The new High Level Architecture (HLA) has been designated
the technical architecture for all simulations in the Department
of Defense.
It represents a major step in the implementation of the DoD-
wide Common Technical Framework for modeling and simulation,
which is being established to increase the interoperability and
reuse of simulations, said Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Technology Paul Kaminski who recently signed the
memorandum. CTF will also provide greater simulation capability
and cost-effectiveness.
Advanced modeling and simulation techniques will afford the
opportunity to integrate a wide mix of computer simulations,
actual warfighting systems and weapon system simulators. The
resultant system-of-systems will provide geographically
distributed users -- warfighters, weapon systems developers, and
operations analysts -- a synthetic environment with realistic
interactions and results. By providing a means for simulations
to be developed from modular components with well-defined
functionality and interfaces, and by providing a common method
for documentation of simulation entities and their interactions,
the HLA gives DoD the tools necessary to facilitate
interoperability among functionally different simulations, and to
reuse simulation components.
The decision comes after an 18-month effort by DoD's 16-
member Architecture Management Group (AMG), under the leadership
of the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO), to develop
and test the Baseline Definition of the HLA for simulation. The
HLA is the cornerstone of the Common Technical Framework,
prescribed in the Modeling and Simulation Master Plan (DoD
5000.59-P, dated October 1995). After AMG approval in August,
the HLA Baseline Definition was presented to the DoD Executive
Council for Modeling and Simulation (EXCIMS), which endorsed it
earlier this month.
The HLA baseline is defined by versions 1.0 of the HLA
Rules, the HLA Interface Specification, and the HLA Object Model
Template. The key features of the HLA were refined through an
extensive prototyping process involving hundreds of participants
from across the DoD modeling and simulation community. Industry
provided roughly half of the participants, with the remainder
coming from government, federally funded research and development
centers, and academia.
Prototype Runtime Infrastructure (RTI) software was used to build and
operate prototype federations using the HLA, fostering a high degree of
confidence in the feasibility and utility of the various functions called
for in the HLA specification. Plans are in place to continue development
of this supporting software and to make it widely available to the DoD
modeling and simulation community in early FY 97. In addition to the RTI,
a number of other software support tools are envisioned, to include automated
tools for developing required HLA object models and for testing compliance
with the HLA.
The three defining documents of the HLA, along with
supporting documentation and briefings, are available for viewing
and downloading through the
DMSO Home Page on the World Wide Web (https://www.dmso.mil/).
News media are invited to a HLA roundtable with Dr. Anita
Jones, director of research and engineering, Office of the
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, and Navy
Capt. James Hollenbach, director, Defense Modeling and Simulation
Office, Monday, Sept. 23, 1996, 4:30 p.m. (EDT), in room 2E776,
the Pentagon.
