Military Embedded Systems

C5ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) originated nearly 10 years ago as a concept within the U.S. Army RDECOM/CERDEC/I2WD office as CERDEC C4ISR/EW Hardware/Software Convergence. Eight years of subsequent research and development has created a comprehensive technology base that is currently being specified as a threshold requirement for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs including CMOSS Mounted Form Factor (CMFF). With the potential for near-term disruptive innovation in both the acquisition and operational commands, broader awareness of CMOSS technology and manufacturing readiness levels is warranted.

Imagine a battlefield where tanks predict enemy movements, armored personnel carriers self-diagnose mechanical issues, and infantry fighting vehicles automatically adjust their defensive systems based on incoming threats. Thanks to advancements in vehicle electronics – or vetronics – and open architecture initiatives like CMOSS [C4ISR/EW (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance/electronic warfare) Modular Open Suite of Standards] this vision is closer to reality than ever before.

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.

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.

WILMINGTON, Massachusetts. Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) introduced the ADSY1100 series, a new family of wideband multichannel RF digitizers, designed in a 3U VPX aligned with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard, the company announced in a statement.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Pacific Defense announced that it will lead a team to compete for the U.S. Army’s CMOSS Mounted Form Factor (CMFF) program; the team will also include Thales Defense & Security Inc., BAE Systems, Regal Technology Partners, Palantir, and STC (an Arcfield Company).

WARFARE EVOLUTION BLOG: So far in this series, we have explored the worldwide markets for military platforms (tanks, ships, submarines, airplanes, and drones). These segments are interesting to the companies that bend metal, but for us, we want to know about the electronic systems inside those platforms. That insatiable yearning is the inspiration for this article. There’s a plethora of these systems, scattered around the services, so we can’t identify all of them here. I'll just mention the major programs and let you discover the rest on your own.

This week’s product, the Elma Electronic CMOSS Modular Form Factor (CMFF) field-deployable chassis, comes with a tray compliant with the Standard A-Kit Envelope (SAVE) and is aligned with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture -- SOSA -- Technical Standard. The CMFF Chassis is designed for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR), electronic warfare (EW), and EO/IR applications.

This week’s solution, the Annapolis Microsystems WILDSTAR 3U OpenVPX switch (WP3E20) and WILD100 13-Slot 3U OpenVPX chassis (WC31DH), are commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products that integrate the high-density VITA 91 connectors, which double the available backplane density. The new VITA 91 high-density connector enables a completely switched backplane, so the expansion plane is no longer defined by a fixed backplane PCB but is fully reconfigurable.

This week’s product, the Abaco Systems SBC3901, is a 3U VPX single-board computer (SBC) designed to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for autonomous and embedded edge computing systems. Built to meet MIL-STD-810 standards, the SBC3901 is designed to withstand extreme conditions and ideal for defense and aerospace applications like sensor fusion, robotics, and autonomous systems.