A worldwide standards-making body for the protocols and interfaces that make networking between aerospace companies easier is expected to launch next month, but Lockheed Martin already plans to abstain.
The industry consortium is being pushed into being largely by Boeing, which has offered its internally developed Strategic Architecture Reference Model as the starting point for making industry standards, says Carl O'Berry, Boeing vice-president for strategic architecture. The consortium's membership will be open to all regardless of nationality, although data-sharing licences are still being cleared by US authorities, says O'Berry.
The consortium will be organised into three tiers of membership, but the standards will be made available to non-members.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has no plans to join the consortium, and prefers to let the US military's standards-making process take the lead, according to a company source.
Source: Flight International
