The new vision for modeling and simulation in the DoD acquisition process

New DoD and Air Force directives have changed the Acquisition and Test Process. The new DoDD 5000.1 was signed on 15 Mar 96 by OUSD(A&T) and explicitly requires virtual prototypes for all weapons systems. The Air Force directives, such as the EW Test and Evaluation Process (AFMan 99-112), include a requirement to create a digital representation of the system under development (Digital System Model) that must be updated and maintained throughout the life cycle of the system. The Digital System Model (DSM) is essentially a virtual prototype of the real world system under development. In general, a virtual prototype allows the engineer to see the impact of design changes and engineering trade studies using the model can then be performed throughout development as an essential part of the systems engineering process. To implement these acquisition changes, the Air Force envisions an integrated, common modeling and simulation (M&S) environment that will be accessed by analysts, warfighters, developers, and testers supporting the range of Air Force tasks, from determining requirements through conducting operations. Joint M&S standards such as Joint Modeling and Simulation System (JMASS), Joint Simulation System (JSIMS), Joint Warfighting Simulation (JWARS), and DoD High Level Architecture (HLA) will provide key advanced technologies for future simulation applications. This paper summarizes trends in the new vision for M&S and in the simulation technology that can be employed to implement the simulation systems of the future