The military sector has historically been linked to disruptive technologies. The creation of the first computer and the Internet are intimately related to this sector. Currently, following the tradition of using new technologies, the US Navy has seen Blockchain as a great opportunity.
The Naval Air Systems Command of the United States Navy (NAVAIR) is exploring the use of block chains to track parts of aviation, they said in a press release.
To achieve this, the Navy has joined forces with Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO), appealing to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, to gain access to the latest chain codes and protocols that are capable of recovering large datasets in a short time. and in a safe way.
NAVAIR is considering changing the way parts are currently tracked in order to reduce the high costs currently required to operate a military aircraft.
The current process is to write down the details of the pieces on a component removal program card, which is used to record the information, and then enter it manually into a database.
Therefore, its alliance with ITAMCO is key. This organization developed SIMBA Chain, a special block chain for the US Army, that allows to track messages in a matter of seconds.
The relationship between both institutions was designed under the concept of win-win: while ITAMCO helps the Navy to understand how to use and make the most of the distributed ledger for its operations. In return the company may have access to understand how the Navy works and, based on that, create a conceptual architecture to see what the demand of the block chain would be like when it is fully developed.
However, developing the platform required by the Navy will not be an easy task. The first obstacle is the change from a fully controlled system to one of distributed information. The second is related to cybersecurity, since the more nodes are added, the more vulnerability the system suffers.
"The Navy is very excited to work with ITAMCO on this state-of-the-art technology to improve visibility, anti-tampering, traceability and data transparency in the NAVAIR supply chain," said George Blackwood, Logistics Management Specialist. and part of the Support Team of the Fleet of the North Island, according to CCN.
Despite the widespread enthusiasm that NAVAIR has, they are still concerned about the issue of security, since this is a key point for any military sector. ITAMCO is expected to soon develop a successful platform that will help the US Navy become more efficient and get on the Blockchain wave.