Modelling and Simulation Means Prizes: NATO MSaaS Jam 2023

Warfighter Podcast

In another first, the Warfighter Podcast are very pleased to be able to work with NATO Modelling and Simulation Working Group to cover their latest initiative - the MSaaS Jam, hosted at the Tech Grove, Orlando, Florida. For those that don’t know this is the spiritual home for Modelling & Simulation across the US DoD.

Over a weekend in June, teams were invited to a ‘hackathon’ style event, fed pizzas and Mountain Dew, and asked to develop a novel simulation service that is scalable, agile, and suitable for training or experimentation.

Teams could take part in person, or remotely as either a participant, SME or observer with the chance for teams to win $5,000. The top three teams were invited to present their solutions to the NATO MSaaS Working Group, as well as be featured at I/ITSEC 2023.

This interview was recorded in two parts, featuring Robert Seigfried (Co-Chair NATO Distributed Simulation Training), Chris J McGroarty from US Army DEVCOM and the winning team (AKA The Topography Troopers) from SimBlocks.io and ARA. Jordan Dauble from SimBlocks joins us in the second half to talk about the experience, and what it took to make the winning solution.

A fascinating initiative from NATO NMSG that sought to break down some of the innovation barriers and introduce new approaches and thinking to distributed simulation. We look forward to covering this event in the future!

Hosts:

• Tom Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/
• Colin Hillier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhillier/

Guests:

• Robert Seigfried: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-siegfried-aditerna/
• Chris J McGroarty: US Army DEVCOM
• Jordan Dauble: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-dauble/

Links:

• Website: https://www.warfighterpodcast.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/warfighter-digital/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkgiH-cwmyc2I2Iyc8MLYtg
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarfighterPod

Episode Sponsor: NATO NMSG

NATO and nations use simulation environments for various purposes, such as training, capability development, mission rehearsal, and decision support in acquisition processes or in operations.. Consequently, Modelling and Simulation (M&S) has become a critical capability for the Alliance. M&S products are highly valuable resources and it is essential that M&S products, data, and processes are conveniently accessible to a large number of users as often as possible. However, achieving interoperability between simulation systems and ensuring the credibility of results currently requires large efforts with regard to time, personnel, and budget.

Recent developments in cloud computing technology and service-oriented architectures offer opportunities to better utilise M&S capabilities in order to satisfy NATO's critical needs.

M&S as a Service (MSaaS) is a concept that includes service orientation and the provision of M&S applications via the as-a-service model of cloud computing to enable more composable simulation environments that can be deployed and executed on demand. The MSaaS paradigm supports stand-alone use as well as integration of multiple simulated and real systems into a unified cloud-based simulation environment whenever the need arises.