The Government Accountability Office wants the U.S. Army to adopt modern design technologies, such as digital twins and digital threads, to accelerate the modernization of its air and missile defense systems.
In a report published Wednesday, the congressional watchdog said that fully utilizing such tools would enhance efficiencies, reduce costs and enable decision makers to anticipate design flaws.
GAO Findings in Report on Army Air & Missile Defense Modernization
The Army has been in the process of modernizing its air and missile defense infrastructure for years. The military branch ramped up the initiative in 2018 to ensure that soldiers are well protected against threats from near-peer competitors, such as China and Russia.
However, GAO pointed out that the Army mostly uses 3D modeling and simulation technology to predict how a product would function in a specific situation. The organization will benefit from using digital twins, which are dynamic virtual representations of products, and digital threats, or tools that deliver real-time data to stakeholders throughout a product lifecycle.
The report pointed out that the Army has increased its budget requests for seven air and missile defense modernizations since 2021. The service also implemented acquisition pathways that speed up the development and delivery of new capabilities.
GAO recommended that the Army assess the benefits of modern design tools. The Department of Defense concurred.
