Introduction to a New Era in Military Technology
A brand new system that facilitates the secure transmission of sensitive, classified military data at high speeds has been demonstrated, paving the way in which toward leveraging digital capabilities that might transform traditional flightline maintenance. This technology demonstration, called “Flightline of the Future,” is the results of a collaboration between Northrop Grumman and its partners at AT&T and Secure EMP-Resilient Edge (SEMPRE), a provider of low-latency EMP-hardened digital solutions.
What is Flightline of the Future?
The Flightline of the Future is a next-generation digital solution that gives U.S. forces with the potential to securely access information and subject material experts right on the flightline to repair assets with speed and accuracy. This recent system could fundamentally change how classified information is shared across geographies, along with allowing significant reductions within the period of time required for aircraft maintenance and repair and other tasks.
Key Features of the Technology
The aerospace and defense company has successfully made its recent secure communications capabilities available in a commercially available augmented reality (AR) headset worn by an aircraft maintainer. This headset is able to relaying classified aircraft information in large volumes, securely carried across a SEMPRE 5G private network and AT&T’s 5G industrial network. The data transfers were successfully carried between Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Palmdale, California, and in San Diego to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Benefits of the New System
According to Jenna Paukstis, vice chairman and general manager for Northrop Grumman’s networked information solutions, the potential this recent technology provides will allow for fast troubleshooting of each aircraft and land vehicles under pressing combat situations. “The ‘Flightline of the Future’ is a next-generation digital solution providing U.S. forces with the potential to securely access information and subject material experts right on the flightline to repair assets with speed and accuracy,” Paukstis said in an announcement, “reducing costs and increasing fleet readiness.”
How it Works
By combining commercially available augmented reality (AR) headsets with each industrial and personal 5G networks, Flightline of the Future will reportedly outperform other existing military capabilities while making the transmission of sensitive data accessible to virtually any domain. “We showcased how our industrial 5G wireless network combined with private networking services can transport and protect each Highly Classified Information and Controlled Unclassified Information and supply the U.S. Department of Defense the networking foundation it needs for personal mission use cases,” says Lance Spencer, AT&T’s client executive vice chairman for defense.
Future Implications
The Flightline of the Future can offer one of the best combination of speed, security, and functionality that the Department of Defense is currently working to include into all its military operations, as a part of its ongoing modernization efforts. “This demonstration proves advanced capabilities will likely be available to DoD units for deployed and in garrison requirements,” said Dr. Rob Spalding, chief executive officer at SEMPRE. Spalding and his team’s deployable infrastructure specially designed by SEMPRE will aid their partners in delivering “hardened connectivity and compute capability to the warfighter, even when the connection to the cloud isn’t any longer available.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Flightline of the Future system has the potential to revolutionize the way in which military operations are carried out, providing a secure and efficient method to transmit sensitive information and access subject material experts. With its ability to cut back costs and increase fleet readiness, this technology is an exciting development in the sphere of military technology. As the Department of Defense continues to modernize its operations, the Flightline of the Future is prone to play a key role in shaping the longer term of military communications and maintenance.
