The Open Mission Systems (OMS) initiative solves all of this by providing a way for all software to communicate using a shared standard. In this example, it would allow this new tech to be integrated into the aircraft almost as easily as your favorite plug-and-play USB game controller integrates into your PC.
OMS is an architecture specification that defines how information is exchanged. It provides this ability for command and control (C2) independently of programming languages, data transport technologies and data transport protocols. The information exchanged is non-proprietary, allowing for easier integration between software and systems from different companies.
Because OMS enables interoperability, modularity and scalability, it inherently encourages the reuse of any OMS-compliant software for different applications, or in the case of the example above, a different aircraft. The Open Computing Environment specified by OMS provides a standard, modern execution environment similar to cloud computing platforms. So, developers can build and test software at their desks and run it in the same environment as the target.
A good analogy for OMS would be the USB architecture. Just like OMS, USB is an architecture specification that defines how information is exchanged between systems. Because the developers of your favorite game controller made it USB-compliant, it has simple plug-and-play functionality with your PC.
Continuing our example, if this new groundbreaking technology were OMS-compliant, it would be very close to being plug-and-play compatible with any OMS-compliant aircraft.
OMS Accelerates Integration and Mission Readiness
Because threats and mission needs constantly evolve, the ability to easily integrate new technologies into a defense system is a massive advantage. The time between research/development and deployment is drastically reduced. The time to integrate new technologies decreases from years to weeks or even days. Entities utilizing OMS-compliant systems stay one step ahead of their adversaries.
By reducing integration time, new technologies are fielded sooner. There is a lower risk associated with more frequent software updates due to an increased frequency of identifying and resolving security vulnerabilities. Since OMS defines a hardened interface, more frequent software updates are possible.
OMS enables the opportunity to freely choose the best solution, regardless of the vendor. By conforming to an interface standard, all vendors are on an equal playing field, thus promoting healthy competition between them. OMS also provides the flexibility of mission reconfiguration, allowing an aircraft to fly a mission requiring a specific set of hardware and software services one day and a completely different set of hardware the next day.
The Real-World Impact of OMS
OMS has seen extensive use across the Air Force, but it is applicable to all domains, including ground, air, sea, and space. Many capabilities across these environments are currently limited to a very specific software ecosystem and cannot communicate with other capabilities outside of that ecosystem. In this case, making them OMS-compliant would enable data sharing and command and control across the various environments.
For example, a ground station could seamlessly command an aircraft’s optical sensor for image capture and have it automatically disseminate the captured products to other OMS-capable entities, allowing them to immediately act upon the information. By bringing more capabilities into communication with one another, the mission becomes much more flexible, instead of having a mission with a few capabilities tied to one specific role.
This further improves joint operations, especially when it comes to capabilities across multiple environments. Some systems have already become OMS-compliant and are leveraging all the benefits that OMS offers.
How OMS Encourages Defense Innovation
Many advantages in collaboration and innovation are gained by OMS standardizing a means for different systems to communicate.
First, smaller defense contractors now have a lower barrier to entry. They have a much less difficult time producing a product that is compatible with a system that otherwise might be much more costly to make compatible with. Even better, it encourages companies that are not in the defense sector to easily enter it.
Second, any vendor can create a plug-and-play system. Gone are the days when one or two defense contractors handled many of the systems within an aircraft.
Third, standardized means of communication facilitate faster development and integration. Any defense contractor can have an easier time integrating their product with a different contractor’s system.
Finally, large contractors are supporting OMS because of the accelerated delivery times and reduced long-term sustainment costs, even if none of the other benefits can be realized. If a large defense contractor owns many systems within an aircraft, it benefits them to make each component OMS-compliant for the same reasons it benefits a smaller defense contractor to make their product OMS-compliant.
How OMS Will Shape the Future of Defense Technology
Not only does OMS bring many advantages now, but it also lays the groundwork for future systems.
For example, some future capabilities will be made easier to implement due to OMS, such as cloud-based command and control, swarms of drones, or autonomous systems in general. OMS will likely be critical in any solution that requires real-time processing and sharing of data, as it lays the base for efficient, detailed communication across any system.
Another example of OMS becoming critical to future technology is its likely use in enabling software updates, either in-mission or in real-time. Because of the messages defined in the OMS architecture, software can easily go offline momentarily with very few, if any, consequences, allowing the software to be updated.
As mentioned previously, conforming systems to the same means of communication means platforms in the air, on the ground or at sea—and even in space—can communicate with one another. Over time, as threats become increasingly complex, so too must the systems responsible for mitigating them. OMS enables this ability by providing a means to easily replace outdated or damaged systems.
Open Mission Systems Are Key to the Future of Defense Innovation
The standard method of communication between software that OMS brings will be a necessary tool for the future of defense systems.
It puts not just defense contractors, but any company, on an even playing field when it comes to producing a product for a defense system. It makes software development more agile and creates a system where changing specific systems within an aircraft is easily accomplished. It opens the door for future technology to be implemented more easily.
Future battles will be fought by those who can innovate the fastest, and OMS helps accomplish just that.
Connect with our team to learn how OMS can accelerate your development and deployment timelines.