New CMOSS Chassis, Plug-in-Card Prototypes in Development for Army Vehicles

March 1, 2026

The U.S. Army has selected two companies to develop prototype chassis and plug-in-cards for aviation and ground vehicles. The selection is the Army’s latest milestone accomplishment in an effort to feature Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) -aligned embedded computing systems across all of the new investments it makes in technology upgrades for new and legacy vehicles.

In a program update posted in September 2025, the Army selected General Dynamics Mission Systems and Pacific Defense as the lead developers for new C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) Mounted Form Factor prototypes. CMOSS is a set of standards developed by the U.S. Army to guide the design of embedded computing networks featured on Army vehicles.

The CMFF chassis is designed fit in any vehicle or platform and collapses several different capabilities (APNT, Radio, EW) into one system featuring individual slots where 3U VPX processor cards can be inserted and upgraded rapidly with a variety of capabilities. (Image Credit: U.S. Army, General Dynamics)

The standards outline the design of a common central rugged computing chassis that is wired for power and networking. This common chassis design features slots where plug-in-cards configured for various position, navigation and timing (PNT) applications are inserted to enable electronic applications for an aircraft or vehicle. Tactical communications, data sharing between vehicles, and waypoint-to-waypoint navigation are examples of some of the applications the chassis and cards can enable.

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Networks (PEO C3N) selected General Dynamics and Pacific Defense for two separate Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Prototype Other Transactional Authority (OTA) agreements. Under the agreements, each company will develop prototype CMFF chassis — known as the Mounted Common Infrastructure (MCI) — the plug-in-cards and a smart display or tablet to interface with the chassis.

C5ISR/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) cards are embedded with networked capabilities such as Positioning, Navigation and Timing, mission command applications, or radio waveforms, which can be inserted into a common ruggedized chassis inside a tactical vehicle. This approach provides a plug-and-play alternative to custom-installing and upgrading individual communications systems, with significant size, weight and power savings. This image shows an example of a CMOSS chassis with cards developed by Curtiss Wright and previously evaluated by the Army during a 2021 demonstration held at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey. (Image: U.S. Army)

Ultimately, the PEO C3N goal for the adoption of the CMFF chassis and plug-in-card architecture in Army vehicles is to optimize the size, weight and overall amount of embedded networking infrastructure necessary to perform PNT applications. On a fighter jet for example, instead of having a separate individual computer for all of the communications, navigation and surveillance systems, each of these functions can be enabled by one of the PNT cards inside the chassis.

PEO C3N’s prototyping decision comes several months after the Army officially established CMOSS Mounted Form Factor as a program of record last year, making the announcement in an April 2025 press release.

“CMFF Mounted Common Infrastructure will transform how we modernize platforms going forward,” said Col. Shermoan Daiyaan, Project Manager for Mission Command at C3N, regarding the program of record announcement. “It will foster many of the Army’s imperatives to reduce integration challenges and outpace emerging threats.”

This is the RCH9140VP, a 14-slot chassis aligned with the SOSA, CMOSS, and OpenVPX family of MOSA technical standards. The RCH9140VP is the latest addition to Pacific Defense’s front-loading chassis family, designed for high-performance, and multi-function processing. The RCH9140VP is a fully open SOSA/CMOSS-aligned chassis that enables rapid implementation of a wide range of mission capabilities, including a near-term deployment for a U.S. Army Program of Record. (Image: Pacific Defense)

Now that Pacific Defense and General Dynamics have been selected as the lead CMFF/CMOSS systems integrators, PEO C3N leadership will validate the prototypes through a series of lab and field-reduction-based events, operational demonstrations and soldier touchpoints. Future integration efforts will include “excursion” within the 4th Infantry Division’s fielding of the Next Generation Command and Control ( NGC2 ) prototype technology stack.

Pacific Defense outlined some of the next steps for its participation in the program in an announcement about the Army’s CMFF MCI selections last week. The company will deliver its first CMFF prototype systems to the Army next month. Those prototypes will be used to support soldier experimentation, software integration, and user interface development leading to full airborne and ground vehicle-mounted soldier evaluations in 2026. Pacific Defense has also added several industry partners to its CMFF MCI development team, including Thales Defense & Security Inc., BAE Systems, Palantir, MAXISIQ, Regal Technology Partners, and STC.

“We look forward to working with the Army to accelerate user adoption, production, and fielding of this critical, strategic technology in light of recent decisions to re-architect and rapidly re-capitalize Command and Control across echelons,” said Travis Slocumb, CEO of Pacific Defense. “Our CMFF MCI core technology enables EW/SIGINT, robust secure transport and networking, high performance tactical edge compute, APNT, and many C2 applications today with easily provisioned plug and play of cards and software into a variety of existing CMOSS chassis products.”

Pacific Defense has continued to introduce new MOSA-aligned technologies since receiving the Army vehicle CMOSS contract. One of its newest MOSA-aligned technologies is this ultra-wideband Software-Defined Radio (SDR) transceiver designed for demanding Electronic Warfare (EW), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), radar, and cyber missions. The 3U OpenVPX plug-in card is aligned with SOSA™, CMOSS, and OpenVPX MOSA standards and supports frequencies up to 18 GHz with 1 GHz of instantaneous analog bandwidth, as well as narrower, digitally processed bandwidth options for mission-tailored performance in size, weight and power-constrained environments. (Image: Pacific Defense)

Separately, General Dynamics also provided some details on the technology it will provide for the program. According to a company press release, General Dynamics is developing a CMOSS system designed to fit within the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) radio space of any vehicle or platform. The chassis features individual slots where 3U VPX processor cards can be inserted to provide PNT, radio and EW capabilities.

“This award allows for the rapid fielding of new, best-of breed capability by using field-swappable, commercial open-standard boards for computing, radio, position, navigation, and timing, electronic warfare, and cryptological capabilities,” said Scott Dunderdale, General Dynamics Mission Systems Vice President and General Manager for Land and Air Systems. “The system has already run with boards from more than 20 different vendors, including Abaco, Behlman Electronics, and Pacific Defense, with many more to come. The Army can now continuously develop, test and field capability in DevSecOps mode.”

This article was written by Woodrow Bellamy III, Senior Editor, SAE Media Group (New York, NY).