Company insight


SOSA: the new paradigm for military procurement


As the US military ramps up its efforts to bring new technologies to the battlefield, the Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) is taking shape. Its implications for the military and for its component manufacturers are enormous, so we spoke to Matt Van Steen and Errol Reid at Aegis Power Systems about its effects on the design and procurement processes.


T


he acceptance and integration of standards developed by SOSA will be a defining moment in the US military’s evolution to combat new and emerging threats and to update its warfighting equipment faster than ever before. By establishing a common framework for transitioning sensor systems to an open systems architecture, based on key interfaces and open standards established by industry-government consensus, it represents a dramatic shift from the monolithic procurement process that has prevailed for decades.


Driven by SOSA Consortium members, it will allow governments and industry to collaboratively develop open standards and best practices to enable, enhance, and accelerate the deployment of affordable, capable, interoperable sensor systems. Through a forum in which government, industry and academia work collaboratively to develop open standards to accelerate the deployment of affordable, capable, interoperable sensor systems, SOSA is building a new model in which component manufacturers will design to clearly defined parameters, bringing in a new era of competition.


“SOSA brings multiple layers of benefit, and the end result for military systems is to get new technology out into the field as soon as possible,” says Matt Van Steen, senior design engineer at Aegis Power Systems. “Our adversaries are enabling commercial products with armaments, so they are effectively using technology that is ahead of us due to the speed of acquisition. The US military has not historically moved quickly, so we need to improve methods to keep up.” In the current paradigm, procurement is


slow, while system design is time-consuming and expensive, and can result in highly- customised components that make the


14


Aegis has a range of VPX power supply systems that can provide variable output voltages in line with the evolving SOSA standards.


military highly-dependent on a single supplier for critical systems. Aegis, which has a range of VPX power supply systems that can provide variable output voltages, per VITA 62 specs – providing high efficiency, low weight, and high output power for a variety of embedded systems and applications by employing the VPX backplane – has also developed systems in alignment with the evolving SOSA technical standard. It embraces the shift from the old procurement paradigm, which hampered both manufacturers and end users. “Cost goes up and there is no guarantee of interoperability with other systems,” says Van Steen. “A more standardised system benefits everyone. We know what everything will be from the form factor to the control signals, so we can focus on optimising the power and performance of our components.”


Even down to the chassis level, where complex sensor systems operate, equipment suppliers know up front what is required in terms of power supply and component


design and are, therefore, able to innovate within those parameters. “You also have to consider that every branch of the military has its own support branch with its own depots,” notes Van Steen. “Using increasingly interoperable components could make it possible to rationalise storage requirements, as well as making it easier to upgrade equipment faster. SOSA limits the options, but not too much. Its limited scope makes decisions easier for everyone.”


Competing on level terrain Efficiency is just one important element in what SOSA will deliver. Beyond that, the appeal of interoperable, modular components is that, despite shorter integration times and shorter design times, they can be trusted to work. The result is the faster deployment of new systems without the need to rely on heavily customised components from a small number of suppliers, with a guarantee that they will meet clearly defined parameters.


Defence & Security Systems International / www.defence-and-security.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45