The US Navy is preparing to unveil a comprehensive open architecture framework designed to support a future family of modular naval missiles. This initiative aims to enable faster development cycles, cross-platform compatibility, and enhanced mission adaptability in response to evolving threats. The effort reflects broader Pentagon trends toward digital engineering and software-defined weapon systems.
Modular Missile Vision: A Strategic Pivot
The US Navy’s move toward a modular missile family aligns with its Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) concept and the Pentagon’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) vision. By creating a common interface standard—both physically and digitally—the Navy seeks to decouple missile payloads from launch platforms and allow rapid swapping or upgrading of components such as seekers, warheads, propulsion units, or datalinks.
This approach mirrors previous modularity efforts like the Army’s Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) and the Air Force’s WeaponONE program. In the naval context, it could streamline integration across vertical launch systems (VLS), deck-mounted canisters, unmanned surface vessels (USVs), or even future undersea platforms.
Rear Adm. Fred Pyle (Director of Surface Warfare Division N96) has emphasized that future missile families must be “software-adaptable” and “hardware-flexible,” allowing for quick reconfiguration based on mission needs—whether anti-ship strike, land attack, area denial or ISR support.
Key Programs Driving the Architecture
Several ongoing or planned programs are expected to serve as testbeds for this open architecture approach:
- Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment II (OASuW Inc II): This successor to the AGM-158C LRASM will likely incorporate modular guidance packages and propulsion options tailored for different ranges or threat environments.
- Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS): The Navy’s hypersonic weapon program aims for deployment aboard Zumwalt-class destroyers by FY2025. CPS is already leveraging digital design tools that could align with open standards.
- Next Generation Land Attack Weapon (NGLAW): Intended as a Tomahawk replacement post-2030s with multi-mission capabilities including electronic warfare payloads or loitering ISR modules.
- Standard Missile Evolution: SM-6 Block IB development includes dual-use capabilities against air-breathing threats and ballistic/hypersonic targets—an ideal candidate for plug-and-play sensor upgrades.
The goal is not just hardware reuse but also software portability—enabling AI-based targeting algorithms or EW countermeasures to be uploaded across different missile types without full recertification cycles.
Industry Role: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Among Key Players
The success of this initiative hinges on close industry collaboration. Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control has been actively promoting digital engineering pipelines that conform with DoD open standards like FACE (Future Airborne Capability Environment) and SOSA (Sensor Open Systems Architecture). Raytheon Missiles & Defense has similarly invested in reconfigurable electronics architectures through programs like SPY-6 radar integration and Excalibur munition evolution.
Boeing Phantom Works has also shown interest in adaptable missile airframes via its work on DARPA’s LongShot UCAV-launched missile demonstrator. Northrop Grumman’s experience with modular payload bays in MQ-4C Triton UAVs may also provide transferable lessons.
A key challenge remains establishing authoritative interface control documents (ICDs) early in design cycles so that vendors can develop interchangeable components without proprietary lock-in—a recurring problem in legacy munitions programs.
C4ISR Integration and Digital Backbone
A critical enabler of this modularity push is robust C4ISR integration. The Navy aims to ensure that all new missiles can seamlessly plug into existing battle management networks such as Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), Link-16/22 datalinks, Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air (NIFC-CA), and emerging Project Overmatch frameworks under JADC2.
This requires standardizing not only physical connectors but also message formats, encryption protocols, GPS-denied navigation aids like inertial/GNSS fusion engines or celestial nav modules—all while maintaining cyber resiliency against EW threats from near-peer adversaries like China or Russia.
The use of containerized software modules running on secure real-time operating systems would allow updates via over-the-air patches—a major leap from today’s firmware-bound missile logic units that require depot-level maintenance for even minor changes.
Operational Implications Across Domains
If successfully implemented at scale by the early-to-mid 2030s timeframe, this open architecture blueprint could fundamentally reshape how naval forces deploy kinetic effects:
- Sustainability: Common parts reduce logistics burden across carrier strike groups or amphibious ready groups operating far from supply hubs.
- Mosaic Warfare: Smaller vessels—including unmanned platforms—could carry customized loadouts without needing unique fire control suites per weapon type.
- Aggressive Upgrades: Rapid iteration cycles would allow fielding of new seekers or warheads within months instead of years—a crucial advantage against fast-evolving A2/AD zones like South China Sea littorals.
- Interoperability: NATO allies adopting similar standards could share munitions stockpile burdens more effectively during coalition operations under STANAG-aligned protocols.
Toward Implementation: Challenges Ahead
The path forward involves multiple hurdles—not least bureaucratic inertia within acquisition offices accustomed to platform-centric development models. Budgetary alignment between PEO IWS (Integrated Warfare Systems), PEO USC (Unmanned Surface Combatants), NAVAIRSYSCOM and DARPA will be vital to avoid stovepiped solutions masquerading as “open.”
The upcoming Surface Navy Association symposium in early January is expected to showcase preliminary interface specifications under discussion between Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) engineers and industry partners. A draft Modular Missile Interface Standard Document may be released by mid-2025 pending internal review by OPNAV N9/N96 stakeholders.
A Transformational Moment?
If realized as envisioned, the US Navy’s open architecture missile family could mark a generational shift akin to what VLS did in the Cold War era—turning every ship into a multi-role arsenal platform. But unlike VLS alone, this effort extends into software-defined lethality where code agility matters as much as explosive yield. Whether Congress supports sustained funding through FY2026–2030 will determine whether this blueprint becomes reality—or remains an elegant concept paper shelved amid competing priorities like SSN(X) procurement or Columbia-class SSBN recapitalization.
