Cost
Common software can make operation and sustainment less expensive
Modular open systems: The future of flight for the U.S. Army
Collins Aerospace demonstrates technologies for the future of the service’s fleet
The mission, by design, was everything and everywhere, across multiple fronts.
A reconnaissance drone flew into enemy territory, spotted surface-to-air missile systems and reported their location. A remote command center evaluated the data, then readied artillery to take out the targets.
Meanwhile, special forces arrived by helicopter, infiltrated the city and set up a forward-operating base. As they secured the location, medical helicopters swooped in to rescue those wounded in the firefight.
All the while, the joint force was in constant communication, thanks to the compatibility of the many sensing, targeting and communications systems in play.
That compatibility, at least in this fictional scenario created by Collins Aerospace, came by way of what’s known as modular open systems approach, or MOSA. A May 2024 demonstration at the Collins Customer Experience Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was a snippet of the use of MOSA – an approach to technology that emphasizes easily swappable, replaceable parts and seamless compatibility with other systems.
“You get goosebumps,” said Joseph Graf, a senior tech fellow at Collins, who helped lead the demonstration. “Events like this are where we show we can provide superior technology to the warfighter.”
The joint task force scenario centered on both the Army’s current and future helicopter fleet, and it demonstrated RTX’s expertise in integrating various systems including avionics, sensors, mission computers and fire-control systems.
What is MOSA?
The U.S. Army seeks technologies built through a strategy known as MOSA, or modular open systems approach. Its key advantages include:
Compatibilty
The open systems framework speeds up deployment of new capabilities to the field
Modernization
MOSA helps drive more frequent fleet upgrades easier and faster
Sustainment
MOSA can enable efficiency for upgrades, add-ons and training
The Army, and the Department of Defense overall, favors a modular open systems approach because it’s a faster and less expensive way to design new systems and bring new capabilities to existing platforms – regardless of which company built it. Eliminating so-called “vendor lock” is a major advantage.
“They need open system components,” Graf said. “There’s no room for a system that is completely proprietary.”
MOSA will help enable Future Vertical Lift – the Army’s effort to modernize and keep a technological edge across many platforms including next-generation rotorcraft, tiltrotors and other vertical lift systems.
“We are all in when it comes to MOSA, and we are leveraging the breadth and depth of RTX to bring the best capabilities to our warfighters.”
Joseph Graf | Senior Tech Fellow | Collins Aerospace
Graf, who is also the chief engineer for the FVL program at Collins, an RTX business, said adding MOSA’s concepts into the existing Army fleet in an incremental and affordable way are a top priority for the business.
The Army aims for MOSA to cover the complete weapons system from head to tail, touching all its associated components – from avionics and computers to aircraft structures and landing gear.
“It’s not a standard, it’s a framework to acquire new capabilities,” Graf said. “With the fast change of technology, they need a better way to keep up with the pace.”
MOSA is not a new idea, but the Army’s need to keep its fleet ready to take on adversaries is pushing the pace for its implementation.
In support of that push, Collins established the Customer Experience Center where the May demonstration took place as a MOSA “center of excellence.” Experts from across the company, along with industry partners, have held multiple demonstrations to show Army officials what’s possible through the MOSA approach – including the advantage of making many systems interoperable.
“We are all in when it comes to MOSA,” Graf said, “and we are leveraging the breadth and depth of RTX to bring the best capabilities to our warfighters.”
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