Marine Corps goes all-in on CMOSS and SOSA open-systems standards for infantry, vehicles, and command posts
QUANTICO, Va. – U.S. Marine Corps electronics systems integrators are surveying industry to find companies able to design and build circuit cards, chassis and enclosures, and electronic subsystems that align to the CMOSS and SOSA open-systems standards for a wide variety of future combat applications.
Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., issued a request for information on Wednesday for companies with CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned products to help the Marines move away from stove-piped solutions for communications, tactical electronic warfare (EW), cyber, and intelligence technologies.
CMOSS and SOSA are acronyms for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance / Electronic Warfare (C4ISR/EW) Modular Open Suite of Standards / Sensor Open Systems Architecture.
Marine Corps leaders want to start deploying CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned system variants as soon as possible, ranging from forward bases, to tactical vehicles, and to infantry technology down to the rifle platoon and squad level.
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Marines particularly are interested in CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned technologies for communications; EW support; position, navigation, and timing (PNT); data storage; local computing infrastructure; and sensor capabilities.
CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned electronic equipment has the potential to reduce development time, lower costs, and access a wide variety of vendors for radios, video displays, sensors, EW tools, antennas, and other communication technologies.
While systems may use many of the same building blocks today, they are not shared or distributed among systems, resulting in overburdened platforms, and infantry equipment that is bulky and heavy.
CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned systems will represent a distributed network of multi-function nodes operating across an ad-hoc mesh data network using messaging protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), J-series message, K-series message, Variable Message Format (VMF), Named Data Network (NDN), and MIL-STD-1553.
These networks and communications systems must provide a low probability of intercept (LPI) and low probability of detection (LPD). CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned electronic components will be present in all command elements, and at every echelon, Marine Corps officials say.
Of particular interest are CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned systems for battlefield command posts with powerful receive and transmit range capabilities that enable operators to control other nodes from a remote location, as well as for infantry warfighters, and military vehicles.
Marine Corps experts say they expect to apply CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned equipment for direction finding; precision geolocation; counter-unmanned aerial systems; counter radio-controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare; command and control; communications; computers; cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting; counter PNT, and to enable EW capabilities against terrestrial and non-terrestrial communication systems and radar systems.
CMOSS- and SOSA describe layered standards that includes software, hardware, and network layers using a modular open-systems approach for all chassis and electronic circuit cards. Variant configurations will minimize the need for platform-specific integration, and enable the Marines to field new or improved capabilities with new circuit cards without the need of additional cabling or mounts.
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CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned capability happens when compliant plug-in circuit cards integrate into chassis and peripheral devices like antennae, amplifiers, and user interfaces. CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned will make it simpler and more cost-effective to upgrade capabilities or keep pace with commercial technology.
From industry, the Marine Corps wants to know current and future CMOSS- and SOSA-aligned-compliant capabilities for team portable, mounted, dismounted, and body worn configurations. Vendors with compliant cards and compatible EW accessories related to transceivers, networking, counter-unmanned systems, counter improvised explosive device systems, geolocation, position navigation and timing (PNT), and direction finding are encouraged to respond.
Vendors with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities that would support EW data processing, recognition, and graphic user interface software also are encouraged to respond.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
