New Digital Twin Research & Technology Gap Whitepaper Available

The Digital Twin Consortium® (DTC) published the Aerospace-Defense: Digital Twin Research and Technology Gap Analysis Whitepaper to address the challenges of digital twin adoption in the Aerospace-Defense industry. The paper provides recommendations for implementing digital twins throughout the product lifecycle, assisting the aerospace-defense industry in understanding the requirements for deploying these digital twin-enabling technologies.

“Standards-based alignment of digital thread and digital twin capabilities is critical for enabling scalable, interoperable systems across the Department of Defense,” says Dan Isaacs, general manager and chief technology officer of the DTC. “It empowers stakeholders to integrate faster, manage complexity, and optimize lifecycle outcomes.”

“The digital twins in the DoD ecosystem are vital for weapon systems, logistics, maintenance, and readiness,” said one of the whitepaper’s authors, Brian Schmidt, co-chair of the DTC Aerospace & Defense Working Group and technical fellow & chief engineer at Northrop Grumman. “The new government directive DoD 5000.97 calls for using digital engineering methodologies, technologies, and practices across the life cycle of defense acquisition programs. It places stringent security controls on sensitive and classified data, vital for digital twins used in military applications.”

“All Department of Defense (DoD) branches are developing and deploying digital transformation strategies. These strategies include digital twins and rely on established standards to govern their development,” said one of the whitepaper’s authors, David Shaw, co-chair of the Aerospace & Defense Working Group and president and CEO at Intuitus Corp. “We must examine the standards that currently support digital twins, identify gaps in the governance landscape, set expectations on future standard development, develop advocacy, and make recommendations for a path forward.”

The Aerospace-Defense: Digital Twin Research and Technology Gap Analysis Whitepaper offers guidance for digital twin adoption and digital transformation in the following areas:

• Standards
• Digital Twin System of Systems
• Calibration and Rapid Updating of Digital Twins
• Digital Twin as a Service
• Security/Cyber Security
• AI and Intelligent Digital Twins
• Heterogeneous Data Integration, Assess & Association

The Aerospace-Defense: Digital Twin Research and Technology Gap Analysis Whitepaper, written by the DTC Aerospace & Defense Working Group, is available on the DTC website.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.