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By Captain Jarrod Hair, Naval Air Systems Command
The UH-60V Black Hawk uses equipment aligned with the Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, Technical Standard to enable a more open and modular architecture for its digital cockpit. This standard allows for easier integration of off-the-shelf hardware and software, facilitating rapid upgrades and reducing costs associated with system integration and development. The UH-60V’s FACE aligned architecture enables designers to integrate new capabilities and adapt to evolving mission requirements, while also ensuring compliance with safety-critical avionics standards.
by Jerry Duenes/Corpus Christi Army Depot.
Wolf Advanced Technology (WOLF) develops rugged, high-performance embedded computing, AI, and video processing solutions for aerospace and defense platforms. Leveraging advanced NVIDIA® GPUs and AMD®/Xilinx® FPGAs, WOLF’s products deliver real-time processing and high-speed data throughput in extreme environments.
WOLF’s modular architectures include SOSA® aligned VPX, XMC, MXM/MXC, VNX+, Small Form Factor, and fully customized configurations, supporting a broad range of
Mission-Critical Computing for Aerospace & Defense
multi-modal sensor intakes and video formats.
Designed for demanding C5, ISR, EW, and AI systems, WOLF’s SWaP-optimized solutions deliver unmatched reliability and performance, backed by experienced, industry-leading support for mission-critical applications worldwide.
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3 Wolf Advanced Technology –Mission-critical computing for aerospace & defense
24 Kontron – When your system needs more than rugged, you need Kontron Advertiser Index
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17 LCR Embedded Systems –Mission possible –VPX and SOSA aligned solutions for any mission
18 The Open Group –The FACE Approach
13 Viking Technology –Executive Speakout
13 Wolf Advanced Technology –Executive Speakout
WEBCASTS
MOSA Industry and Government Summit & Expo August 27-29, 2025 National Harbor, MD https://events.techconnect.org/ MOSA_2025/
DSEI UK September 9-12, 2025 London, England https://www.dsei.co.uk/
AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference September 22-24, 2025 National Harbor, MD
https://www.afa.org/air-spacecyber-conference/
AUSA 2025 October 13-15, 2025 Washington, DC
https://meetings.ausa.org/annual/2025/ index.cfm
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR John McHale john.mchale@opensysmedia.com
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Lisa Daigle lisa.daigle@opensysmedia.com
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR – WASHINGTON BUREAU Dan Taylor dan.taylor@opensysmedia.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Sweet stephanie.sweet@opensysmedia.com
WEB DEVELOPER Paul Nelson paul.nelson@opensysmedia.com
By John M. McHale III, Editorial Director John.McHale@opensysmedia.com
Welcome to the 2025 FACE Special Edition, which covers the technology and development efforts behind The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, Technical Standard. This magazine is the fourth of what is an annual issue, highlighting editorial content on the FACE Technical Standard from the pages and website of Military Embedded Systems magazine, together with the products aligned and certified conformant to the technical standard – all put together exclusively by our staff.
This issue is similar to our SOSA Special Edition, published in May each year covering the technology and innovation behind The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard.
Both the FACE and SOSA Technical Standards are examples of the modular open system approach (MOSA) strategy, mandated by the U.S. Department of Department of Defense (DoD) for all new program designs and refreshes in a 2019 memo signed by the secretary of each service and reaffirmed at the end of last year by DoD leadership.
The latest memo – signed by the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force on December 17, 2024 – states that “MOSA shall be implemented and promulgated among the military services to facilitate rapid transition and sharing of advanced warfighting capability to keep pace with the dynamic warfighting threat.”
Simply put, they see MOSA as a way to get tech quickly into the hands of the warfighter, as a tool for accelerating acquisition. The memo also lists three new MOSA sections added by Congress to Title 10 of the United States Code (USC):
› “Section 4401 requires MOSA in major defense acquisition programs [MDAPs],
› Section 4402 requires the implementation of MOSA in program capability development and acquisition weapon system design, to include verification of MOSA requirements, and › Section 4403 relates to ensuring the availability of major system interface standards and support for MOSA in defense acquisition.”
The service leaders went on to direct that all DoD acquisition officers commit to “all five MOSA pillars: (1) employing a modular design, (2) designating modular interfaces, (3) leveraging consensusbased open standards, (4) establishing enabling environments, and (5) certifying conformance.” To read the memo, visit https://tinyurl.com/y3cced9y.
The FACE Technical Standard is one of the more mature MOSA initiatives, predating the MOSA memo and the SOSA Technical Standard. Solutions certified conformant and aligned to the FACE Technical Standard appear in crewed and uncrewed platforms such as the Army’s UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter (featured on the cover).
Many products have been certified conformant to the FACE Technical Standard. For a list, visit https://www.facesoftware. org/registry.
Most recently the Thales Flight Management System, FMS200, was certified by the FACE Consortium “as conformant to its 3.1 standard for portable components,” according to a Thales release.
“This milestone is a huge step forward to getting the FMS200 into the hands of operators quickly and seamlessly,” says Ryan Walters, General Manager of Thales’s Flight Avionics USA activities. “The FACE certification allows us to demonstrate our expertise, perfectly aligned with the principles of modular open system architectures.”
The FACE approach focuses not only on avionics software and airborne computing, but also on airworthiness. For a look into how the technical standard contributes to airworthiness, read the interview with Mike Majors, the chair of the FACE Airworthiness Subcommittee, on page 6. The current FACE Airworthiness Subcommit tee charter includes “showing how FACE [compliant] software and artifacts can actually contribute to airworthiness assessment,” he notes in the interview.
The momentum of the FACE Technical Standard and the FACE Consortium continues to be strong, especially as MOSA strategies become priorities within the DoD as a way to get technology in the hands of warfighters more quickly while also empowering smal l businesses to develop technology for military applications.
We will continue to cover MOSA and FACE like we’ve covered open standards for more than four decades at OpenSystems Med ia, dating back to our first publication – VMEBus Magazine, still published today as VITA Technologies.
Helping bring this issue together were Alicia Taylor, Loren Baynes, and their colleagues at The Open Group. A big thank you as well to Sally Bixby of Precise Systems and Rich Jaenicke of Green Hills Software, who helped in their roles with the FACE Outreach Subcommittee.
To be part of future FACE and SOSA Special Editions or to contribute content to Military Embedded Systems magazine and our Avionics Design e-newsletter, reach out to me (john.mchale@ opensysmedia.com) and assistant managing editor Lisa Daigle (lisa.daigle@ opensysmedia.com).
Thanks for joining us.
Interview with Mike Majors, the chair of the FACE Airworthiness Subcommittee
Mike Majors
Chair of the FACE Consortium Airworthiness Subcommittee
When The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, Consortium was established 15 years ago, the first domain targeted was airborne computing, and its many applications that are safetycritical. Although the FACE Technical Standard does not directly address or give guidance on airworthiness certification, many aspects of the rigorous design of the technical standard and the rigorous verification of the FACE conformance process can contribute to the airworthiness process. The Airworthiness Subcommittee (SC) under the FACE Technical Working Group is tasked in part with identifying those potential contributions.
The FACE Outreach SC sat down with Mike Majors, the chair of the FACE Airworthiness SC, to learn more about what the Airworthiness SC does and its future direction.
FACE OUTREACH SC: Mike, please tell us a little bit about your background and your involvement in the FACE Consortium over the years.
MAJORS: My entire career has been in the aerospace and defense business developing avionics and mission systems for many types of aircraft. I’ve been very fortunate to work in a variety of roles that include the whole product life cycle from proposals to deliveries and everything in between. Most of my time is spent on systems engineering, safety, airworthiness certification, and hardware and software development. I’ve also taught some airworthiness related training classes.
My FACE involvement really started from participating in the SOSA Consortium and its Software Run Time Environment Subcommittee. The Sensor Open Systems
Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard includes the FACE Operating System Segment (OSS) as one of the run-time environment profiles, which eventually grew into my increased involvement with the FACE Consortium. As I learned more about the FACE Consortium, I was naturally interested in the Airworthiness Subcommittee’s efforts. Eventually there were some leadership changes, and I volunteered to become the co-chair and eventually the chair. I’m thankful for the AFLCMC/OAMO [Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/Open Architecture Management Office] providing some funding for me to contribute to both the SOSA and FACE Consortia through CFD Research Corp.
FACE OUTREACH SC: Please tell us about the Airworthiness SC and how it changed when it was consolidated under the TWG [Technical Working Group].
MAJORS: When the Airworthiness SC was under the Enterprise Architecture Standing Committee, its charter focused on finding alignment between FACE conformance and airworthiness processes and activities. FACE guidance and conformance does not include airworthiness, but airworthiness processes, assessment, and certification are a consideration for a lot of products, so there is a need in the FACE guidance to address it. That includes the DO-178C, MIL-HDBK-516C, and Army AMACC [Army Military Airworthiness Certification Criteria], for example. When the subcommittee moved under TWG and merged with the safety subcommittee, its scope included the responsibility to ensure FACE guidance does not impede airworthiness.
FACE OUTREACH SC: Can you please provide some examples of how the Airworthiness SC works to ensure that the FACE Technical Standard does not impede the airworthiness certification process?
MAJORS: The FACE Technical Standard development has always kept airworthiness alignment in mind, so there haven’t been any significant airworthiness impediments. We just continue to monitor developments as the standard continues to mature. There have been some issues brought to us, though. For example, FACE libraries and header files used in the Conformance Test Suite are different than what a vendor would use to apply to an airworthiness authority. This creates extra work for the vendor, and we are looking at repairing that process in future versions of the FACE Technical Standard. When we examine issues like this, we also have to consider the balance between correctness and continuity as we don’t want to introduce changes that break compatibility between FACE Technical Standard and Conformance Test Suite minor version releases.
FACE OUTREACH SC: What are some examples of how the FACE Approach can contribute to airworthiness artifacts and life cycle data?
MAJORS: The current FACE Airworthiness Subcommittee charter also includes showing how FACE [compliant] software and artifacts can actually contribute to airworthiness assessment. We like to describe this as opportunities and not a checklist. The FACE Airworthiness Guide describes the opportunities to apply FACE artifacts to both MIL-HDBK-516C and DO-178C. This includes FACE artifacts from the Conformance Test Suite, Conformance Verification Matrix, and the Technical Standard.
For example, some FACE Conformance related artifacts can be used to meet some DO-178C verification-related objectives. Some FACE Technical Standard requirements about architecture, interfaces, and health monitoring can contribute to MIL-HDBK-516C objectives. There are numerous others. If you know at the beginning of your project that you’re going to apply for airworthiness approval on your FACE software project, then the FACE architecture informs your software architecture that is documented in airworthiness artifacts.
The FACE approach cares about interfaces, while airworthiness cares about the entire software product, so there is some overlap.
FACE OUTREACH SC: What are some future directions for the Airworthiness SC?
MAJORS: We are working on two efforts right now to add value for FACE [aligned] software suppliers and integrators that also need airworthiness approval. One is to expand the existing Airworthiness Guide version 1.0 to include reverse mappings to describe how typical airworthiness artifacts might apply to the FACE Approach and how the FAA’s [Federal Aviation Administration’s] Reusable Software Guidance can apply. We are also examining some practical use cases and how to provide more specific guidance. For example, what if you have built and conformed a FACE Unit of Conformance (UoC), but
at a later date need to apply for airworthiness approval and you have to make some changes in the product or – more likely –the process in which it was built?
We are also looking at clarifying the guidance provided in the FACE Reference Implementation Guide Section 6. It won’t be a how-to course on achieving airworthiness, but rather a bigpicture overview and some best-practice tips that could help those not as experienced in the airworthiness process.
Of course, we will continue to monitor FACE Technical Standard future developments and be a point of contact for industry when they encounter FACE related airworthiness potholes. ■
Mike Majors serves on The Open Group FACE Consortium and SOSA Consortium Committees and has 35 years of engineering experience in defense and civilian aerospace systems development. This includes systems, safety, certification, hardware, software, and flight test for a range of companies including Raytheon, L3 Communications, Avidyne, SAIC, DCS Corp, AFuzion, and CFD Research. Mike is an active multi-engine instrument-rated commercial pilot.
About the FACE ® Consortium
www.opengroup.org/face
The Open Group FACE® Approach integrates technical and business practices that establish a standard common operating environment to support portable capabilities across avionics systems.
The modularity defined in the FACE Approach enables an agile environment for firms to respond to market and customer demands for capability changes and upgrades. Industry has proven its commitment to the success of the FACE Approach by completing FACE conformance certification for its products. This enables military programs to rapidly select precertified software modules to reduce design, integration, and conformance costs for all programs requiring FACE conformance.
FACE SPONSOR
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
https://www.afrl.af.mil/
Collins Aerospace
https://www.rockwellcollins.com/
Joint Tactical Networking Center
https://www.jtnc.mil/
Lockheed Martin
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/ NAVAIR
https://www.navair.navy.mil/
U.S. Army PEO Aviation
https://www.army.mil/PEOAviation
FACE PRINCIPAL
AdaCore
https://www.adacore.com/
BAE Systems Inc.
https://www.baesystems.com/
Bell
https://www.bellflight.com/
Boeing
https://www.boeing.com/ Cubic Corporation
https://www.cubic.com/
GE Aviation Systems
https://www.geaviation.com/
General Dynamics Mission Systems https://gdmissionsystems.com/ Honeywell Aerospace
https://aerospace.honeywell.com/ L3Harris
https://www.l3harris.com/
Leonardo DRS
https://www.leonardodrs.com/ Northrop Grumman
https://www.northropgrumman.com/ Parry Labs, LLC
https://parrylabs.com/ RTX
https://www.rtx.com/
Sierra Nevada Corporation
https://www.sncorp.com/ Sikorsky Aircraft https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/sikorsky.html U.K Ministry of Defence https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center https://www.army.mil/article/157845/ccdc_aviation_missile_center Wind River https://www.windriver.com/
FACE ASSOCIATE
AeroVironment
https://www.avinc.com/ AFuzion https://afuzion.com/ Aitech https://aitechsystems.com/ Alta Data Technologies, LLC https://www.altadt.com/ American Rheinmetall Systems, LLC https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/company/subsidiaries/ american-rheinmetall-systems Ansys https://www.ansys.com/ Avalex Technologies https://avalex.com/ Avilution, LLC https://www.avilution.com/ Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute https://www.sei.cmu.edu/ CMC Electronics https://cmcelectronics.ca/ CoreAVI https://coreavi.com/ Craft Designs, Inc. https://craftdesigns.net/ Danbury Mission Technologies, LLC https://www.dmtllc.org/ DDC-I https://www.ddci.com/
Defense Standardization Program Office
https://www.dsp.dla.mil/
Elbit Systems of America
https://www.elbitamerica.com/
ENSCO Avionics
https://www.ensco.com/
EXB Solutions
https://exbsolutions.com/
Firestorm Labs, Inc.
https://www.launchfirestorm.com/ Galois
https://galois.com/
GaN Corporation
https://www.geeksandnerds.com/ General Atomics
https://www.ga.com/
General Micro Systems, Inc.
https://www.gms4sbc.com/
Georgia Tech Research Institute
https://www.gtri.gatech.edu/
Green Hills Software
https://www.ghs.com/
Infinite Dimensions Integration, Inc. http://id-inc.us/
Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc.
https://is4s.com/ Intelligent Artifacts, Inc.
https://www.intelligent-artifacts.com/ Intellisense Systems, Inc.
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
https://www.jhuapl.edu/
Jovian Software Consulting LLC
https://www.joviansc.com/ Kearfott Corp.
https://www.kearfott.com/ KIHOMAC, Inc.
https://www.kihomac.com/ LDRA Technology
https://ldra.com/ Leidos
https://www.leidos.com/
Lynx Software Technologies
https://www.lynx.com/ Mannarino Systems and Software Inc.
https://www.mss.ca/ Mathtech, Inc.
https://icsg.us.com/ Micro Focus (US) Inc.
https://www.microfocus.com/en-us/home
North Atlantic Industries, Inc.
https://www.naii.com/ OAR Corporation http://www.oarcorp.com/ PACE America https://paceind.com/aerospace_defense/ Parasoft
https://www.parasoft.com/ Rapita Systems, Inc. https://www.rapitasystems.com/about/partners/face-consortium Rapita Systems Ltd. https://www.rapitasystems.com/
Real-Time Innovations https://www.rti.com/en/ SAIC https://www.saic.com/ ScioTeq LLC https://www.scioteq.com/en Skayl LLC https://www.skayl.com/ Southwest Research Institute https://www.swri.org/ Swarm Aero https://swarmaero.com/ TES https://tes-i.com/ Textron Systems https://www.textronsystems.com/ Thales Avionics, Inc. https://www.thalesgroup.com Thales UK https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/countries/europe/united-kingdom The QT Company https://www.qt.io/ Trideum Corporation https://www.trideum.com/ TTTech North America, Inc. https://www.tttech.com/ Twin Oaks Computing, Inc. http://www.twinoakscomputing.com/ United Electronic Industries, Inc. https://www.ueidaq.com/ University of Dayton Research Institute https://udayton.edu/udri/ Verocel https://www.verocel.com/ Wolf Advanced Technology Canada Inc. https://wolfadvancedtechnology.com/ Wolf Advanced Technology USA Inc. https://wolfadvancedtechnology.com/ wolfSSL https://www.wolfssl.com/
**List as of 7/16/2025
MOSA really is a big deal: At the speed and scale necessary to prevail in a near-peer conflict
By Captain Jarrod Hair
It is no secret that militaries are rapidly building up their assets and technologies. With new threat probabilities emerging quickly, warfighters must be ready for all eventualities. Leveraging a modular open systems approach (MOSA) – including such efforts as the Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, approach and Technical Standard; the Sensor Open System Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard; Open Mission Systems (OMS); and Naval Air Systems Command’s open architecture standards framework, Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST) –is a major part of readiness.
A significant driver of military readiness is leveraging a modular open systems approach (MOSA) to effectively integrate the latest innovative technologies, and making these moves in advance of the adversary. The primary imperative is for rapid capability insertion: Everyone has heard how a MOSA offers fungibility or interchangeability by separating the system into major functions and elements that work together across conforming interfaces. This approach, coupled with widely supported U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)-compliant standards, promotes continuous adaptation and upgrades.
The bottom line is that open architecture (OA)/open standards (OS) are relevant and timely, and have never been more important to the warfighter than right now.
MOSA in the Navy
The modern battlespace transcends individual services with mission-critical demands for seamless collaboration of joint service, multipartner, and multimodal operations.
By prioritizing interoperability across air, land, and sea, the U.S. and allies strengthen their joint warfighting abilities and enable rapid capability insertion of emergent technologies. With a collaborative and interoperable approach, U.S. and allied dominance can be assured today and in decades to come.
The Naval Aviation Enterprise is on a strategic journey to deliver integrated warfighting capability the fleet needs to win at an affordable cost. Our enterprise services plan stresses reuse and streamlines operations to avoid historic and proprietary vendor lock.
Image courtesy U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force.
MOSA cultivates cost-effective, adaptable and future-proof systems vital to achieving next-level, long-term performance. (Figure 1.)
Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Hon. Nickolas Guertin authored the Naval Modular Open Systems Approach Guidebook 1.0, which was published in February 2025.
PEO(T) PMA-209: Deep in the mix
An integral part of Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs (PEO(T)), which owns the majority of the Navy’s aircraft platforms and programs, is the Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209). Within PMA-209, the Avionics Architecture Team (AAT) is comprised of highly skilled and deeply knowledgeable MOSA/OA/OS subject matter experts who engage with program offices, other government/military branches, industry, and academia.
FIGURE 1 | U.S. military aircraft fly in formation over the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea during early 2024. U.S. Navy photo: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Thomas Gooley.
MOSA advancement is baked right into the AAT vision and mission statement. Working through multiple channels, the team’s experts are focused on advancing open standards along the life cycle to modernize new and sustainable programs. Their savvy lies in standards such as the Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, approach and Technical Standard; the Sensor Open System Architecture, or SOSA, Technical Standard; Open Mission Systems (OMS); Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) open architecture standards framework, Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST); and more.
The HOST framework
The PMA-209 team designed HOST over five years ago; to this day, AAT maintains HOST development in concert with efforts in avionics, sensors, and mission systems across NAVAIR-affiliated programs. ATT manages HOST (version 5.0, released in 2024) with a team of academicians and industry members that coordinate with integrators, module vendors, and related standards groups.
HOST is a technical standard for high-performance embedded computing that lays out requirements that a program manager or integrator can use to create a verifiably open system. In addition to speeding technology deployment, HOST also widens the aperture for competition and participation from industry, including small businesses. Open standards – like HOST – create more opportunities for vendors to compete directly. (Visit the updated HOST website: https://www.navair.navy.mil/host/.)
Multi-use lab environment
PMA-209 utilizes an organic laboratory infrastructure. The Multi-Use Lab Environment (MULE) lab provides hardware and software development, integration, and sustainment for avionics mission processing. With risk reduction through independent verification and validation, it also increases interoperability and rapid upgrade or sustainment efforts. The lab builds solutions that test hardware and software interfaces to legacy avionics subsystems that notably reduce flight-test hours and platform-test schedules, and serve to increase vendor accountability to documented requirements.
Mission computer alternative (MCA)
The mission computer alternative (MCA) hardware is a family of systems (FOS) constructed around a Navy-owned architecture that conforms to the HOST hardware standard. At a basic level, it is an appropriate-sized container for a platform, providing for mission computer modules and the connection between them, and an interface with the platform itself. The computer modules are common, interchangeable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules, one of the main benefits of OA.
A brief engineering detour: There are six-unit (6u) or three-unit (3u) cards with a common but specific HOST interface; these cards are the “brains” of the MCA. Users can swap out these cards for more powerful or more modern ones on a relatively short cycle to enhance supportability and growth. The COTS cards plug into a custom backplane conforming to the HOST standard; the backplane is designed for current mission needs of the platform with extra slots for growth when platform size, weight, and power allow. The backplane provides the common interface between the COTS cards and connect the computing modules with the input/output provided by the foreplane. The backplane can be modernized but will not need replacement as rapidly as the COTS cards, if ever.
Going forward
We’ll close with words from long-time OA/OS and MOSA champion, Hon. Nickolas Guertin: “By embracing these specific strategies and collaborating closely with our partners, we can ensure our warfighters have the advanced capabilities they need to maintain our maritime superiority.” ■
MOSA: Changing
the acquisition community
In its pursuit of faster technology adoption to accelerate innovation to the battlefield, MOSA is changing the acquisition community.
Government and industry must work closely together in order to achieve the hopedfor outcomes in this complex endeavor. These goals cannot be achieved by a single government organization or a single contractor, however, even when executed fully with the best of intentions. Reaching these goals requires open, well-defined, and peer-reviewed standards so that government and industry align and move with urgency.
To that end, the government invites industry to engage further: Ask hard questions. Bring forward your best ideas to improve on standards and don’t hold anything back. Suggest solutions to challenges that showcase creativity and ingenuity, not solutions that prevent participation from others.
Direct government-industry collaboration is key to successful MOSA implementation, and it’s something we actively champion. Venues such as the MOSA Industry and Government Summit & Expo (held August 27-29, 2025) present opportunities to collaborate and connect with several Navy, Army and Air Force OA/OS experts. The technical interchange meeting enables face-to-face engagement with leadership, top experts, and decision-makers in defense involved in keynotes, multiple panel discussions, and live demonstrations.
Captain Jarrod Hair is U.S. Navy, PMA209 Program Manager; Air Combat Electronics Program Office Program Manager, Naval Air Systems Command, NAVAIR PEO(T). Prior to assuming command of PMA-209 in 2023, Capt. Hair was the chief of staff to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air and Ground Programs. He graduated in 2002 from the U.S. Naval Academy; he earned his wings of gold as a naval aviator in 2003 and holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering. Hair earned a master’s degree in systems engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Following graduation from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Hair served as a MH-60R and MH-60S test pilot and project officer. Upon completion of his test tour, he reported to the Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) 70 “Spartans” for his department-head tour. Hair then deployed aboard USS Truxtun (DDG 103) as detachment officer-in-charge as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group. Hair then went to the H-60 MultiMission Helicopters Program Office (PMA-299) and served as the software integration program lead from 2015 to 2019. He then supported the Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-262) as MQ-4C Triton class desk until December 2019. From that time to September 2021, Hair was the deputy program manager for Ship Air Traffic Management at the Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA-213). Readers may reach the PMA-209 office at PMA209-AAT@us.navy.mil.
Naval Air Systems Command https://www.navair.navy.mil/
Built for FACE® Technical Standard: High-Density Memory That Meets the Mission
By Hamid Shokrgozar, President
As a provider of high-density, ruggedized microelectronics – including DDR4 multi-chip package (MCP) products for military and space applications, we understand the critical need for modularity, interoperability, and scalability in modern defense systems.
One of the most impactful developments in this area is the Future Airborne Capability Environment®, or FACE® Technical Standard. Designed by The Open Group, the FACE® Technical Standard is revolutionizing military avionics and ground/shipboard systems by enabling a common operating environment for warfighting capabilities.
By aligning with the FACE Technical Standard, defense contractors and system integrators are not only enhancing capability but also reducing lifecycle cost, streamlining integration, and strengthening mission readiness.
Viking’s high-density DDR4 MCP (Multi-Chip Package) solutions are a natural fit for this modular, open, and scalable future.
EXECUTIVE SPEAKOUT
With over a decade of experience serving mission-critical sectors, Viking Technology remains committed to providing innovative, rugged memory solutions that empower open architecture systems like those built under the FACE® Technical Standard.
Let’s work together to deliver mission success ... one rugged, interoperable system at a time. ADVERTORIAL
Enhancing Speed and Affordability in Critical Combat Capability Delivery
By Pierre Charbonneau, Director; Technology: Safety Certifiable Solutions
Through the Future Airborne Capability Environment®, or FACE®, Technical Standard, the U.S. defense community has codified a common reference architecture and verification approach that squarely targets affordability and rapid time to market. Every computing environment (airborne, land, or maritime) is partitioned into five well defined segments: Portable Components, Transport Services, Platform Specific Services, Operating System, and I/O Services. Those segments are linked solely by published interfaces. Because those interfaces are fixed, a software component certified in one FACE environment can be reused in another with minimal engineering effort, enabling true product line portability across platforms.
Interoperability is inherent. A standard data architecture and strongly typed Transport Services Interface let components from different vendors share information without bespoke gateways, while optional Transport Protocol Modules allow identical software to traverse MIL-STD-1553, CAN, Ethernet, or IPv4/IPv6 networks unchanged.
Open APIs dismantle legacy stovepipes, ending vendor lock and stimulating competition that drives down sustainment costs and accelerates innovation.
www.vikingtechnology.com
Certification is built in from day one. Three graded Operating System Segment profiles (Security, Safety, and General Purpose) allow integrators to match the API surface to their design assurance goals, while time and space partitioned isolation eases assessment and authorization, and explicit alignment with DO 178C and ARP 4754/4761 supports reuse of safety artifacts.
In short, the FACE Technical Standard equips Army, Navy, Air Force, and coalition programs to procure, field, and sustain critical combat capability faster and at lower cost, without compromising the rigorous safety and security demanded of modern war fighting systems.
Ada and the FACE approach: Enabling highassurance, portable software for defense systems
By Andrea Bristol
The Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, approach seeks to drive down defense system costs and accelerate delivery through software reuse, portability, and interoperability. Ada – a language purposebuilt for high-integrity, real-time embedded systems – aligns naturally with these goals. With robust support for safety, security, and long-term maintainability, Ada is an appropriate language for software that aligns with the FACE Technical Standard. The recent approval of AdaCore’s verification methodology by the FACE Consortium further reinforces Ada’s role in this ecosystem, enabling developers to produce standardscompliant, portable components using Ada and the GNAT technology stack.
The Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, approach is a U.S. government, industry, and academia initiative designed to transform the procurement and development of software for military avionics systems. Managed by the FACE Consortium under the auspices of The Open Group, the FACE approach’s overarching goal is to reduce system life cycle costs and time to field by enabling software portability, reusability, and interoperability across different platforms and suppliers. This method also avoids vendor lock-in. The approach consists of a technical framework, a software architecture based on well-defined, standardized interfaces, and a business strategy to encourage a competitive, innovationdriven marketplace through software components that conform to the FACE Technical Standard.
At the heart of the FACE initiative lies the principle of reducing duplication and increasing efficiency. Software components developed to conform to the FACE Technical Standard can be
reused across multiple platforms and programs, significantly reducing the cost and effort required for integration and maintenance. This design is particularly valuable in the defense and aerospace sectors, where system complexity, long lifespans, and strict certification requirements make traditional development approaches costly and inflexible.
The FACE Technical Standard is based on several elements:
› A segmented software architecture that separates portable from platform-specific components
› An expressive and languageagnostic data modeling technology that ensures a consistent interpretation for data communicated across components
› Tiered profiles and capability sets that impose safety-oriented restrictions on standard software interfaces and language features
Although it is focused on portability and does not address functionality or assurance requirements, the FACE approach accounts for the fact that, in practice, an airborne system comprises components at varying levels of safety sensitivity. The FACE Technical Standard thus defines subsets of standard application program interfaces (APIs) – in particular POSIX and ARINC-653 – at several levels, called profiles. In increasing order of criticality –from most permissive to most restrictive – these are General Purpose, Safety Extended, Safety Base, and Security.
Analogously, the FACE Technical Standard defines subsets of standard language features for C, C++, Ada 95, Ada 2012, and Java (called capability sets): General Purpose, Safety Extended, and Safety Base/Security.
Technical, strategic alignment
Ada is a state-of-the-art programming language that development teams worldwide are using for critical software, from microkernels and small-footprint,
The Ada programming language has been used for years on combat aircraft platforms including the F-18 Hornet.
KC-135 Stratotanker from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, during a 2024 naval exercise. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tiffany A. Emery.
real-time embedded systems all the way up to large-scale enterprise applications.
The language was designed from the ground up to support the development of reliable, efficient, and portable software for real-time embedded systems. With a strong emphasis on readability, modularity, and language-enforced correctness, Ada has the correct features for building high-assurance software in critical domains.
For several decades, Ada has been used in some of the most demanding software environments in the world, including military and aerospace systems, railway control, air traffic management, and medical devices. Its feature set – including strong typing, contract-based programming, compile-time checks, and tasking for real-time concurrency – makes it a natural fit for software designed for a FACE architecture, where robustness, traceability, and long-term maintainability are nonnegotiable. (Figure 1.)
The FACE Technical Standard has explicitly recognized the relevance and maturity of Ada by supporting both Ada 95 and Ada 2012 within its architecture. This formal support ensures that developers using Ada are not constrained in their ability to produce portable and reusable software components, provided those components meet the defined FACE Technical Standard criteria.
In 2024, a significant milestone was reached when the FACE Consortium formally approved a proposed approach for FACE conformance verification of Ada software.1 This development addressed a long-standing gap in the ecosystem and enabled a clear path forward for Ada users seeking conformance with the FACE Technical Standard.
Historically, conformance verification within the FACE ecosystem has been tailored to C and C++, languages that typically achieve portability through standardized APIs and header-based abstractions. The conformance process involves link-time tests against stubbed standard run-time libraries, enabling verification of source-level portability.
places
U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Darion Boyd.
However, applying this methodology to Ada presents unique challenges. Ada relies on well-defined syntax, semantics, and language-defined keywords. Crucially, the compiled output of these features invokes functions within a compiler-specific runtime environment. This runtime dependency is the source of the challenges.
To address this hurdle, AdaCore developed an extension to the existing FACE verification methodology. This extension introduces a mechanism for incorporating an Ada toolchain including a compiler-specific runtime into the FACE Conformance Test Suite. The key idea is to evaluate whether this toolchain enforces the constraints and restrictions defined in the FACE Technical Standard. If the toolchain, with its stubbed runtime, does not detect a prohibited usage, then additional assurance measures are necessary. In such cases, the onus falls on the software developer to provide inspection-based evidence demonstrating that the disallowed feature is not used in the component under test.
Ada is now fully enabled within the FACE ecosystem, providing a robust, standardsaligned pathway for building portable, reusable, and certifiable software components. Developers can take advantage of Ada’s intrinsic strengths of strong typing, modular design, real-time support, and safety-focused semantics while remaining fully compliant with the FACE Technical Standard.
As defense programs increasingly embrace open architecture standards such as FACE, Ada continues to prove its enduring relevance. The Ada language remains a compelling and forward-looking choice for defense and aerospace organizations building critical software systems that demand high integrity, long-term maintainability, and cross-platform interoperability. ■
Andrea Bristol is the PR and Marketing Campaigns Manager at AdaCore. A marketer for over 19 years, Andrea is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
AdaCore https://www.adacore.com/
FIGURE 1 | Ada is used in demanding software environments, including
in which robustness, traceability, and long-term maintainability are nonnegotiable, for instance in the cockpit systems of an F-16 fighter jet. In photo: A fighter pilot climbs a ladder into the cockpit of an F-16C Fighting Falcon jet during an overseas training mission.
Enabling rapid deployment through modular software architectures and third-party ecosystems
By Erik Vallow and Dr. Justin Pearson
At a time when digital superiority defines global security, the defense sector faces a critical challenge: that of deploying software updates swiftly without compromising safety or certification standards. There is a solution – modular, certifiable software architectures built on open standards. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem of innovation, this approach enables rapid deployment, seamless integration of third-party capabilities and streamlined certification processes.
In high-stakes domains like defense and aerospace, the ability to swiftly deploy and update software can mean the difference between victory and vulnerability. Yet, these critical sectors often find themselves constrained by legacy systems and cumbersome certification processes, struggling to keep pace with emerging threats. The solution? A shift toward open standards and modular, certifiable software architectures that enable rapid, secure deployment.
In modern operational environments, security is increasingly defined by both speed and performance. This principle isn’t just a technology goal; it’s a call to action in sectors where outdated software can have dire consequences. The strategy calls for the use of standards-based platforms and collaborative partnerships, laying the groundwork for transformative capabilities delivered at the new speed of dominance.
By embracing open standards, companies can create a universal language for these systems, enabling third parties to integrate and customize them seamlessly. This approach fosters an ecosystem where innovation can flourish, while maintaining the highest standards of safety and security.
The concept of “thriving on secure, safe, open standards” is becoming a mantra in the industry. In a field often wary of openness due to security concerns, this notion turns traditional thinking on its head. Leading-edge platforms are not merely adapted for open standards but are inherently designed around them. This approach ensures that systems remain interoperable and flexible while upholding the stringent safety and security certifications at the center of aerospace and defense.
For instance, prioritizing MOSA [modular open systems approach] use cases as defined by the end user enables a concentrated focus on the change containment boundaries, which are essential for supporting a delta-certification framework for ongoing updates and integration of new capabilities. Adopting established frameworks like ARINC-653; the Future Airborne Capability Environment, or FACE, Technical Standard; and VirtIO to define these boundaries is key to a successful MOSA implementation. As acquisitions struggle to keep pace with the rapid releases and updates of open standards for hosted capabilities (e.g., user applications), this approach will optimize the use of high technology readiness level (TRL) technologies while minimizing alignment inconsistencies within the hosted capabilities.
Based on standardized principles, the resulting modular platforms offer the added benefit of comprehensive certification data. This bureaucratic breakthrough transforms the highly regulated environments where each software update typically requires navigating a labyrinth of approvals. This newer, standards-based modular approach allows components to be rapidly fielded and updated without sacrificing compliance.
Furthermore, this innovative approach is aligned with the best-in-class modern software methodologies. The ability to deploy software at speed and performance supports agile practices like DevSecOps [development, security, and operations] and continuous integration/ continuous deployment (CI/CD). In a world where threats evolve by the hour, these platforms enable defense and aerospace to iterate quickly, test rigorously, and deploy confident ly while maintaining top-tier security.
This is a vision t hat extends beyond any single company’s innovations. U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs are increasingly encouraging building lasting partnerships and interoperability between suppliers to foster enduring innovation. Companies are providing clear guidelines and hands-on support for partners to enhance and integrate their systems with core platforms, all of which require a collaborative ethos to ensure that the global network of innovators can rapidly develop and certify new capabilities as threats evolve, keeping critical systems ahead of the curve. The use of open standards in platforms like LYNX MOSA.ic demon strates how a collaborative, standardsbased approach can enhance innovation and maintain the technological edge required to meet evolving threats.
Standards-based, modular architectures don’t just enable rapid software deployment; they help make it secure, certified, and collaboratively driven. This approach is not just innovat ive; it’s essential in sectors where failure is not an option and adversaries are constantly probing for weakness. ■
Erik Vallow is director of technical product marketing at Lynx Software Technologies.
Dr. Justin Pearson is Lynx’s director of systems architecture.
Lynx Software Technologies www.lynx.com
Mission impossible
The growing role of standards and collaboration is further exemplified by events such as the annual MOSA Industry & Government Summit (https:// events.techconnect.org/MOSA_2025/). This summit facilitates lasting partnerships among industry, academia, and government, helping to shape holistic business and technical strategies that meet the warfighter’s needs. Through demonstrated openness, panel sessions on execution strategies, need state ments, lessons learned, and more, con tinuous participation in these events and the consortium bodies that govern the maturation of open standards is crucial for achieving the government’s MOSA objectives.
In essence, the DoD is rewriting the rules of engagement in critical domains.
VPX AND SOSA ALIGNED SOLUTIONS FOR ANY MISSION
LCR products enable the fullest capabilities of the best aspects of VPX and SOSA aligned system architectures. Integrated systems, chassis, backplanes and development platforms that help streamline the journey from early development to deployment.
Look to LCR to realize what’s possible in demanding environments across a wide range of defense applications.
The FACE® Approach
The Open Group FACE® Approach is a Governmentindustry developed software standard and business strategy withthe goals to:
• Increase the affordability of capabilities
• Improvetime-to-field, delivering new capabilities to the warfighter faster
The FACEApproach integratestechnical and business practicesthat establish astandardcommonoperating environment to support portablecapabilities across avionics systems
The FACETechnical Standard defines the requirements for architectural segments and key interfaces that link the segments together. This enables the reuse of capability-based software components across different hardwarecomputing environments.
The idea is to avoid "reinventingthewheel" for every newplatformsystem. It alsoenablesrapid replacement of oldersoftwareandinsertionwithnew and improvedcapabilities throughout thesystem lifecycle. The FACEApproach isrelevant to both enduring systems and future systems, including new system designs, system-level upgrades, and component upgrades.
Theobjectivespromoteacquisition of affordable software systems, innovation, rapid integrationof portablecapabilities across global defense programs, andhigher efficiencytodeploycapabilities The Open Group: Leading the development of open, vendor-neutral technologystandards and certifications
The Open Groupisaglobal consortium that enablestheachievementof business objectives throughtechnology standardsandopen sourceinitiativesby fosteringa culture ofcollaboration, inclusivity, and mutualrespect among ourdiverse groupof 900+ memberships. Our Membership includescustomers, systemsandsolutions suppliers, toolvendors,integrators, academics, and consultantsacross multiple industries. More information onThe Open Group can befound atwww.opengroup.org.
2025 PROFILES
VAPS XT is the proven solution for developing Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), reducing cost, time, and risks of DO-178 certification. From concept to deployment, create interactive, display graphics in a Model Based Development (MBD) environment aligned with the Future Airborne Capability Environment®, or FACE®, Technical Standard.
VAPS XT software allows users to define both visual appearance and display logic in one easy to use graphical editor. Designed for both developers and human factors experts to define the look and feel of the HMI. Simulate the designs within the tool and generate stand-alone executables, which provides the ability to test and review designs early in the life cycle. The automatic code generator supports DO178C certification up to DAL A. VAPS XT provides extensive ARINC 661development support with industry leading performance and can be easily deployed to most embedded targets with or out without a GPU.
FEATURES
Model Based Development (MBD)
Multi Touch Gestures deployable on any system
Rapid Prototyping and Simulation
Supporting Modular Open System Approach (MOSA)
Support most hardware and RTOS combination
First COTS tool to support ARINC 661 development
More than 25 years delivering certified systems
https://vaps.txtgroup.com/
VAPS XT
Portable Components Segment (PCS)
XMC-FGX2-6IO (WOLF-3185)
The WOLF-3185 provides a high data rate, high density video capture and transmit platform with the FGX2, WOLF’s second-generation frame grabbing technology. FGX2 is a 4K-capable digital and analog frame grabber with conversion and transmit capability, built on the Xilinx® Kintex® UltraScale+™ series of FPGA devices. It is ideally suited for machine vision or sensor data processing applications deployed in harsh environments where low latency matters and SWaP is at a premium.
This module’s ICD aligns with ANSI/VITA 46.9 for 3U and 6U VXP configurations. It provides an excellent upgrade path from the previous generation WOLF-3080 with a compatible hardware ICD and thermal envelope. This module can be paired with a module powered by an NVIDIA GPU to provide extremely low latency peer-topeer communication that will reduce the host system CPU overhead, which can be critical when processing large amounts of data.
MCOTS options include the ability to change interfaces to other analog or digital video standards.
RTOS drivers are optionally available upon request.
FEATURES
WOLF Frame Grabber eXtreme 2 (FGX2) with multiple inputs and outputs
Up to four SDI inputs and outputs
Two DisplayPort (MST) inputs, each with up to 2 streams
Options for ARINC 818 I/O and CoaXPress input
Option for one RGsB or CVBS input
Low operating power, 12 to 25W (depending on options)
Option for direct DP to SDI conversion all in FGX, without sending video to the host
NVIDIA GPUDirect RDMA support for low latency data exchange with an NVIDIA GPU
Optional 8Gb DDR4 RAM for additional application support
Skayl delivers next-generation integration technologies that make the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) not just possible – but practical. With its flagship tools, PHENOM® and CinC®, Skayl enables faster, more resilient, and repeatable integration for safety- and mission-critical systems.
By enabling Infrastructure-Centric Integration, automating conformance, and simplifying delta-certification, Skayl removes traditional bottlenecks that make MOSA initiatives costly or complex.
PHENOM and CinC shift integration away from brittle application logic and into flexible, model-driven infrastructure. These tools promote seamless collaboration, support the Future Airborne Capability Environment®, or FACE®, Technical Standard and other open standards, and generate code and configuration artifacts to streamline conformance and certification.
PHENOM provides a collaborative environment for defining, validating, and managing data, integration, and deployment models – including FACE® Technical Standard, Conformant DSDMs. CinC turns those models into configurable integration software for deployment and delta-certification – helping teams build once, integrate flexibly, and certify confidently.
FEATURES
Infrastructure-Centric Integration – Shifts logic from apps to infrastructure for agility and reuse
Delta-Accreditable & Post-Deployment Configurability –Enables targeted updates without full recertification
Code & Model Generation – Automates creation of infrastructure logic and artifacts
Semantic Interface Discovery – Reduces ambiguity with guided, automated matching
Temporal Model Analytics – Tracks changes and impacts across versions
Validation & Certification Support – Generates test stimuli and conformance outputs
Dynamic Integration via Configuration – Push updates without full recompilation
Multi-Standard Compatibility – Aligns with FACE® conformant, OMS, DDS, UCI, and others
Tool-Neutral Workflows – Adapts to diverse pipelines and toolchains
Sustained Interoperability – Supports multi-version model lifecycle management
https://www.phenomportal.com/
BGA SSD
Viking Technology’s BGA SSD is an embedded solid state drive (eSSD) solution designed and optimized for a wide range of embedded/industrial applications. This BGA SSD leverages advanced NAND technologies and NAND geometry (iTLC) to deliver high capacity drives in the densest BGA package (20mm x 16mm).
This SSD-On-Chip is built with embedded OEMs in mind, supporting standard PCIe SATA and legacy PATA interface with ultra reliability and security features such as Opal 2.0, Opalite 1.0, and Pyrite 1.0. The drive is optimized to enable high throughput transfer rates with optional embedded DRAM to enhance data storage efficiency and high random read/ write IOPS.
Portable Components Segment (PCS)
FEATURES
Very small footprint: Saves up to 80% board space vs. Standard 2.5 in. SSD
Ultra high NAND storage density per cu. in.
Rugged: Soldered-down BGA eSSD
Supports PCIe, SATA, & Legacy PATA interface
Industrial-grade -40°C to +85°C
Security features: Opal 2.0, Opalite 1.0, and Pyrite 1.0
Support S.M.A.R.T. and advanced SSD Telemetry logging features
Secure avionics systems with certified cybersecurity.
wolfSSL leads in FIPS 140-3 and DO-178C DAL A compliant cryptography, offering commercial off-the-shelf security solutions trusted by all branches of the U.S. armed services, deployed in aircraft, satellites, tanks, and missile systems. Supporting secure communications, firmware integrity, and mission-critical system protection. wolfSSL’s embedded (D)TLS 1.3, secure boot, and cryptography modules are optimized for bare-metal and custom OS’s, integrating seamlessly with SYSGO, VxWorks, INTEGRITY, and DDC-I Deos. Certified under SP800-140Br1 with FIPS 140-3 validated certificate #4718, our solutions mitigate MITM, relay, DoS, and spoofing attacks.
To counter emerging quantum threats, wolfSSL integrates post-quantum cryptography, including ML-KEM (FIPS 203) and ML-DSA (FIPS 204). These CNSA 2.0 compliant algorithms are optimized for embedded systems, ensuring long-term security for critical aerospace and defense applications.
High-Performance 6U VPX SBC for Next-Gen Military Radar
Modern radar systems must process more data, faster, and with greater accuracy – all while meeting SWaP-C constraints and operating reliably in mission-critical environments. The Kontron VX6096 is a powerful 6U VPX single board computer engineered to meet these demands, supporting next-generation radar missions including early warning, integrated air and missile defense, and counter-target acquisition.
Powered by dual Intel® Xeon® D-2700/2800 processors with up to 20 cores, the VX6096 delivers a 2.97x performance boost over previous generations. It supports AI acceleration, AVX-512 instructions, and hardware security features like Intel TXT, Boot Guard, and TME for trusted computing in secure environments.
Designed in alignment with the SOSA® Technical Standard, the VX6096 helps streamline integration and supports Future Airborne Capability Environment®, or FACE®, Technical Standard conformant system development. It features dual 40/100Gb Ethernet data planes, PCIe Gen4 expansion, and TSN/PTP/SyncE capabilities for precise, real-time operation. XMC and MXM slots support graphics or additional compute acceleration, and DisplayPort provides flexible video output options.
The VX6096 uses air-flow-through (AFT) cooling per VITA 48.8, supporting high-performance operation in thermally demanding radar platforms. With a typical 10-year lifecycle, configuration control, and extended service options, it’s built to reduce risk and support long-term programs.
Explore how the VX6096 can elevate your radar platform –visit kontron.com
Kontron
www.kontron.com
FEATURES
Intel Xeon-D2700/2800 processor series with 2.97x improved performance compared to previous generations.
AI dedicated features and enhanced security capabilities
16- and 20-core versions, to adapt computing power to Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C) applications
Increased Network capabilities with up to 100Gb Ethernet
Air-Flow Through AFT (VITA48.8) cooling solution
Real time capable* : TSN, TCC, PTS (PTP & SyncE) features
Designed in alignment with the SOSA Technical Standard
Long term availability with 10-years of typical lifecycle.
