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Blockchain is often heard in the same breath as security and supply chains. This week, a winning entry in a contest organized by the US Department of Defense threw both of these aspects in a new light.
To keep pace with the increasingly technologized battle lines of contemporary warfare, the DoD continues to explore ways to innovate the manufacturing process and supply chain for the weapons and infrastructure used by the U.S. Air Force and Navy.
The Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, held virtually this year October 20-23, sought to recruit traditional DoD contractors, technology developers, and academics to mobilize new technologies, especially 3D printing, for the production and delivery of critical parts. in the military supply chain.
SIMBA Chain, a smart contract-as-a-service platform developed by the University of Notre Dame and ITAMCO, won first place and a $ 100,000 prize for its entry into one of the technical challenges posed during the Olympics of the DoD.
For the challenge, the DoD devised a war game scenario in which a fictional island was under siege. Participants were tasked with implementing additive manufacturing (3D printing of metals, plastics and composite parts on demand) and creating a secure communication and delivery network for forward deployed military units and frontline medical personnel. SIMBA Chain CEO Joel Neidig explained:
“We […] he had six days to put together an entire war game solution to deliver critical parts to a battle front, keep field hospitals operational and infrastructure such as runways intact. The difference in our approach was how we dealt with both the physical challenges of war fighters and the cyber threats that are playing an increasing role in modern warfare. “
SIMBA beat other entrants such as Boeing, which won third place, and Stratasys, which won second, thanks to its use of blockchain to provide a secure network that established cyber-resilient communications between additive manufacturing labs along the supply chain supply.
The DoD Olympics are, of course, not an idle war games challenge that stops with the creation of an imaginary island. The Air Force seeks to transform successful solutions into commercial realities and SIMBA Chain is already working with several arms of the DoD, including the Air Force and the Navy. The company says it has “high hopes that blockchain, and particularly SIMBA Chain, will soon become an integral part of the US military’s strategic weapons.”
