DOD interoperability group formed

Executives from 28 companies in the United States and Europe have pledged their intention to work together to build interoperable systems for the Defense Department and other government agencies. The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium, which includes Boeing Co., General Dynamics Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp., officially formed last month to work out standards and guidelines for seamless communications among all networked platforms. The group was formed because of a "cry for help" from the government, which needed aid in spelling out requirements for interoperable, network-centric systems, said Carl O'Berry, chairman of the consortium's executive council and vice president of strategic architecture at Boeing.