scope:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The NATO Industrail Advisoury Group Sub Group 52 (NIAG/SG-52) was to conduct a study of which one principal area was to compile a catalogue of operational information that is communicated between NATO Naval Combat System equipment (a Generic Message Catalogue). This study was conducted in two phases: the first phase was addressed the Shipboard Open Systems Environment and the information communicated within a surface Naval Combat System via a Local Area Network; the second phase addressed Naval Combat System (NCS) Architecture Design Principles Standardization, and extended the concept of the Generic Message Catalogue to include ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore information exchange. The Information Catalogue was further developed to aid in the design and integration of shipboard systems and to include performance indicators. These studies were performed under the guidance and advice of Naval Group 5 (NG/5).

A principal effort of this study was to develop common definitions of the information processed within a Naval Combat System. The compatibility, interoperability, and successful integration of the application functions of a Combat System depends critically upon a common understanding and definition of the information passed between them.