How the Navy Can Use Open Systems Architecture to Revolutionize Capability Acquisition: The Naval OSA Strategy Can Yield Multiple Benefits

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) has launched a series of Better Buying Power (BBP) initiatives to acquire dominant capabilities that emphasize technical excellence and innovation (http://bbp.dau.mil). To achieve the goals of BBP, the Navy is applying an Open Systems Architecture (OSA) strategy that promotes open competition, cost control, innovation, and the rapid replacement and upgrade of capabilities to address warfighter needs (Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition [ASN(RDA)], 2012). Given the expense of defense acquisition programs coupled with budget limitations stemming from a fiscally constrained environment OSA is a timely strategy. This paper describes how the Navy can shift its efforts toward open architectures that can be (1) defined and managed by government/industry consortia and (2) used across multiple air, surface, and/or subsurface platforms, instead of allowing vendors to lock the Navy into proprietary platforms or even contractor-/vendor0specific open architectures.