Challenges of Model Interoperation in Military Simulations

Abstract

The need for interoperability between different military simulation systems is growing fast, as the complexity of modern war fighting rises above the handling capacity of monolithic models. The development of consistent model federations has therefore become as important as the development of new (interoperable) models. However, complex military simulation systems belong to the class of model-based information systems, and the paramount aspects of such information systems are abstraction and idealization from reality. Experiments with the high-resolution combat simulation system, COSIMAC, and some modules implementing basic command and control functionality have shown that there are pressing challenges for coupling model-based information systems above the currently manageable levels. The results of this contribution indicate that technical, syntactic, and obvious semantic (lexicographic) coupling preconditions are not sufficient to guarantee a successful interaction.