The U.S. Navy looks to use cloud-based replicas of software installed in ships that will enable engineers to experiment with new codes without disrupting operations and crucial systems, C4ISRnet reported Thursday.
The “digital twin” of ship-based software will also help developers work on the same baselines and mitigate duplication. In addition, the effort will support the Navy's plans to conduct “over-the-air” updates for ships that have the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services software installed into their systems, according to the report.
“In an ever-dynamic warfighting environment, the ability to improve, add to, or build new capabilities quickly has extraordinary value,” said Rear Adm. Kathleen Creighton, cybersecurity division director at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare.
“That is what we are trying to accomplish. Put the warfighter’s perspective at the center of the software we deliver and do it iteratively at speed,” she added.
Navy officials said at an industry event in San Diego that the service plans to install updates to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier’s command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems through the “digital twin” concept by 2021.
