A Modular Open Systems Approach

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requires the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) for future weapon system modifications and new development programs. On January 7, 2019, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy issued a joint memorandum mandating the use of MOSA. The directive states that MOSA-supporting standards must be incorporated into all requirements, programming, and development activities to the maximum extent possible.

This mandate is codified into U.S. law (Title 10 U.S.C. § 2446a.(b), Sec. 805), requiring all Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) to be designed and developed using MOSA-compliant open architecture.

The MOSA directive has accelerated the adoption of open standards across all service branches, including:

• The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture™ (SOSA™)
• U.S. Army CCDC C5ISR Center's C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standard (CMOSS)

This DoD-wide commitment promotes interoperability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness in defense system development and modernization by leveraging open architectures and standards.

SCATR™ applies MOSA principles to design affordable, adaptable and secure systems by:

• Employing modular designs with standardized system interfaces
• Ensuring interfaces comply with widely supported, consensus-based standards
• Delivering software-defined interface documentation
• Implementing system architectures that enable incremental component upgrades
• Complying with applicable technical data rights regulations

The SCATR™ MOSA implementation integrates technical requirements, contracting strategies, and legal considerations, enabling rapid capability evolution through modularity, open standards, and sound business practices.