Publication

Vehicle Electronics & Architecture (VEA)
2012

SMALL FORM FACTOR MISSION COMPUTER VICTORY & MOSA-COMPLIANT

by Mark Leibowitz; Robert Saracino; Jon Leach

Abstract

Vehicle control, monitoring and C2/C4ISR capabilities have been delivered in the past by integrating disparate, stove-piped systems. Besides SWAP inefficiencies, stove-piped systems typically do not share critical data and are expensive to maintain and upgrade. The lack of interoperability and data sharing also adversely affects the integration of new capabilities. Architectures under development by the government include the Joint Common Architecture (JCA), Mobile Distributed C4ISR Architecture (MDCA), and Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/EW Interoperability (VICTORY). Each embraces Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles to eliminate stove-piped systems. This paper examines the legacy and capabilities of MicroTCA®—a small form factor, MOSA-compliant hardware computing platform—in the context of the VICTORY architecture. MicroTCA® is revealed to be an excellent instantiation and enabler for VICTORY with significant advantages over competing architectures.