While only mandated for US Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs, Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) is influencing global aerospace and defense trends. Its core principles of modular design, open standards, and severable hardware and software components help facilitate technology refresh without complete system redesign, extending the operating life of many military systems.
As an organization for open standards, PICMG is a strategic enabler of MOSA, supporting component interoperability across well-defined architectures that serve multiple layers of modularity. Moreover, PICMG’s wide ecosystem of partners reduces vendor lock-in and enhances competition in line with MOSA’s desired outcomes.
One of the longest-standing PICMG open standards is CompactPCI, a modular backplane architecture used in highly integrated aerospace and defense applications, including C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), electronic warfare (EW), signals intelligence (SIGINT), unmanned vehicles, and tactical computers. However, evolving size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints are shifting design approaches for some projects.
Computer-on-modules (COMs) offer compact board-on-board integration methods that separate central compute from application-specific circuitry. When combined with open standards, COM-based design can ease processor replacement as requirements evolve, with minimal changes to carrier systems—making it well aligned with MOSA.
PICMG’s COM-HPC open standard offers modular high-performance computing with high-speed connectivity, large thermal budgets, and heterogeneous processing options that help support demanding military use cases. This article will highlight some of the COM-HPC solutions PICMG exhibited at the 2026 MOSA Industry & Government Summit & Expo and explore how traditional backplane ecosystems continue to advance.
COM-HPC Platforms at MOSA Summit 2026
COM-HPC offers several standard module sizes, ranging from the larger Server Size E, which measures 200 × 160 mm, to smaller modules that retain high computing performance within SWaP-conscious form factors. The SECO SOM-COM-HPC-A-TGL-H, for example, is a Client Size A solution that offers 11th Gen Intel® Xeon® W-11000E Series, Core™ vPro®, and Celeron® processor families (codename: Tiger Lake-H) within a 95 × 120-mm footprint.
Shown in Figure 1, SOM-COM-HPC-A-TGL-H features up to eight full-performance CPU cores with high boost clock frequencies to support latency-sensitive tasks such as machine vision. In addition, integrated Iris Xe Graphics supports up to four independent displays—ideal for multi-display vehicle control systems, for example—with up to 32 execution units (EU) providing GPU resources that can accelerate parallel processing workloads.
Figure 1: The SECO SOM-COM-HPC-A-TGL-H COM-HPC Client Size A module. (Image source: SECO)
With two DDR4-3200 SODIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB capacity and two SATA Gen3 channels, SOM-COM-HPC-A-TGL-H can accommodate ample memory and storage resources to support data processing and logging. A wide range of connectivity options, including multiple USB, serial, GPIO, and NBase-T Ethernet interfaces, enable complex systems to be built through appropriate carrier design.
To support ease of use, SOM-COM-HPC-A-TGL-H offers flexible software integration based on Windows, Linux, WindRiver, and Android operating systems (OSes). However, one of SECO’s key differentiators is its Clea software ecosystem, which provides an industrial-grade modular software architecture based on the Yocto Project. With Clea, developers can streamline edge-to-cloud integration and support essential functions such as over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Another product on show was the congatec conga-HPC/mRLP, a COM-HPC Mini module that offers a smaller 95 × 70-mm footprint and a hybrid core architecture through 13th Gen Intel Core processors (codename: Raptor Lake-P). Multiple Intel Performance-cores and Efficient-cores allow developers to optimize workloads for greater energy efficiency, which can be important for battery-powered field devices such as drones and their controllers. This module is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: The congatec conga-HPC/mRLP COM-HPC Mini module. (Image source: congatec)
Despite its size, conga-HPC/mRLP still integrates a wide range of interfaces and Iris Xe Graphics with up to 96 EU. Unlike the SECO Client Size A module, however, memory is soldered down, eliminating socketed memory connections that may be less reliable in shock- and vibration-prone environments.
congatec offers its own differentiators for COM-HPC integration into MOSA-aligned projects. Multiple standard cooling solutions, including passive heat sinks, low-profile heatspreaders, and active fan-driven options, help manage the thermal load of conga-HPC/mRLP’s high-performance processors while supporting SWaP optimization.
In addition, congatec’s conga-zones hypervisor provides a framework through which developers can consolidate multiple operating systems and run them in isolation on a single COM. This, for example, can help prevent unrelated processing workloads from interfering with real-time control workloads on the same processor.
COM-HPC Design and the Future of the Standard
In real-world COM-HPC projects, engineers often need support and reliable methods for custom carrier board design. PICMG’s comprehensive COM-HPC Carrier Design Guide (Rev 2.2) helps engineers understand pinout and interface differences between module sizes, high-speed signal path and interface design, and mechanical design considerations.
The COM-to-carrier interface is also key for accessing the high-speed, high-bandwidth functionality of COM-HPC modules. Samtec offers 400-pin COM-HPC connectors based on its AcceleRate® HP High-Performance Arrays. Gold-contact terminal and socket options include column or ball termination as well as 5 mm or 10 mm stack heights to accommodate different mechanical requirements, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: The Samtec COM-HPC AcceleRate® HP connectors. (Image source: Samtec)
Samtec has also designed these connectors to serve emerging high-bandwidth interfaces, including PCIe 5.0 and 6.0, 25 GbE, and 40 Gbps USB4/Thunderbolt. With a new technical working group already established for COM-HPC 1.4, PICMG also aims to address future requirements for high-end edge AI and IoT, robotics, and machine vision, all of which have potential applications in increasingly autonomous defense systems.
How CompactPCI Continues to Serve Modern Aerospace and Defense
While MOSA is heavily aligned towards equipment modernization, it does not inherently require established open architectures to be replaced. Existing infrastructure can therefore be retained where it remains suitable. Since CompactPCI still plays a valuable role in aerospace and defense, X-ES is bringing contemporary processing and security capabilities to established systems with its XCalibur4702 CompactPCI single-board computer (SBC), shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: The X-ES XCalibur4702 CompactPCI SBC. (Image source: X-ES)
Designed for high-bandwidth, low-power ruggedized systems, XCalibur4702 offers Intel Xeon® D-1700 series processors (codename: Ice Lake-D) in a 6U form factor. These multicore platforms are supported by up to 48 GB of DDR4 ECC SDRAM along with 32 GB of SLC NAND flash. XCalibur4702 also features multiple 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, USB, and serial ports for application interfacing through front panel and backplane connections.
In addition to high-performance computing resources, XCalibur4702 includes advanced hardware security features. X-ES integrates its SecureCOTS™ technology with a Microchip PolarFire® SoC FPGA, enabling anti-tamper measures and protections against manipulation, intellectual property copying, and reverse engineering. Furthermore, it supports secure data declassification and sanitization requirements for many defense applications.
Extending Modular I/O with QMC
MOSA and SWaP-conscious design also encourage system architects to combine modular technologies developed by different standards organizations. QMC, for example, is a new, ultra-compact mezzanine card standard overseen by VITA. Specialized carrier and bridge modules enable system architects to add an additional layer of QMC modularity to existing VITA and PICMG ecosystems. A CompactPCI Serial carrier board with multiple QMC mezzanine sites has already been developed by TEWS Technologies, who shared several QMC solutions at the show.
The TEWS Technologies TQMC400 provides a useful illustration of how QMC can offer SWaP-optimized interface integration to MOSA-aligned projects. Shown in Figure 5, TQMC400 measures just 26 × 78.25 mm and features four UART channels with programmable RS232, RS422, or RS485 serial interfaces, enabling connections to a wide range of equipment, including navigation devices, distributed sensors, and control subsystems.
Figure 5: The TEWS Technologies TQMC400 QMC module. (Image source: TEWS Technologies)
Each interface channel supports baud rates up to 20 Mbps (1 Mbps for RS232) and software-selectable 120 Ω termination. With a -40°C to +85°C operating temperature range and MTBF specified at 3,070,000 hours, depending on the product variant, TQMC400 is well suited to the harsh deployment conditions and reliability requirements of tactical equipment.
Conclusion
MOSA’s emphasis on modularity and open design provides an increasingly collaborative landscape for defense and aerospace development. PICMG’s wide range of open standards provides a foundation on which system architects can build equipment that supports technology refresh as requirements change. COM-HPC is bringing high-performance edge computing to SWaP-constrained systems, with embedded experts like SECO, congatec, and Samtec assisting COM-HPC adoption and future-ready design.
Still, existing architectures continue to play an important role in MOSA-aligned defense and aerospace projects. Companies such as X-ES and TEWS Technologies demonstrate how established backplane and modular I/O technologies are evolving to meet modern edge processing and SWaP requirements. Furthermore, they demonstrate how new capabilities can be introduced into established modular architectures without complete platform replacement.