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CMOSS Mounted Form Factor Brings Improved Networking on the Battlefield

July 8, 2024

Leonardo’s CMFF platform allows for plug-and-play 3U-VPX cards for increased capabilities.

What you’ll learn

Insight into the Leonardo DCS CMMF platform
What it means for the military
Potential applications

Leonardo DCS recently unveiled its new C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) Mounted Form Factor (CMFF) platform, bringing increased situational awareness and improved networking on the battlefield. The company’s modular open systems architecture (MOSA) platform allows for increased flexibility and advanced capabilities for converging select Army warfighting capabilities, including mission command, movement and maneuver and fires.

Leonardo’s CMFF system (Fig. 1) is a ruggedized, lightweight, open-architecture hardware system that’s designed to provide next-gen capabilities to future Army combat computer networking platforms. It allows users to insert plug-and-play networked 3U-VPX capability cards on the fly, including assured positioning navigation and timing (APNT), mission command applications, and multi-band software-defined radios (SDRs).

1. The Leonardo DCS CMOSS Mounted Formfactor platform comes equipped with plug-and-play capabilities for any number of 3U-VPX cards.

“We are excited to unveil this advanced system in support of an important Army network modernization initiative,” states Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business. “DRS has a proven 25-year track record of providing mission-critical tactical computers, and CMFF is the latest demonstration of our full commitment to that partnership and support of the Army modernization goals. We are focused on continuing to deliver the quality products that allow soldiers to execute their missions on the modern battlefield.”

Leonardo DCS’ CMFF computing platforms are employed throughout the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps ground combat and tactical wheeled vehicle fleets, enabling the execution of mission command, logistics tracking and fire control on today’s multi-domain battlefield. They’re also designed as a dependable mission-critical CMOSS capability system that warfighters can use to conduct large-scale combat operations without hesitation.

About the Author

Cabe Atwell | Technology Editor, Electronic Design

Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.

Engineer, Machinist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.

Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”

Cabe writes the Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.