1. A method for reducing the equipment payload for signal intelligence equipment in a signal intelligence bay comprising the steps of: building a signal intelligence system from a runtime reconfigurable software receiver by providing multiple software components and associated processors which, when programmed, function as a software receiver for a predetermined signal intelligence function corresponding to one of several missions to be performed during a signal intelligence operation, the functions relating to searches, communications and countermeasures, each component including a processor for executing the software of the component; controlling the operation of an associated processor within a component using a processor manager controlled by a framework manager; providing a data framework including a data fabric for data communications between the processor and the software component; specifying the operation of the signal intelligence system in accordance with a plan; and, implementing the plan using a framework manager that controls the operation of the processor in each component, the framework manager configuring the signal intelligence system at runtime to carry out one of said predetermined missions, whereby multiple signal intelligence functions can be provided by a software-reconfigurable receiver without having to provide separate signal intelligence modules, one for each signal intelligence function.