Oh no, he’ll never make any money and we’ll have to support him forever.” That was more than 30 years ago, and I ended up doing OK. The best accolade I ever got wasn’t an award or a grade – it was my father asking me for my skills, requesting that I write family obituaries and eulogies. Last month I wrote his. He passed away on August 11, aged 81, surrounded by me, Mom, my brother, and our wives.

Multifunctionality at the component level is enabling multispectral, multifunction-type sensors, Jake Braegelmann, Vice President of Business Development at New Wave Design, told me in a recent McHale Report podcast. We discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are impacting designs and discussed the proper definition of AI at the edge. Braegelmann’s definition: The edge is where the sensor collects the data and AI can enable the filtering of that data in real time to get actionable intelligence to decision-makers. We also covered the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) modular open system approach (MOSA) mandate, being aligned to the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard, and more. Edited excerpts follow.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Chris Bishop – Chief Growth Officer, Ultra Intelligence & Communications, will keynote the CJADC2 [Combined Joint All Domain Command & Control] At The Edge Virtual Summit, being held September 12, 2024, at 11 a.m. EST. Other sessions include: Enabling Trusted Networks and Systems for CJADC2; How AI Enables CJADC2 Capabilities; and Leveraging Data Connectivity Solutions for CJADC2.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama. Officials at The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, and Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Consortia announced that the next FACE and SOSA Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) will be held September 16, 2024 in Huntsville, Alabama.

As space becomes the next domain for weapons and military threats, designers of radiation-hardened electronics are seeing more requirements for greater radiation-resistant components. In this conversation with Sean D’Arcy, Senior Director, Aerospace and Defense/IR HR at Infineon Technologies and Josh Broline, Senior Director of Marketing and Applications at Renesas, we discuss this challenge as well as the hottest applications for military space, the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, and if open architectures may be leveraged in spacecraft designs.

One of the reasons I chose a career in aerospace and defense media is my love of space technology. Our June issue is annually one where we run much of our space content, from radiation-hardened electronics trends to satellite technology – with even more coverage of artificial intelligence (AI).

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. During his Day 1 keynote address at the MOSA Industry & Government Summit in National Harbor, Md., Dr. David Honey, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, said that modular open systems approach (MOSA) initiatives like the SOSA [Sensor Open Systems Architecture] Technical Standard creates opportunities for innovative small companies.