MARITIME SIGINT ARCHITECTURE (MSA) TECHNICAL STANDARDS HANDBOOK (VER. 1.0) (23 AUG 1999

MARITIME SIGINT ARCHITECTURE (MSA) TECHNICAL STANDARDS HANDBOOK (VER. 1.0) (23 AUG 1999)., The Maritime SIGINT Architecture Technical Standards Handbook (MSH) provides essential information for acquisition managers, engineers and other individuals responsible for acquiring, developing or modernizing tactical Maritime SIGINT Systems (MSS). Collaboratively developed by elements of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the National Security Agency, it is the first effort by the maritime partners to establish cohesive standards for their tactical SIGINT systems. Consistent with the Joint Technical Architecture and the Unified Cryptologic Architecture (UCA), the MSH bridges the standards gap between the tactical maritime Services and the national SIGINT community. It provides a technical foundation for the interoperability and seamless flow of information between tactical and national SIGINT systems, as well as among tactical SIGINT systems and their host Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems. It constitutes both the cryptologic subset of the Naval C4ISR Technical Architecture and the maritime component of the UCA Technical Architecture. Moreover, it is the technical complement of the Maritime Cryptologic Architecture's (MCA) Operational View and, in its next iteration, will become the MCA's Technical View. The MSH contains common standards and specifications which will reduce development costs, facilitate the leveraging of SIGINT functionality across maritime programs, and increase interoperability between them. More specifically, it: · Identifies and mandates minimum standards and technical guidelines for MSS · Determines essential data formats and protocols · Selects and defines standards to migrate MSS to an open systems environment · Incorporates new and emerging standards to keep pace with technology Use of the MSH by acquisition managers and system developers will greatly facilitate attainment of Department of Defense objectives for interoperability, connectivity and modernization among tactical SIGINT systems.