How are Sovereignty Goals Driving System Interoperability?

If you don’t have much experience with the defense technology market, you likely haven’t heard a lot about MOSA, the DoW’s Modular Open Systems Approach. At last month’s DIFI Day at the Milcom show we learned a lot more about the future direction of MOSA from keynote speaker Matthew Sipe, DoW’s MOSA Cadre Lead, with emphasis on SATCOM.

As the name says clearly, the MOSA effort is focused on requiring an open systems architecture approach across the DoW, “including system interfaces designed according to accepted standards with which conformance can be verified.” As the largest single purchaser of IT and communications—especially satellite—tech solutions in the world, DoW mandates are something worth paying serious attention to.

Specified originally for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) in 2017, MOSA has since expanded to all acquisition programs. Among other goals, the modular systems approach is intended to support solutions from multiple vendors working together and the ability to add and replace modular components as technologies, systems and missions evolve. In a word, interoperability.

As more countries have turned their attention to sovereign concerns related to defense, especially defense in and leveraging the space domain, these same interoperability goals have moved front and center globally. One reason, naturally, is the need for allied systems to work seamlessly together. Another growing reason, especially for space, is the realization that sovereign space systems will also need to be able to evolve as the mission requirements and threat landscape evolve. You can add to that the need to interoperate with commercial satellite networks to enhance resilience.

NATO’s NATO Architecture Framework (NAFv4.1), for example, is the overarching standard for developing and describing military and business architectures across NATO. And at a nation state level Germany’s MOSABw has formally adopted the U.S. MOSA concept. Other nations with similar efforts include the U.K., France, Poland, South Korea, Japan and Israel, to name a few.

There are differences between the various national programs, but generally MOSA is the model.

At DIFI we’ve had the benefit of working closely with original founding board members the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, since expanded to include numerous defense agencies, including the office of the U.S. DoW CIO, the U.S. Space Force, DISA as well as international members including NATO and the Australian Defense Force. Those relationships have helped us define and evolve standards to meet growing sovereignty needs that also work effectively to support commercially viable solutions.