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Air Force

Digital Twins To Be New Hallmark for Air Force Weapons Systems

Frank Wolfe

Thursday, April 29th, 2021

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Digital Twins To Be New Hallmark for Air Force Weapons Systems

Members of the Gray Wolf test team and 416th Flight Test Squadron pose at Edwards AFB, Calif. after a captive-carry flight test of the Gray Wolf cruise missile prototype on June 9th last year (U.S. Air Force Photo)

Digital twins look to be a new hallmark of U.S. Air Force weapons systems to improve their design, performance, and sustainment. NASA pioneered the use of twins in the 1960s during the Apollo moon missions by building a full-size replica of the Apollo capsule. That effort continues today, as NASA uses twins of the Perseverance Mars Rover and its Earth-bound sibling, the Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars. Former Air Force Acquisition Chief Will…

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