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FACE FAQs

FAQs

Q. What is the FACE Approach?
Q. Is the FACE approach only for airborne platforms?
Q. What is the FACE Consortium?
Q. Who can use FACE Consortium documents?
Q. What is the FACE Technical Standard?
Q. How do I get started developing to the FACE Technical Standard?
Q. What is the FACE Conformance Program?
Q. How do I specify FACE requirements in my acquisition?
Q. Does using the FACE approach require software suppliers to relinquish intellectual property?
Q. How do I know I'm using proper FACE terminology in a press release, article or product description?
Q. What do I do if my question is still unanswered?
Q. What is the key impetus for the FACE Consortium opening membership to these 4 countries?
Q. How will international expansion benefit the FACE Consortium overall?
Q. Is the FACE Technical Standard subject to Export regulations or does it contain any US-controlled information?
Q: Can a platform support multiple editions of the FACE Technical Standard?


Q. What is the FACE Approach?

The Future Airborne Capability Environment® approach, the FACE® approach, is a Government, industry and academia developed software standard and business strategy with the goals to:

  • Increase the affordability of capabilities
  • Improve time-to-field, delivering new capabilities faster

The FACE approach integrates technical and business practices that establish a standard common operating environment to support portable capabilities across software systems.

Additional information on the FACE approach can be found in the FACE Business Guide. The FACE Business Guide can be downloaded HERE.

Q. Is the FACE approach only for airborne platforms?

No, the FACE® approach and FACE Technical Standard are applicable to many environments. The FACE Technical Standard focuses on embedded military avionics applications.  Other domain experts have evaluated the standard and determined it can be applied beyond the military avionics domain in areas such as real time embedded, ground-based defense systems, industrial control, and enterprise environments. 

Q. What is the FACE Consortium?

The Open Group FACE® Consortium is a government, industry and academic partnership to define an open  software environment applicable to complex systems in multiple domains. The FACE Consortium provides a vendor-neutral forum for members to work together to consolidate open standards, best practices, guidance documents and business strategies.  To find out more details about the FACE Consortium, you can download the FACE Overview HERE.

Q. Who can use FACE Consortium documents?

Anyone can use published FACE® Consortium documentation free of charge.  The published FACE Consortium documents can be downloaded HERE.

For access to draft Consortium documents, you must be a member of the FACE Consortium.  More information about joining the Consortium is available HERE.

Q. What is the FACE Technical Standard?

The FACE® Technical Standard defines the software computing environment intended for the development of portable software components, including requirements for architectural segments and key interfaces.  The standard is comprised of five segments and three key interfaces.  It provides the benefits of interoperability, affordability, portability, increased competition and improved time-to-field. 

The FACE Technical Standard can be downloaded HERE.

Q. How do I get started developing to the FACE Technical Standard?

In addition to downloading and reading the FACE® Technical Standard, there are other references available for download, including the FACE Reference Implementation Guide (RIG).  The FACE RIG can be downloaded HERE.

Q. What is the FACE Conformance Program?

The FACE® Conformance Program defines the processes to verify, certify, and provide formal recognition that registered software meets the requirements of the FACE Technical Standard.  A software supplier can only claim that their product is "FACE Conformant" by successfully completing the FACE conformance process.  For more information on the FACE Conformance Program, please visit https://www.facesoftware.org/registry.  

Q. How do I specify FACE requirements in my acquisition?

The FACE® Consortium has published a Contract Guide to assist both government and industry partners in adding FACE requirements to their RFPs and other solicitations. The FACE Contract Guide can be downloaded HERE.

Q. Does using the FACE approach require software suppliers to relinquish intellectual property?

No, the FACE® approach and use of the FACE Technical Standard does not require a software supplier to relinquish their rights to intellectual property. For various scenarios on this topic, please refer to the FACE Business Guide 2.0 and the FACE Contract Guide.  Both documents can be downloaded HERE.

Q. How do I know I'm using proper FACE terminology in a press release, article or product description?

Please review our FACE® Trademark Usage Guidelines & Copyright Permissions document, which can be downloaded HERE.

Q. What do I do if my question is still unanswered?

Questions can be sent to ogface-admin@opengroup.org.

Q. What is the key impetus for the FACE Consortium opening membership to these 4 countries?

Our world is getting smaller and smaller. Cooperation between countries has increased including the development of standards. The United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD) is calling for more cooperation with allies.

Over the past several years, many organizations in these countries have inquired about joining the FACE Consortium. In addition, many existing FACE Consortium member organizations are international corporations, and have expressed a desire to enable their employees from other countries to participate. Since the US already has an alliance with these countries, the initial recommended international expansion was approved for this scope.

Note: We do acknowledge that while there is an existing intelligence alliance among these countries, this is simply a coincidence, and has no relevance on membership in The FACE Consortium.  

Q. How will international expansion benefit the FACE Consortium overall? 

International expansion broadens participation in the FACE Consortium, allowing a more diverse group of members to create and evolve FACE Consortium work products that benefit the expanded market. It also brings in new ideas and expertise, allowing current members to learn from new members and vice versa. The expectation is a new synergy within the FACE Consortium. 

Q. Is the FACE Technical Standard subject to Export regulations or does it contain any US-controlled information?  

Absolutely not! This is a common misunderstanding. The FACE Technical Standard is an open, non-proprietary specification that is publicly available without restrictive contracts, licensing terms, or royalties.

Q: Can a platform support multiple editions of the FACE Technical Standard?

A: Yes, a FACE Computing Environment supports one or more editions of the FACE Technical Standard. An upgrade to the FACE Computing Environment on a platform can enable the use of newer UoCs from newer editions of the FACE technical standard without effecting the conformance and airworthiness of most of the existing system.

Sponsor-Level Members

sponsors - Airforce LCMC sponsors - Lockheed Martin sponsors - Naval Air Systems Command sponsors - Program Executive Office Aviation sponsors - Collins Aerospace Joint Tactical Networking Center