diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/FieldDescriptor.hpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/FieldDescriptor.hpp
index 1ce6ccedb..e2d088c5c 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/FieldDescriptor.hpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/FieldDescriptor.hpp
@@ -21,15 +21,17 @@
  *
  */
 
+#pragma once
 #ifndef NITRO_nitf_FieldDescriptor_hpp_INCLUDED_
 #define NITRO_nitf_FieldDescriptor_hpp_INCLUDED_
-#pragma once
 
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 #include <std/span>
 #include <stdexcept>
 
+#include <sys/Span.h>
+
 #include "nitf/FieldDescriptor.h"
 #include "nitf/Field.hpp"
 #include "nitf/Object.hpp"
@@ -84,8 +86,7 @@ namespace nitf
     template<size_t N>
     inline std::vector<FieldDescriptor> getFieldDescriptors(const nitf_StructFieldDescriptor(&descriptors)[N])
     {
-        // constexpr auto extent = std::extent<decltype(nitf_testing_Test1b_fields)>::value;
-        const std::span<const nitf_StructFieldDescriptor> s(descriptors, N);
+        const auto s = sys::make_span(descriptors, N);
         return getFieldDescriptors(s);
     }
 }
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/NITFBufferList.hpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/NITFBufferList.hpp
index 806559dc1..e03c6c707 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/NITFBufferList.hpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/NITFBufferList.hpp
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ struct NITRO_NITFCPP_API NITFBuffer
 
     std::span<const std::byte> getBytes() const noexcept
     {
-        return std::span<const std::byte>(static_cast<const std::byte*>(mData), mNumBytes);
+        return sys::make_span(static_cast<const std::byte*>(mData), mNumBytes);
     }
 };
 
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/SegmentSource.hpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/SegmentSource.hpp
index 4e6357bc8..3a53c3c25 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/SegmentSource.hpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/SegmentSource.hpp
@@ -74,9 +74,9 @@ struct NITRO_NITFCPP_API SegmentMemorySource : public SegmentSource
     SegmentMemorySource(const sys::byte* data, nitf::Off size, nitf::Off start,
         int byteSkip, bool copyData);
 
-    SegmentMemorySource(const std::span<const std::byte>& data, nitf::Off start,
+    SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const std::byte> data, nitf::Off start,
                         int byteSkip, bool copyData);
-    SegmentMemorySource(const std::span<const sys::byte>& data, nitf::Off start,
+    SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const sys::byte> data, nitf::Off start,
                         int byteSkip, bool copyData);
     SegmentMemorySource(const std::vector<std::byte>& data, nitf::Off start,
                         int byteSkip, bool copyData);
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/coda-oss.hpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/coda-oss.hpp
index 9a4dbe764..bb4e9720f 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/coda-oss.hpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/include/nitf/coda-oss.hpp
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@
 #include <import/mem.h>
 #include <gsl/gsl.h>
 
+#include <sys/Span.h>
+
 #if _MSC_VER
 #pragma warning(pop)
 #endif // _MSC_VER
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/ByteProvider.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/ByteProvider.cpp
index 5d1f564b7..c908b2a8c 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/ByteProvider.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/ByteProvider.cpp
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ void ByteProvider::getBytes(const void* imageData,
 static std::span<const std::byte> make_span(const std::vector<sys::byte>& v) noexcept
 {
     const void* const pData = v.data();
-    return std::span<const std::byte>(static_cast<const std::byte*>(pData), v.size());
+    return sys::make_span(static_cast<const std::byte*>(pData), v.size());
 }
 
 void nitf::ByteProvider::getFileHeader(std::span<const std::byte>& result) const noexcept
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KCompressor.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KCompressor.cpp
index b648f76c8..98648338e 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KCompressor.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KCompressor.cpp
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ class TileWriter final
             for (size_t row = 0; row < resizedTileDims.row; ++row)
             {
                 const auto srcTileRowStart = tileData + row * tileDims.col;
-                const std::span<const std::byte> src(srcTileRowStart, resizedTileDims.col);
+                const auto src = sys::make_span(srcTileRowStart, resizedTileDims.col);
 
                 // partialTileBuffer.data() + row * resizedTileDims.col
                 auto dest = partialTileBuffer.begin();
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ class CodestreamOp final
         mCompressionParams(compressionParams)
     {
         mImageBlock.resize(mCompressionParams.getTileDims().area());
-        mpImageBlock = std::span<std::byte>(mImageBlock.data(), mImageBlock.size());
+        mpImageBlock = sys::make_span(mImageBlock);
     }
     CodestreamOp(const CodestreamOp&) = delete;
     CodestreamOp& operator=(const CodestreamOp&) = delete;
@@ -509,8 +509,7 @@ void j2k::Compressor::compress(
     std::vector<size_t>& bytesPerTile) const
 {
     compressedData.resize(getMaxBytesRequiredToCompress());
-    const auto compressedDataView = compress(rawImageData,
-        std::span<std::byte>(compressedData.data(), compressedData.size()), bytesPerTile);
+    const auto compressedDataView = compress(rawImageData, sys::make_span(compressedData), bytesPerTile);
     compressedData.resize(compressedDataView.size());
 }
 
@@ -531,7 +530,7 @@ void j2k::Compressor::compressTile(
 {
     compressedTile.resize(getMaxBytesRequiredToCompress(1));
     std::vector<size_t> bytesPerTile;
-    std::span<std::byte> compressedView(compressedTile.data(), compressedTile.size());
+    auto compressedView = sys::make_span(compressedTile);
     compressedView = compressTileSubrange(rawImageData, types::Range(tileIndex, 1), 
         compressedView, bytesPerTile);
     compressedTile.resize(compressedView.size());
@@ -668,7 +667,7 @@ std::span<std::byte> j2k::Compressor::compressTileSubrange(
         dest += numBytesThisTile;
     }
 
-    return std::span<std::byte>(compressedData.data(), numBytesWritten);
+    return sys::make_span(compressedData.data(), numBytesWritten);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KReader.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KReader.cpp
index 0b2a151e0..647c41b67 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KReader.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KReader.cpp
@@ -50,12 +50,12 @@ std::span<uint8_t> j2k::Reader::readRegion(uint32_t x0, uint32_t y0, uint32_t x1
     uint8_t* pBuf = nullptr;
     const auto bufSize = impl_.callNativeOrThrow<uint64_t>(j2k_Reader_readRegion, x0, y0, x1, y1, &pBuf);
     buf = make_Buffer(pBuf); // turn over ownership (and test our utility routine)
-    return std::span<uint8_t>(buf.get(), bufSize);
+    return sys::make_span(buf.get(), bufSize);
 }
 std::span<uint8_t> j2k::Reader::readRegion(uint32_t x0, uint32_t y0, uint32_t x1, uint32_t y1, std::span<uint8_t> buf)
 {
     // "buf" is already allocated, maybe from a previous call
     auto buf_ = buf.data();
     const auto bufSize = impl_.callNativeOrThrow<uint64_t>(j2k_Reader_readRegion, x0, y0, x1, y1, &buf_);
-    return std::span<uint8_t>(buf_, bufSize); // "bufSize" may have changed
+    return sys::make_span(buf_, bufSize); // "bufSize" may have changed
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KWriter.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KWriter.cpp
index 31f721954..afceb6109 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KWriter.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/J2KWriter.cpp
@@ -77,6 +77,6 @@ void j2k::WriteTiler::setTile(uint32_t tileX, uint32_t tileY, uint32_t i)
     const auto offset_ = index * tileSize_ * bytes * numComponents_;
     const auto offset = gsl::narrow<ptrdiff_t>(offset_);
 
-    const std::span<const uint8_t> buf(buf_.data() + offset, tileSize_);
+    const auto buf = sys::make_span(buf_.data() + offset, tileSize_);
     writer_.setTile(tileX, tileY, buf);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/SegmentSource.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/SegmentSource.cpp
index f74d7a7dc..3a4677890 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/SegmentSource.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/source/SegmentSource.cpp
@@ -41,18 +41,18 @@ SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::string& data,
     : SegmentMemorySource(data.c_str(), gsl::narrow<nitf::Off>(data.size()), start, byteSkip, copyData)
 {
 }
-SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::span<const sys::byte>& data, nitf::Off start,
+SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const sys::byte> data, nitf::Off start,
     int byteSkip, bool copyData)
     : SegmentMemorySource(data.data(), gsl::narrow<nitf::Off>(data.size()), start, byteSkip, copyData)
 {
 }
 
-static const sys::byte* data(const std::span<const std::byte>& data) noexcept
+static const sys::byte* data(std::span<const std::byte> data) noexcept
 {
     const void* pData = data.data();
     return static_cast<const sys::byte*>(pData);
 }
-SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::span<const std::byte>& s, nitf::Off start,
+SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const std::byte> s, nitf::Off start,
     int byteSkip, bool copyData)
     : SegmentMemorySource(data(s), gsl::narrow<nitf::Off>(s.size()), start, byteSkip, copyData)
 {
@@ -60,13 +60,13 @@ SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::span<const std::byte>& s, ni
 
 SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::vector<std::byte>& data,
     nitf::Off start, int byteSkip, bool copyData)
-    : SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const std::byte>(data.data(), data.size()), start, byteSkip, copyData)
+    : SegmentMemorySource(sys::make_span(data), start, byteSkip, copyData)
 {
 }
 
 SegmentMemorySource::SegmentMemorySource(const std::vector<sys::byte>& data,
     nitf::Off start, int byteSkip, bool copyData)
-    : SegmentMemorySource(std::span<const sys::byte>(data.data(), data.size()), start, byteSkip, copyData)
+    : SegmentMemorySource(sys::make_span(data), start, byteSkip, copyData)
 {
 }
 }
diff --git a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/unittests/test_j2k_loading++.cpp b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/unittests/test_j2k_loading++.cpp
index c4177deb1..e57e2b1e1 100644
--- a/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/unittests/test_j2k_loading++.cpp
+++ b/externals/nitro/modules/c++/nitf/unittests/test_j2k_loading++.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include <io/ReadUtils.h>
 #include <io/FileOutputStream.h>
 #include <sys/OS.h>
+#include <sys/Span.h>
 
 #include <import/nitf.hpp>
 #include <nitf/J2KReader.hpp>
@@ -270,7 +271,7 @@ void test_j2k_nitf_read_region_(const path& fname)
         const auto height = container.getHeight();
 
         const auto result_ = j2kReader.readRegion(0, 0, width, height, buf);
-        const std::span<const uint8_t> result(result_.data(), result_.size());
+        const auto result = sys::make_const_span(result_);
 
         const auto namePrefix = str::format("image-%d", (i + 1));
         // TODO: Update write to only output tiles in read region
@@ -351,7 +352,7 @@ TEST_CASE(test_j2k_compress_raw_image)
     types::RowCol<size_t> rawDims;
     std::vector<std::byte> rawImage_;
     sio::lite::readSIO(inPathname, rawDims, rawImage_);
-    const std::span<const std::byte> rawImage(rawImage_.data(), rawImage_.size());
+    const auto rawImage = sys::make_span(rawImage_);
 
     const auto& tileDims = rawDims;
     const size_t numThreads = sys::OS().getNumCPUs() - 1;
@@ -361,7 +362,7 @@ TEST_CASE(test_j2k_compress_raw_image)
     std::vector<std::byte> compressedImage_;
     std::vector<size_t> bytesPerBlock;
     compressor.compress(rawImage, compressedImage_, bytesPerBlock);
-    const std::span<const std::byte> compressedImage(compressedImage_.data(), compressedImage_.size());
+    const auto compressedImage = sys::make_span(compressedImage_);
 
     const auto sumCompressedBytes = std::accumulate(bytesPerBlock.begin(), bytesPerBlock.end(), gsl::narrow<size_t>(0));
     TEST_ASSERT_EQ(sumCompressedBytes, compressedImage.size()); // "Size of compressed image does not match sum of bytes per block"