Towards a new NATO certification capability for HLA interoperability

The integration of distributed simulations and tools into interoperable federations is a complex and time consuming task requiring extensive testing of individual components, interfaces and the integrated solution. To support this task, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) relies on standards and agreements on their use. The Allied Modelling and Simulation Publication “NATO M&S Standards Profile” (AMSP-01) provides a list of recommended M&S related standards and best practices. Efficient interoperability using the HLA (High Level Architecture) standards requires compliance with a shared reference data exchange model (Federation Object Model), a federation agreement and the ability to certify conformance. The modular RPR FOM (Real-time Platform Reference FOM) and the more recent NETN FOM (NATO Education Training Network FOM) provide building blocks for creating federation agreements and FOMs. Prior to the arrival of the HLA IEEE 1516-2010 standard, the United States provided to NATO and nations a tool for federate HLA certification at the API (Application Programming Interface) level and SOM (Simulation Object Model) conformance checking. This paper presents the current work of NMSG-134 (NATO Modelling Simulation Group) responsible for defining the new NATO distributed simulation certification process and tools. This includes the CONOPS (Concept of Operations), the design and development of the IVCT (Integration Verification & Certification Tool) and test cases for distributed simulation interoperability. The concept of capability badges will be introduced to capture the interoperability requirements, test cases sequencing and conformance statements.