Trying to strike a balance between power and security with data-at-rest in the field – and doing it all within a highly constrained space in an environment with dirt and moisture that threatens to damage expensive equipment – is a tall order indeed.

Upgraded systems require security to be built-in to protect sensitive mission information and maintain warfighter technology advantage.

Today, with the increasing use of unmanned platforms to host intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance [ISR] sensor applications, system integrators need to ensure that the sensor systems and the critical data they collect and store are protected from falling into the wrong hands.

Industry standards and guidelines such as MOSA, SOSA, CMOSS, SAVE, and FACE are driving the latest developments in enclosures, chassis, and backplane databuses, as small for factors are ready to take center stage.

Maintaining dominance of the electromagnetic spectrum has never been more critical to mission success. The challenge facing system designers is how to accelerate the transition of new communications and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities from concept to the laboratory and then expedite the deployment of those new capabilities to the warfighter.

Non-Volatile Memory Express is fast, small, and lightweight, yet it still has something to prove when it comes to ruggedization, thermal performance, and power consumption.

The Sensor Open Systems Architecture Technical Standard (SOSA) – which will bring many benefits to designers of radar systems – will also have a beneficial effect on the design of electronic warfare (EW) systems.

The Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) seeks to ensure rapid upgrades and technology insertion, no vendor lock, and accommodation of existing standards.