The Aircraft/Store Common Interface Control Document Format 2004-01-3146

Military operations in the last two decades have shown deficiencies in weapons interoperability not only between the forces of different nations, but often, between the individual forces within a single nation. Due to the increased functionality and operational flexibility of modern weaponry (e.g. all-weather capability, multi mode, network centric operation, etc.), the integration of new weapons and modern aircraft is more complex, takes longer, and is more expensive. This during a period when national defense budgets are being reduced. For several years, the desire of having plug and play aircraft/weapons, comparable to the plug and play concepts of modern commercial computer operating system software, has been under discussion. This paper discusses SAE AS5609 Aircraft/ Store Common Interface Control Document Format, regarded as an important stepping-stone towards the plug and play aircraft/weapons concept.