Military System Interoperability: Opportunities and Challenges for Simulation Interoperability Dr' J

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Military System InteroperabilityOpportunities
and Challenges forSimulation InteroperabilityD
r. Judith S. Dahmann
Scientific AdvisorDirector of InteroperabilityAc
quisition, Technology and LogisticsUS Department
of Defense
Senior Principal ScientistThe MITRE
Corporation703.883.1636jdahmann_at_mitre.org
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What is Interoperability?
Interoperability is defined in Joint Chiefs of
Staff (JCS) Pub 1-02 1. The ability of systems,
units or forces to provide services to and accept
services from other systems, units, or forces and
to use the services exchanged to enable them to
operate effectively together. 2. The condition
achieved among communications-electronics systems
or items of communications-electronics equipment
when information or services can be exchanged
directly and satisfactorily between them and/or
their users. The degree of interoperability
should be defined when referring to specific
cases.
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Increased Organizational Emphasis on
Interoperability

• OSD/ATL Director of Interoperability
• CINC Interoperability Program Offices (CIPOs)
• Interoperability Joint Warfighting Capabilities
  Assessment (I-JWCA)
• Military Communicatioons Electronics Board (MCEB)
• ASD/C3I DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO)

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Growing Interoperability Policy

• CJCSI 3170.01A Requirements Generation System.
  
• This instruction requires all requirements
  documentation - regardless of acquisition
  category level to conform with joint policy,
  technical architecture integrity, and
  interoperability standards. In addition, Joint
  Forces Command is designated as the JCS
  Chairmans advocate for joint warfare
  interoperability, and thus will play a critical
  review role in all systems requirements.
• CJCSI 6212.01B, Compatibility, Interoperability,
  Integration and C4 Supportability Certification
  of Command, Control, Communications, Computers
  and Weapon Systems.
• In final drafting, this instruction specifies
  three interoperability certifications to be
  accomplished for every C4I system and weapons
  system that interfaces with a C4I system.
  Additionally, it provides the process and format
  for developing interoperability Key Performance
  Parameters and Information Exchange Requirements
  for system requirements documentation.

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Interoperability Issues Need to be Addressed
Across the System Life Cycle

Phase 0
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Determination of Mission Need
Concept Exploration
Program Definition Risk Reduction
Engineering Manufacturing Development
Production, Fielding/ Deployment Operational
Support
Operational Support
Demilitarization Disposal
Science Technology
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Challenges for the Simulation Community

• How well is simulation community prepared to
  support the acquisition community with system of
  systems (SoS) interoperability (IO)?
• Experience base of the distributed simulation
  community offers a good conceptual foundation
• However, there are some important challenges to
  address..

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Ready or Not, Here I Come

• Need to address IO at key stages is known well in
  advance
• Important to have simulation support environment
  available for use when and where it is needed,
  and at an affordable cost
• Waiting until the question is asked to initiate
  the development of the simulation support
  environment is too late

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Complexity Conundrum

• System of systems (SoS) Interoperability (IO) is
  a complex matter
• Simulation support environments are expected to
  help simplify the situation, not complicate it
  further
• Unfortunately, simulations of systems of
  systems are naturally complex in and of
  themselves
• Challenge is for the simulation community to
  develop the means to address the
  simulation-specific complexities without
  burdening the acquisition users

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Data, Data, Data

• As in almost all simulation application areas,
  data is a key issue for SoS interoperability
• Large investment is being made by
  interoperability community in data and data
  support environments
• Information Exchange Requirements (IERS)
• Data models (CADM, ACCIS)
• Data specification repositories (JCAPS, SHADE XML
  repository)
• Critical that simulation community actively,
  participate if the data needed for simulation is
  to be provisioned for in the process

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Is It Real or Is It.?

• As systems move through the life cycle and when
  IO issues involve interactions with existing
  systems, the systems themselves (live, HWIL,
  system software) can be incorporated into the
  simulation environment
• Is HWIL a simulation? Is operational software on
  a lab-based hardware platform a simulation?
• Mixes of real and simulated, become the norm in
  simulation environments supporting system of
  system (SoS) interoperability (IO)

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If Its Not Right, We Will Know Soon Enough

• Simulation is largely used in SoS
  interoperability to address issues for subsequent
  development phases
• As developments move to the next stage (system
  development, deployment), the simulated
  activities are replaced with live system
  activities, and preceding simulation results are
  put to the test..
• This makes VVA more than a policy-required
  activity, since invalid simulation results will
  directly affect the acquisition

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Where do we go from here?

• Given
• Interoperability will be assessed as projected
• Interoperability is not a single system
  phenomena, to test interoperability of one
  system, you need some representation of the other
  systems in the SoS
• The costs of having large numbers of replicas of
  systems for use by each program are prohibitive
• Suggests
• simulation is critical
• shared SoS simulation environments can serve
  multiple programs in a mission area

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System of System Boxset Concept

• Federations of simulations, and supporting tools
  and data to represent the system of systems in a
  mission area
• outfitted with scenarios and data bases,
  developed and maintained overtime
• would include increasingly real components
  (operational sw, HWIL) for different uses
• Used by government and industry to identify
  needed capabilities, test new concepts and their
  effects on other systems, evaluate impacts of
  proposed system upgrades on other systems. the
  full range of interoperability issues across the
  life cycle

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Virtual Strike Warfare Environment (VSWE)

• JSF has employed a Boxed Set approach to use of
  simulation within the JSF acquisition
• A common set of simulations and support tools was
  developed, managed and evolved as an integral
  part of the acquisition process beginning with
  requirements
• VSWE 6 was tested this summer to support EMD
• The idea proposed here would be to use an
  environment such as VSWE and extend it to apply
  to strike warfare more generally, beyond a single
  acquisition program

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Why a Common Use Boxset?

• Shared resource reduces system costs and provides
  a means to address SoS complexity
• Provides common reference environment for
  collaborative assessment of capability (rather
  than system) needs and for assessing options
  for provide the needed capability
• Provides the basis for SoS integration and
  interoperability testing
• Ultimately a tool for SoS engineering and Mission
  Capabilities Management

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Challenge for Boxset Concept

• Boxsets would be shared resources which would
  need funding, management, etc
• Current organization of resources, acquisitions,
  etc do not lend themselves to support of shared
  infrastructure
• although in this case, current policy
  requirements lead each program to do this on
  their own, more costly and impractical given the
  interdependence on other systems
• Move to create joint mission areas and to
  establish common testing environments may provide
  mechanism for the boxset approach

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Summary

• Interoperability (IO) is being recognized as
  important both by policy and organization
• Current requirements to address IO throughout the
  lifecycle
• Simulation is a key enabler in this process, but
  must address some important challenges to be
  effective
• A boxset approach is proposed to creating and
  applying SoS environments across mission areas ro
  support IO throughout the SoS life cycle