Navy to take more control over development of open architecture systems, official says
NewsAugust 27, 2025
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland. The U.S. Navy is changing how it manages open architectures by taking the lead in writing the initial version of its Open Systems Management Plan (OSMP), a move the service hopes embed their priorities from the outset rather than relying on contractors to produce the first draft.
Rich Ernst, senior open architecture subject matter expert with the Navy’s Mission Systems Group, said the OSMP has historically been handed off to contractors as a check-the-box exercise, often becoming “shelfware.” By authoring the first cut internally, he explained, the Navy aims to establish a “blueprint” or “DNA” for how systems should be structured, with emphasis on modularity, standards compliance, lifecycle affordability, and reuse.
Ernst added that the OSMP will no longer be treated as a static document but as a “living” reference to guide programs throughout their lifecycle. The intent is to capture architectural decisions at a program’s inception, prevent later program offices from “trading away value,” and ensure continuity as personnel change over decades of platform sustainment.
He noted that the new approach is designed to help program offices better identify key interfaces, align with evolving standards, and leverage research and development efforts to incorporate new technologies. By standardizing decomposition and reuse strategies across systems, Ernst said, the Navy hopes to create opportunities for small businesses and nontraditional suppliers to contribute modules that can be integrated across multiple programs and even other services.
The OSMP effort, he added, is meant to build an enduring framework that supports continuous competition, diversified suppliers, and more resilient system designs aligned with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles.
