Military Embedded Systems

A concept that is gaining steam and technological legs within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) strategy. We’ve covered CJADC2 since before the DoD added the “C” for “combined” as a way to interact with allied partners in a data-centric network scenario. At first it was mostly visionary discussions without practical solutions, but now actual products are being developed by primes and embedded hardware and software providers.

Recently, I spoke with Tanika Watson, executive leader for the GE Aerospace Future Vertical Lift business, about GE Aerospace’s subcontract to develop and deliver avionics systems for the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, the role of time-sensitive networking (TSN) in the FLRAA digital backbone, and the impact of the modular open systems approach (MOSA) on military avionics systems going forward.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland. The MOSA Industry & Government Summit & Expo – scheduled for August 27-29, 2025, at the Gaylord National Harbor, in National Harbor, Maryland – will feature conference sessions and exposition covering modular open system approach (MOSA) strategies, technology, and live industry technology demonstrations.

Military platforms often last for decades, long past the life spans of modern computing components and boards. System designers for these aging platforms must rely on a variety of solutions from lifetime buys of components when they go end of life to working with aftermarket suppliers, who buy obsolete product lines and keep producing them for customers with ultra long-term needs. In this podcast with Ethan Plotkin, CEO of GDCA, we discuss military aftermarket trends, open architectures, artificial intelligence, and how sustainment reform can help solve long-term obsolescence challenges get in defense applications.

At SOF Week 2025, Heath Niemi, vice president of Strategic Engagement at Shield AI, highlights the capabilities of the V-BAT tactical uncrewed aerial system - a Group 3 vertical take off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aerial system (UAS) equipped with Shield AI’s proprietary Hivemind autonomous pilot software.

SOF WEEK 2025 – Tampa, Fla. Experts at Nammo are showcasing their unmanned aircraft system (UAS)-specific offerings at this week's SOF Week 2025. The warheads are easy to mount and operate.

SOF WEEK 2025 — Tampa, Fla. Engineers at Astronics Test Systems are featuring their ATS-6100 RTS at SOF Week 2025, booth #245. The tester combines 19 instruments into one, offering fault detection and operational verification of radio communications at all levels of deployment.

SOF WEEK 2025 – Tampa, Fla. Engineers at ARA are showcasing a low-profile, cross-dipole ARA-380LV-V antenna for UHF SATCOM vehicular communications at SOF Week 2025 this week at booth #33.

SOF WEEK 2025 - TAMPA, Fla. – Gen. Dan Caine the 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will deliver the Thursday, May 8 keynote address at SOF Week 2025 at 11 am at the JW Marriott: Tampa Bay Ballroom.

SOF WEEK 2025 – Tampa, Florida. Moog Inc. engineers developed and delivered custom fin Control Actuation System (CAS) shipsets to Leidos in support of the Black Arrow Small Cruise Missile (SCM) for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

SOF WEEK 2025 - TAMPA, Florida. Embraer Defense & Security is showcasing the multi-mission capabilities of the KC-390 Millennium medium airlift and tanker platform for special forces operations at SOF Week 2025.

SOF WEEK 2025 Tampa, Florida. Dawn Zoldi, Col. USAF (ret.), Publisher of Autonomy Global covers how autonomous systems are a growing area of USSOCOM’s arsenal and how uncrewed systems designers are supporting SOF Week 2025 with SOF Week Show Daily Chief Editor John McHale.

SOF WEEK 2025 - TAMPA, Fla. – Ms. Melissa Johnson, Acquisition Executive for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (SOF AT&L) will share updates from SOF AT&L during her keynote presentation on Tuesday morning, May 6, at 10:15 am at the JW Marriott: Tampa Bay Ballroom.

SOF WEEK 2025 - TAMPA, Florida. The SOF Week Assistant from Legion enables attendees to discover the companies attending SOF Week and quickly assess which vendors align with their national security goals.

SOF WEEK 2025 - TAMPA, Florida. – General Bryan P. Fenton, 13th commander of USSOCOM, will lead the keynote session at the SOF Week 2025 on Tuesday morning, May 6, at 9:15 am at the JW Marriott: Tampa Bay Ballroom. Also speaking is Senior Enlisted Leader, Command Sergeant Major Shane Shorter.

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 I&C, 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.