DDS in defense
The Data Distribution Service for Real-Time Distributed Systems (DDS) is a standard with a long success history in the defense sector. Since its inception in 2004, DDS has been adopted by many Armies worldwide because of its performance and deterministic behavior, with notable examples in the USA, UK, and Spain and, in general, in NATO countries.
Its success has led to the creation of many mandatory DDS-based defense specifications for interoperability among the different C2 systems and vehicle platforms in those countries. These specifications define both the data model and the DDS configuration settings, also called quality of service (QoS). Some important examples are
C2 Interoperability:
Many defense C2 systems are using DDS as their internal middleware, but also some countries have mandated and standardized the use of DDS for C2 interoperability, such as Spain with its Tactical Data Interface (specification not available to the general public). This specification defines a data model based on the MIP JC3IEDM data model and the different DDS QoS Settings for various data links (tactical radios, satellite, and ethernet), enabling interoperability of a complete set of C2 services (video streaming, file distribution, tactical messaging, Units, alarms, facilities, obstacles, and tactical lines).
Vehicle Architectures:
- Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA). The UK MoD GVA (DEF STAN 23-09) requires DDS
- Land Open Systems Architecture (LOSA). The UK MoD GVA is part of LOSA and therefore requires DDS.
- NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture (NGVA). The NATO version of the GVA (NGVA) standard (STANAG 4754) requires DDS.
- Australian Generic Vehicle Architecture (AS GVA)
- Spanish GVA (also known as platform data interface, specification not available to the general public)
Airborne Architectures:
- The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE). DDS is part of all FACE-certified conformant Services Segment (TSS).
- The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA). SOSA has adopted the FACE TSS for its transport layer.
Navy Architectures:
- Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture (UMAA): an initiative to promote the development of common, modular, and scalable software for Unmanned Maritime Vehicles (UMVs), used by the US Navy.
Equipment Architectures:
- Tactical Microgrid Communications and Control (MIL-STD-3071). This standard establishes the communication and control interface requirements for Tactical Microgrids (TMGs) to enable TMG components to operate as a single entity to provide electricity in a tactical environment.
Why eProsima?
eProsima gained much experience in Defense and other Critical Applications over the years.
One classic example of a defense application is the Command and Control (C2) system. eProsima has been providing middleware services and DDS products for the Spanish Army C2 systems for the last 15 years, including helping to design the data model and the interoperability specification with other systems. These systems manage real-time information about military units, alarms, facilities, obstacles, etc., using data links ranging from Ethernet to tactical radios and satellite comms.
Another important customer using Fast DDS is the US Navy for their implementation of the UMAA standard (underwater autonomous vehicles).
Our direct experience with armies and navies has earned us the trust of defense providers, making our DDS products and services the top choice for their critical needs.
Examples of defense success cases:
- US Navy: UMAA uses Fast DDS
- Spanish Army: Fast DDS is used for C2 Interoperability and Vehicle architectures.
- iXblue uses eProsima Fast DDS in its new Forward Looking Sonar
- Hexagon & Airbus: Fast DDS for real-time maritime surveillance
Related use cases for critical applications:
- World's largest optical telescope opts for eProsima Fast DDS
- German railway giant Deutsche Bahn chooses eProsima middleware solutions
More information about eProsima, middleware and defense applications:
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