A Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) is a major force multiplier – until it is not.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) is not employing the concept as effectively as it could, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
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MOSA is a strategy for designing an adaptable system that allows the user to add or replace parts over time – often called ‘plug-and-play’. The approach allows for the integration of different subsystems made by different suppliers, even foreign companies, to operate together in one flexible suite.
This is useful as it allows the US Armed Forces to bring together different weapon systems and adapt the suite to specific mission objectives.
However, from its assessment of 20 acquisition programmes, the GAO found that the government does not consistently coordinate design decisions across its portfolio. This means that the US military may miss opportunities to save money by sharing common parts across different programmes.
“Until they do this,” the GAO advised, “programmes risk having insufficient resources and expertise to achieve the potential benefits of a MOSA.”
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By GlobalDataProtocol for MOSAs
Given the new government’s agenda to slash federal costs and improve efficiency under President Donald Trump, along with his controversial pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, these potential losses will rouse dismay with the previous administration.
That being said, on 17 December 2024, just over a month before Trump succeeded, a memo was distributed among Service Acquisition Executives (SAEs) and Program Executive Officers relating to improving MOSA.
The document called on officials to determine what existing MOSA architectures are currently shared between different Services and what can be done to increase MOSA sharing among them.
“Within 60 days of this memorandum, each SAE will identify and report… on any MOSA architecture that is currently shared between two or more Services; this report will also identify operational military imperative capabilities that can be or are being jointly developed and transitioned.”
It could be said that Trump’s protectionist policy of imposing tariffs on foreign goods may hinder the agile acquisition of innovative weapons systems from allied nations. This was the foremost concern of the previous US Defense Secretary, Lloyd J. Austin, who argued there is no safe retreat from today’s interwoven world.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US think tank, suggests “MOSA will serve as the chief entry point for international partnerships” on programmes of US interest, such as the Collaborative Combat Air programme to field at least 1,000 affordable uncrewed aerial systems.
“Partner nations can contribute to it and its associated standards to create a pathway toward a global standard,” CSIS observed.
