Supporting Defense Agencies – Enabling Systems Integrators

Interoperable Open Architecture

Lifecycle cost reduction through government mandated system interoperability

Interoperable Open Architecture (IOA) describes a best practice in implementing Open Architecture defense systems procurement across multiple programs, as exemplified by current procurements such as Def-Stan 23-09 Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA) from the UK MOD and the UAS Control Segment (UCS) program of the US DoD.

Interoperable Open Architecture seeks to create a truly open competitive systems procurement environment. It is enabled via a government mandated cross-program open architecture that delivers subsystem level interoperability and reuse across separately procured systems from independent and different suppliers. In the GVA case it's vehicles and in the UCS case its Unmanned Ground Control Stations.

By driving towards a single standardized interface between all sub-systems of all system procurements of a similar type you create an open competitive procurement environment that will:

• Significantly reduce initial procurement costs
• Drastically decrease system delivery times
• Minimize redundant development and integration across systems
• Radically decrease lifecycle maintenance costs
• Massively simplify and cost-reduce logistical field supply chains
• Markedly increase innovation and its rapid deployment

Achieving Interoperability

The means to introduce this capability into defense procurement strategy has been shown, by the leading procurement agency examples, as combining the accepted practices of an Open Architecture approach to systems procurement and design with a lightweight data-centric system and cross-system integration strategy – and then mandate its use consistently across similar system procurement programs.