The Computer Family Architecture Project: Service Perspectives and Overview

Standardization of digital computers used in tactical military systems has many potential benefits-simplification of training and logistics, economy in production, and reduced software development costs, to name a few. To realize these benefits, the Army-Navy Computer Family Architecture (CFA) Project seeks to define a family of military computers at varied levels of performance, software-compatible with each other and with an existing, successful computer. Such a family would overcome the difficulties encountered with past military standard computers, which have not generally been compatible in this way. Suppliers of the new family would be free to introduce new technology and new concepts of implementation, consistent with the specifications of the family. Thus, standardization on an existing instruction set architecture offers advantages beyond those conferred by standardization on a number of incompatible black boxes.