As the United States (US) Department of Defense continues to implement the concept of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), our simulation tools must focus on solutions that enable rapid and continuous integration of all domains of warfare in a multi-national context. As the focus of national strategies turns to Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO), our technical requirements evolve towards the need for scalable tools that are accessible by a large number of users in a distributed environment. To that end, the US Army is exploring how the concept of Modeling and Simulation (M&S) as a Service (MSaaS) can meet this need through the ability to enable more flexible simulation environments that can be deployed and executed on-demand.
This paper discusses insights gained through collaborations within the US Army, with the US Air Force and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) M&S Group (NMSG) – 195 “MSaaS Phase 3”. It details how: 1) the concept of Sensor as a Service provides broad applicability and availability across numerous Army M&S Communities, including Acquisition, Experimentation and Test and Evaluation; 2) the One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) program office has implemented a Perception Service that allows simulations to share high fidelity modeled components as a registered provider and consumer of those models within the Bifrost server; and, 3) the US Air Force Advanced Framework for Simulation, Integration and Modeling (AFSIM) can operate in an MSaaS environment through a demonstration that includes Electronic Warfare sensors, attached to an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) platform, interoperating with OneSAF ground forces, in an MDO environment. Finally, we discuss how these excursions are both benefiting from, and informing, NMSG-195 in order to mature MSaaS to meet the technical requirements being driven by the need to simulate LSCO.
Keywords
DISTRIBUTED, MODELING, SIMULATIONS
Additional Keywords
Modeling and Simulation as a Service, Multi-Domain Operations, Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO), Distributed Simulation, Coalition Interoperability