By Geoff Fein
In its seventh quarterly report to Congress on naval open architecture (NOA), the service has again demonstrated progress toward encouraging competition, building modular design and interoperable joint warfighting applications, identifying reusable software and ensuring life cycle affordability.
The latest open architecture report to the Hill covers April ’09 through June ’09.
Program Executive Office (PEO) Space Systems (SS) expanded the use of Small Business Innovative Research opportunities, resulting in four new research topics for small businesses.
Additionally, the Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise Services (CANES) Common Computing Environment request for proposals (RFP) was released in June and included data rights provisions and award fee incentives taken from the NOA contract guidebook for program managers, the report said.
PEO Submarines finished a second study on future middleware technologies and standards for the evolution of the submarine warfare federated tactical system, according to the report.
“This effort looked at how PEO Submarines needs to evolve its architecture to accommodate current and upcoming technologies and future capabilities in the near term (five to 10 years) and long term (10 to 20 years).
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) held an industry day in June for the Technology Maturation phase of the Next Generation Jammer. Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) and NOA principles are key elements of the acquisition strategy, the report said.
PEO Littoral and Mine Warfare (LMW) has two initiatives that involve the migration of the Mine Warfare (MIW) tactical decision aid, Mine Warfare and Environment Decision Library (MEDAL) and the MIW post mission analysis toolset to Service-Oriented Architectures, the report said.
“The program has been aggressively working to expand the number of organizations which will contribute new capabilities, ultimately leading to more competition,” according to the report.
The Mine Warfare Program Office (PMS 495) and the Office of Naval Research have established three technology agreements to transfer modular software applications to both MEDAL and Net-Centric Analysis for MIW, the report added.
PEO LMW has also initiated OA efforts in other programs including:
- Decoupling the edge device components in the Shipboard Protection System (SPS) modular design to allow individual contracts and competitions for each component;
- Developing and implementing the Joint Counter-Radio control improvised explosive device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) 3.3 OA and Open Business initiatives to provide technology innovators the ability to contribute to system-level work being performed by prime vendors.
For its part, the Marine Corps has drafted an instruction for recommended OA implementation with contract language for all new, relevant Marine Corps and program documentation, the report said.
In June, the RFP for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)/JCREW program was released. PEO LMW’s CREW/EOD program office combined information from several sources, including the OA Contract Guidebook and business models developed by other programs to incorporate OA principles and address OA requirements in the RFP, according to the report.
PEO Submarines was honored with the 2009 Defense Enterprise Architecture Award for its use of enterprise architecture in transformation toward a net-centric enterprise. PEO Submarines was able to reduce the budgeted amount for electronics for Block III of the Virginia-class submarines by $38 million per ship as part of the overall cost reduction program for those submarines, the report noted.
The Navy continues to reuse software segments from the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Anti-Submarine Warfare/Undersea Warfare Combat System that provides surface warships with a seamlessly integrated undersea/anti-submarine warfare detection, localization, classification and targeting capability. The AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 project transferred submarine passive sonar software to surface ship sonar systems and began fielding in June aboard the USS Mason (DDG-87). This is the 22nd reuse of this software segment, according to the report.
“PEO Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS) development of the first two reusable combat system components–Systems Track Manager and Track Server–continues with initial efforts to integrate the components into the Aegis Modernization program,” the report said. “In addition to developing reusable components, this program has been a pilot for establishing systems engineering and management processes that support development of core combat systems software by someone other than the prime contractor or an affiliated subcontractor.”
In an effort to ensure life cycle affordability, PEO LMW’s Mine Counter-Measure (MCM) modernization delivered its first modernized and fully open architected combat system on the USS Sentry (MCM-3).
PEO LMW also performed the following with SPS software applications:
- Migrated from a contractor-based intellectual property solution to a government purpose rights solution;
- Reduced the number of operating systems required to one common operating system; and
- Eliminated proprietary communication protocols in favor of standardized OA protocols.
Additionally, 80 Navy and industry personnel have taken the NOA or Software Reuse online training course, according to the report.
PEO Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) has teamed with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to include an OA block of study in the Assistant Program Manager course while continuing to host the PEO C4I OA Case Study class. C4I has trained an additional 26 acquisition between April and June ’09, the report added.
The air domain has trained 23 contractor and 13 government personnel on how to integrate NOA and MOSA principles into two business areas and four technical areas so that a business strategy can be developed before applying the technical principles and attributes of OA to a program; discussed using Key Open Sub-Systems as a process to designate key interfaces for Next Generation Jammer and the Joint Precision and Landing Systems programs; and recommended an OA presentation format for the System Functional Review of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System program, according to the report.
The Software Hardware Asset Reuse Enterprise (SHARE) repository processed 34 new registration applications between April and June ’09. As of June, there have been a total of 344 government/industry registrants, the report said.