Defence And Mission Support Interoperability Standards Matrix

This matrix maps public, high-level defence and mission-support standards or concepts to the nats-sinks support boundary. It is not a conformance claim and it does not reproduce controlled standards material.

nats-sinks remains a generic NATS JetStream sink framework. External gateways, protocol decoders, media decoders, C2 adapters, logistics adapters, enterprise gateways, and release authorities remain responsible for parsing, authorization, sanitization, redaction, release decisions, semantic validation, and source-domain behavior. nats-sinks persists approved normalized events, validates generic metadata, preserves custody evidence, routes to configured sinks, handles DLQs, and ACKs only after required durable sink success.

Status Categories

Category	Meaning
Supported today	Existing generic `nats-sinks` behavior that can be used without adding a protocol implementation.
External normalizer	Work that must happen before the event reaches JetStream.
Requires generic feature	Useful future project work that should remain reusable outside defence.
Out of scope	Work that should not be implemented in `nats-sinks` core or claimed by this documentation.

See External Normalizer / Adapter Boundary Contract for the normalized event contract used by the rows below.

Matrix

Standard or concept	Supported today	External normalizer / gateway responsibility	Requires generic feature	Intentionally out of scope and references
Link 16	Persist already-authorized, already-normalized events with metadata, idempotency, DLQ handling, custody evidence, and Oracle, file, spool, or other configured sinks.	Authorized tactical gateway or integration layer receives and normalizes Link 16-derived data before publishing to JetStream.	Additional generic metadata profiles or catalogue manifests when a programme needs stricter validation.	No radio functions, terminal behavior, cryptography, network participation, tactical validation, or message exploitation. See Link 16 / TADIL-J Normalized Event Contract.
STANAG 5516	Preserve normalized event custody when an approved gateway emits safe event envelopes.	STANAG-specific interpretation, validation, authorization, and release handling stay outside nats-sinks.	Generic profile registry, data-quality metadata, and artifact-reference profiles can support deployments that need stricter controls.	No STANAG implementation, field catalogue, gateway certification, or tactical interoperability claim.
MIL-STD-6016	Store approved normalized J-series-derived event records and metadata.	MIL-STD-6016 parsing, controlled semantics, redaction, and authorization are external.	Generic metadata validation can enforce deployment-approved envelope fields.	No MIL-STD-6016 parser, encoder, decoder, or controlled message semantics.
TADIL-J / J-series messages	Persist synthetic or approved normalized J-series-derived event envelopes.	Gateway converts authorized source content into bounded `message_family`, `message_name`, payload, and metadata fields.	Generic lineage and metadata profiles can improve queryability and validation.	No J-series field catalogue, tactical command logic, or classified examples. See Persisting Link 16 / TADIL-J J-Series Messages To Oracle Database.
VMF / Variable Message Format	Persist externally normalized VMF-derived events with stable IDs and metadata.	VMF gateway owns parsing, validation, authorization, and redaction.	Generic metadata profile registry and review package writer can support controlled review workflows without becoming a guard.	No VMF encoder, decoder, bearer protocol, tactical command, or fire-support implementation. See VMF / MIL-STD-6017 Normalized Event Contract.
MIL-STD-6017	Store approved normalized event envelopes produced by an external MIL-STD-6017-capable component.	Standards-specific message interpretation and controlled material handling remain external.	Generic object, artifact, and data-quality profiles can be applied to normalized records.	No reproduction of controlled MIL-STD-6017 content or K-series field catalogue.
K-series messages	Preserve custody of normalized K-series-derived event records.	External VMF adapter maps K-series-derived content into safe, synthetic or programme-approved fields.	Generic lineage query fields can help inspect stored records by source, event ID, or correlation ID.	No K-series parser, field catalogue, targeting workflow, or tactical procedure guidance.
MIL-STD-2045-47001	Public high-level context only where a VMF adapter needs to preserve header-boundary metadata in a normalized envelope.	Header parsing and bearer-specific validation stay in the VMF gateway.	Generic metadata fields can store safe source, correlation, and custody references.	No header parser, bearer implementation, transport behavior, or controlled header details.
STANAG 4609	Persist custody records for media segments and metadata references after external FMV processing.	External media pipeline demuxes, decodes, validates, and references video or metadata artifacts.	Artifact reference profile, review package writer, and S3-compatible sinks can support large-artifact custody.	No MPEG transport stream demuxer, video exploitation, targeting workflow, or real media data. See STANAG 4609 / MISB-FMV / KLV Custody.
SMPTE 336 KLV	Persist decoded metadata placeholders or packet references supplied by an approved decoder.	KLV parsing, validation, and semantic interpretation remain external.	Generic artifact reference and data-quality metadata can capture packet references and confidence.	No KLV parser, decoder, or field extraction in nats-sinks core.
MISB ST 0601	Store approved, already-decoded metadata fields or references.	MISB field decoding and validation are external.	Generic metadata profiles can validate bounded approved fields once a programme defines them.	No MISB ST 0601 decoder, field catalogue, or operational sensor data examples.
MISB-FMV	Preserve FMV custody events, artifact hashes, metadata references, and sink write evidence.	External FMV/KLV pipeline normalizes allowed metadata and creates artifact references.	Generic package writer and catalogue manifest export can support review and discovery workflows.	No FMV exploitation, target development, or mission video semantics.
MIP4-IES	Persist externally normalized C2 object custody events.	MIP-enabled service or adapter performs exchange, validation, schema mapping, and authorization.	Generic C2 object and relationship metadata profile supports reusable object custody.	No MIP4-IES endpoint, REST service, semantic validator, or coalition C2 service implementation. See MIP4-IES / MIM C2 Object Custody.
MIP Information Model / MIM	Store safe object profile names, versions, lineage fields, and source references.	MIM schema interpretation and mapping are handled by the external adapter.	Generic metadata profile registry can validate deployment-approved object fields.	No MIM schema reproduction, model implementation, or tactical object semantics.
Battlespace Objects / BSO	Preserve high-level object custody metadata after an external C2 adapter emits approved object events.	C2 adapter owns object semantics, relationships, authorization, and redaction.	Generic object/relationship metadata profile and lineage query helpers can support audit and version inspection.	No official BSO implementation, C2 object model, tactical graphics, or order-of-battle data.
NFFI	Persist externally normalized tracking custody events with redacted or reduced-precision position references where policy requires.	NFFI gateway parses, authorizes, redacts, and normalizes tracking updates.	Generic geo-temporal track/fix metadata and data-quality profiles support non-defence and mission-support tracking.	No NFFI parser, terminal protocol, real friendly-force positions, or operational tracking data. See NFFI / FFTS Tracking Custody.
FFTS / Friendly Force Tracking Systems	Preserve custody of safe tracking event envelopes and replay evidence.	Tracking gateway owns source-specific message handling and release decisions.	Disconnected spool replay and track/fix metadata can support resilient custody patterns.	No live tracking service, map display, track fusion, or operational movement analysis.
Friendly Force Information / FFI	Store normalized FFI-derived events when an external adapter has approved the content.	FFI parsing, mapping, authorization, and precision reduction remain external.	Generic metadata validation can enforce required fields such as `track_id`, `event_time`, and `source_system`.	No FFI message parser, real unit data, call signs, routes, or operational timestamps.
STANAG 5527	Public high-level alignment only for friendly-force tracking custody records.	Standards-specific implementation stays in the tracking gateway or C2 system.	Generic track/fix, data-quality, and security-label profiles can support approved metadata alignment.	No STANAG 5527 implementation, certification, or protocol conformance claim.
ADatP-36	Persist approved tracking events after external ADatP-36 handling.	External adapter performs ADatP-36 parsing, validation, transformation, authorization, and redaction.	Generic tracking metadata and lineage fields can support durable audit.	No ADatP-36 parser, field catalogue, or protected implementation detail.
NATO Data as a Strategic Asset / DaSA	Support data-centric custody through metadata, labels, lineage, hashes, retention notes, and catalogue manifests.	Enterprise governance and data owners define policy, data products, access rules, and releasability.	Data product and catalogue manifest export can support integration with external catalogues.	No formal NATO compliance claim, policy authority, or governance platform. See NATO-Style Data Governance Metadata.
NATO Data-Centric Reference Architecture / DCRA	Provide event persistence, metadata, security labels, custody, DLQ, and sink evidence as generic building blocks.	Architecture teams decide how nats-sinks fits into their data fabric and control plane.	Generic connectors, service discovery guidance, and secret-store integration may improve deployment patterns.	No DCRA certification, access-control system, or enterprise architecture replacement.
NATO Data Exploitation Framework / DEF / DEFP	Preserve approved events and metadata so downstream analytics and reporting systems can consume durable records.	Exploitation, analytics, access control, and release decisions happen in external systems.	Catalogue manifests, lineage helpers, and data-quality metadata can make data products easier to discover and trust.	No intelligence exploitation workflow, targeting workflow, or analytics platform implementation.
NATO data-quality framework	Store generic `data_quality` metadata supplied by approved adapters or data owners.	Quality scoring, source assessment, and domain truth evaluation are external.	Generic data-quality metadata profile is available and can be extended by deployments.	No NATO certification, automatic truth assessment, or tactical confidence model. See Mission Metadata.
NATO Core Metadata Specification / NCMS / STANAG 5636	Public high-level metadata alignment target for catalogue and discovery records.	External catalogue, governance, and metadata systems own NCMS/STANAG-specific mapping and compliance.	Catalogue manifest export can provide a generic source for external catalogue ingestion.	No NCMS/STANAG 5636 implementation, schema reproduction, compliance claim, or classified metadata examples.

Common Implementation Pattern

All rows should follow the same practical architecture:

flowchart LR
    Gateway[Approved gateway / adapter / decoder] --> Event[Approved normalized event]
    Event --> JS[NATS JetStream]
    JS --> Core[nats-sinks core]
    Core --> Policy[Generic validation, policy, custody, DLQ]
    Policy --> Sink[Oracle / file / spool / object / other sink]
    Sink --> Store[Durable store]

Use stable event IDs, source identifiers, schema profiles, timestamps, payload or artifact references, payload hashes, security labels, mission metadata, data-quality metadata, correlation IDs, and idempotency fields. Avoid putting sensitive values in NATS subject tokens, logs, issue comments, public documentation, or test reports.

Documentation References

Safety Notes

This page is conceptual and intended for authorized environments only. It uses public names and synthetic examples to describe a persistence and custody boundary. It does not provide operational implementation details for any military protocol, media exploitation workflow, C2 exchange service, tracking system, tactical procedure, cryptographic process, or classified data model.