Video Transcript

Digital. You may be hearing this word used to modify a lot of different activities and events across the Department of Defense. Yet, we may ask ourselves, haven’t we been a digital military service for a long time? We’ve had computers and have been using software for decades. We even have software-controlled aircraft in our fleet today. So what is the meaning, or context of the word digital as it's used to modify things like digital engineering, digital management, digital acquisition, digital transformation, and digital fill-in-the-blank? I will cover three major topics in this video. First, What is changing, and what do we mean by the word digital as it is used today? Second, I will talk about Why the Air and Space Forces are making these changes, including some of the anticipated and actual benefits, as well as some real-life examples. Finally, I will talk a little bit about How we've been asked to change within the management of our Weapons Systems. To help with this, we’ll consult a written publication based on work from the Department of the Air Force Digital Campaign and Digital Guide. When we talk about “Digital”, in reference to managing our weapons systems, we need to discuss two major paradigm shifts. The first is moving from “digitized” to “truly digital”, and the second is moving from “segregated” to “truly integrated.” Yes, we've been operating in a digitized computer environment; however, these systems are really born analog. So what does that mean? For example, take a look at the jet engine part that you see here. In the past, we used words to describe what that item needed to be. We used words to describe the functionality and capability of it. We used pictures like these two dimensional drawings. We tested with physical items in the real world. It’s true that all of this information was captured in a digitized format, but that doesn't mean that we were actually operating in, or making decisions using information from, a truly digital environment. With the shift to True Digital, we are giving birth to these systems within digital environments, where we can actually manipulate these systems in 3D, and even through the dimension of time by running simulations on them, rather than just using words and static pictures to describe a component. With this component, we can use mathematical models based on physics, integrated into these different environments, to perform tests. We can actually see what is happening with it entirely in the digital world. So this is what is meant by moving from a digitized environment to a truly digital environment. The second major paradigm shift is moving from segregated to integrated. Segregated refers to Stovepipe, or Silo-like, compartmentalized organizational communication, where data that comes out of one of these silos often travels to another silo via analog activities. The organizational silo digital databases are not integrated. Therefore, when they transfer data, there is an increased risk of data errors and irregularities, and misinterpretation. When we talk integrated, we are not tearing down these silos. The silos exist for a reason - each major organization will retain its own responsibilities. What we're actually doing here is integrating these silos more thoroughly. We do this through creating databases that all of the different nodes of activity can access. As such, these databases can actually have very sophisticated Configuration Management, and they become authoritative sources of truth from which we can pull and push and share information. How do we weave that tapestry of Digital Data moving between these different nodes? We use digital threads, which is the interconnectivity between the silos. We need to emphasize that the new digital Paradigm is not just something for the technical or STEM communities. This will also impact other functionals, like Program Management, Logistics, Contracting, and Financial management. The biggest change will be how information to make those types of decisions is displayed. Rather than information being presented in tools like PowerPoint or Word, now we can use much more sophisticated and High Fidelity models in an integrated environment, pulled from an authoritative source of Truth to help make decisions. Why would we do this? The Department of Defense started exploring the benefits of a digital environment several years ago, and in the summer of 2018, they published a digital engineering strategy document. In this document, they talked a lot about the expected benefits that other organizations in Industry had started to achieve by moving to this digital environment. Those benefits included talking about increased transparency of information; enhanced communication; increased understanding for greater flexibility in design; increased confidence that a capability will perform as expected; and increased efficiency in engineering and acquisition practices. Next, let’s look at the actual data that convinced the Air Force that Digital, was the direction in which it needed to go. The Systems Engineering Research Center, in conjunction with NDIA, and INCOSE, the International Council on Systems Engineering, did a very long study on the implementation of this “thing” called Model Based Systems Engineering, which is a part of the new digital environment. With this study, they looked at a number of different organizations, companies, and DOD programs that were trying to manage their systems in the “born digital” environment. They also found numerous benefits across four major categories: the quality of the system; the velocity and Agility in which a system was able to be created; the actual user experiences with that system; and the transfer of knowledge between all of the different stakeholders. This is what the literature says, but how would digital acquisition and weapon systems management work in real life? Next we’re going to discuss some examples of programs that have implemented some of these digital activities. The first program is from Robins AFB, where the sustainment engineering branch digitized the gun systems for the AC-130. Rather than using analog 2D drawings and words to describe the system, aka, born analog, they took a born digital approach where they designed this particular system within a digital environment. By doing so, they were able to use digital models to work with their vendors to take advantage of things like additive manufacturing. This lead to Digital Manufacturing, which essentially uses these digital models to help manufacture parts, thus allowing them to reduce the cost associated with purchasing new parts, which then lead to faster production times due to being able to exploit digital models. They were able to address any kind of potential problems with these parts before manufacturing them, and therefore reduced the failure rates of first articles coming in, and, before purchasing large numbers of parts. This was a huge benefit just from digitally giving birth to a subsystem of a major pre-existing weapons system. As another example, the A-10 Program Office digitized their aircraft with the help of Boeing. They used a Siemens program suite called TeamCenter, and they implemented a change management approval process to ensure that the authoritative source of Truth was not corrupted. This assured that they did not over-model and that the available data was appropriate for the necessary decisions. By using an integrated and Born Digital approach, the A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program had tremendous flexibility when performing modifications. The team used some of the structural Integrity models to do analysis in days or weeks that before took months or years - a huge difference. This approach even helped with mishap analysis. The team was able to use the digital model to recreate specific failures, and were able to get technical answers within a couple of days, which is unheard of by traditional methods. Similar to the AC-130 gun, the A-10 was able to use digital models to help with purchasing and acquiring new parts. They were actually able to get lighter parts, while at the same time, increasing their operating life. Even for an older system like the A-10, there has been a huge benefit a Digital approach. Let’s segue to another older airplane, the B-52. The commercial engine re-engining program for the B-52 did a virtual digital engine fly-off in 2021. This virtual fly-off did not have any vendors physically build and test engines; rather the B-52 program had digitally modeled its flight characteristics and structures, and was then able to use those models to put out to the vendors. So these engines were digitally born, and the B-52 program was actually able to test the characteristics of the aircraft with different engine configurations. This empowered the PMO (Program Office) to discover some potential integration defects before physical parts were ever actually created. And using the Systems Modeling Language, it became affordable. Legacy weapon systems aren’t the only programs that benefit from “Digital”. New start programs, such as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ballistic missile system and the T-7A Red Hawk trainer aircraft are also exploiting digital, and reaping benefits from it. Additionally, the U.S. Space Force is taking a digital approach to Next Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared Satellites. Details on these benefits can be found in the Digital Guide. These examples should not imply that there aren’t challenges in implementing Digital for weapon system management but on a program by program basis, we are seeing benefits. The next question is, How do we get there? To answer that question, we can consult the Digital Guide, which discusses the meaning of being a digital Air and Space Force. It also details three primary activities to achieve this goal. The first activity is moving to digital engineering and management. We have already covered part of this idea with the discussion of moving acquisition programs from being born analog to being born digital. Those digital models help from a standpoint of digital management, which is not just a STEM activity. This affects how program managers make schedules; plan and execute test and evaluation; perform financial assessments of weapons systems; and the supply chain and logistics of these Weapons Systems. The second activity is agile software development, which includes DevOps and DevSec Ops. Agile software development does not always equal faster, but it does give much more flexibility to change. The third activity is Open Architecture, or implementing MOSA, a modular open system approach. This means that parts can be upgraded or replaced very quickly and easily, leading to flexibility in upgrading weapon systems. There are three principles that will help us execute these goals. The first is to own, share, and furnish the technical stack. Owning does not necessarily mean from a data rights perspective. This is similar to the concept of Owning the Technical Baseline. It means that we have the appropriate access to the data we need, and, we have the ability to share it to meet the intent of Open Architecture with whomever needs it. How to achieve this is an open question. The second principle is warping from the stack to the edge. This means that we can take born digital weapon systems from a virtual tech stack and implement them in a real-world fight in an operationally relevant timeframe. The third principle is eCreate before you aviate. The B-52 team used this principle with its commercial re-engining program. By including digital models in their Request for Proposal, and allowing vendors to submit digital models of their proposed systems, they were able to do digital creation before performing real-world manufacturing. This also increases confidence that when these weapon systems are moved from the digital world to the real-world, they will perform better at a lower price. For those programs, and individuals, that are interested in learning more about and implementing Digital Acquisition, there is no shortage of additional information and excellent resources. Hopefully this presentation has provided a foundational understanding of what is meant by this new context of digital, why we want to move into this new digital paradigm, and some ways that we are trying to get there. The School of Systems and Logistics is here to help answer any of your questions, and provide consultation and continuing education on digital weapon system management, as well as many other topics. Currently, the School has a portfolio of over 100 courses and workshops that are offered online. You can learn more about these different courses or contact us directly, by visiting our website at afit.edu/ls. ###