The goal of reducing the cost of equipping Army vehicles with new capabilities, while adding increasing interoperability and flexibility of operation, can be accomplished through the use of a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), a technical and business strategy for designing an affordable and adaptable system.

Building connected and workable communications in remote environments presents unique challenges, but the right technology can keep users connected in even contested and harsh environments.

This paper aims to put MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) into perspective and enable you, whether a defense contractor, a decision-maker at the DoD, or a public policymaker, to put the increasingly relevant MOSA to use better.

This essential guide describes MOSA's significance for defense technology and the roles standards like SOSA, CMFF, CMOSS, VICTORY, GVA, and FACE play.

This white paper was presented at the 2021 NDIA Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium, Vehicle Electronics Architectures Technical Session, August 10-12, 2021.

We examine the 2019 tri-services memo regarding MOSA and what open standards such as SOSA, FACE, and VICTORY mean for today’s military programs.