System of systems engineering - New challenges for the 21st century

The concept of system of systems (SoS) and the challenges ahead to extend systems engineering (SE) to system of systems is introduced. The birth of a new engineering field may be on the horizon - System of Systems Engineering (SoSE). A SoS is a collection of individual, possibly heterogeneous, but functional systems integrated together to enhance the overall robustness, lower the cost of operation, and increase reliability of the overall complex (SoS) system. Having said that, the field has a large vacuum from basic definition, to theory, to management and implementation. Many key issues like architecture, modeling, simulation, identification, emergence, standards, net-centricity, control, etc., are all begging for attention. In this review, we go through all these issues briefly and bring the challenges to the attention of interested readers. We will also indicate the existence of an introduction consortium, of interested groups who are getting together to help realize these problems and try to find solutions.