By Geoff Fein
The Navy issued its fifth quarterly open architecture (OA) report to Congress, outlining efforts including the release of an acquisition management plan, a draft architecture description document (ADD), as well as adding or modifying contract language to provide contractors incentives for adhering to open standards.
The February 2009 report notes that the surface domain released two key documents: the Surface Navy Combat System Development Strategy and Acquisition Management Plan (AMP) and the draft ADD.
“The AMP provides an execution level plan for implementation of the Surface Domain’s Open Architecture (OA) acquisition strategy, while the ADD begins the process of defining future surface combat systems architecture to a level sufficient to guide the transformation of legacy PEO IWS Combat Systems into a single product line,” according to the report.
“In the spirit of open business processes, the draft ADD document has been made available in PEO IWS’ Software, Hardware, Asset, Re-use Enterprise (SHARE) repository for review and comment by government and qualified industry entities,” the report said.
PEO IWS is the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems.
Additionally, the surface domain is pursuing the addition and/or modification of contract language “to give contractors responsible for current combat systems incentives to adhere to open standards and practices and to evolve as quickly as possible towards the objective architecture defined in the draft ADD,” according to the report.
Competition for the Platform System Engineering Agent (PSEA) functions for both Aegis and Ship Self Defense System is planned to begin in fiscal year 2012, the report added. “PSEA is responsible for end-to-end combat system performance; systems engineering configuration control, testing, training and logistics; integrating components developed and/or modified by other contractors; and providing technical support to in-service ships.”
Besides ongoing efforts to incorporate OA into surface ships, both the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program and the Joint Precision and Landing System (JPALS) have incorporated OA contract language and successfully passed Milestone B. This year, the report noted, the “Air Domain’s focus will remain on its keynote OA programs: the E- 2C/E-2D and the P-3C/P-8A aircraft.”
The submarine program’s ongoing competitions for combat system subsystems includes OA requirements and new automated testing requirements to continue efforts to deliver new capability with reduced cycle time and cost.
The space domain is pursuing implementation of OA principles through contracts, reuse, science and technology processes, and education, according to the report. “OA contract language was included in the statement of work for the Hosted Payload program. Mobile User Objective Systems waveform artifacts have been deposited in the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Information Repository and nine developers have received copies.”
Additional Navy OA efforts include:
- An update of the OA Contract Guidebook;
- Efforts among the Navy, Air Force and Army to find ways to incorporate OA into electronic warfare self-protection programs;
- PEO Littoral and Mine Warfare has prepared a draft performance specification for Unmanned Systems Common Control for the Littoral Combat Ship. This draft specification is the next step in achieving an OA-based design which can be implemented through spiral upgrades of the current LCS vehicle control baseline;
- An OA assessment on the Mission Package Computing Environment for LCS;
- PEO Subs established an architecture working group to address the evolution of PEO Subs architecture;
- Marine Corps Systems Command has restructured the supervision of OA activities to a division under the Deputy Commander for Systems Engineering, Interoperability, Architecture and Technology; and
- The Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) communities of interest are developing an ASW Mission Area governance process to implement OA principles including supporting common software development, reuse, and maintenance across the PEOs that are responsible for ASW capability acquisition.
“An additional 77 assets (55,170 artifacts) have been made available in SHARE in this quarter from the Surface Domain,” according to the report.
Nine new registration applications have been processed (there are now a total of 279 government/industry registrants) and additional files related to DDG-1000 Total Ship Computing Environment Infrastructure 4.2.2 assets have been made available.
Since its inception, 731 individuals have now completed the OA Continuous Learning Module at the Defense Acquisition University. Additionally, a training module on principles of software reuse was developed.