Driving Digital Transformation For The U.S. Air Force With An AI-Powered Digital Supply Chain Twin

The U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) faces significant challenges in maintaining the operational readiness of their C-130 fleet, including parts support, diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages. To address these issues, Vibronyx has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II contract by AFWERX worth $1.25 million to enhance our AI-powered Digital Supply Chain Twin (DSCT) in support of the C-130 platform.

As the lead integrator of this contract, the Air Force Special Operations Command A4 Office (AFSOC A4) aims to optimize their supply chain with a DSCT of the C-130 platform. This technology will provide a comprehensive view of the C-130 supply chain, leveraging modern technologies like GenAI and simulation analysis to improve contingency planning and predictive maintenance.

The project will be a collaborative effort with the AFSOC A4, Sustainment Center units and Air Base Wing logistics units, alongside the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation. The Vibronyx DSCT solution will deliver predictive and higher-fidelity demand signals for the C-130 across supply chain operations enabling AFSOC and DoD Agency partners to mitigate supply disruptions and improve C-130 uptime. The end results will garner improved combat readiness, mission effectiveness and domination of air power.

For the DAF and the broader Department of Defense (DoD), the integration of a DSCT portends tangible benefits. Foremost, it promises heightened readiness levels. With an unobstructed view into the C-130 supply chain, forces are better positioned and better prepared, reducing the potential of supply chain hiccups that can jeopardize missions.

According to the “2021 Gartner Supply Chain Technology User Wants and Needs Survey,” 93% of companies have either already invested in, or are planning to invest in, a digital supply chain twin. The Vibronyx DSCT platform will be developed with core capabilities, including:

• Sophisticated data integration and curation of both structured and unstructured data across varying sources.
• Process discovery, mining and modeling to dissect and understand intricate workflows that underpin both operational and supply chain activities.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) enable advanced predictive analytics, facilitating accurate forecasting and demand planning from historical and real-time data, improving decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Optimization, simulation and scenario modeling to allow decision-makers to anticipate potential challenges and devise effective strategies.
• Visualization of data and insights to transform complex datasets and analytical findings into comprehensible and actionable visual representations.
• Generative AI (GenAI) to power user-friendly chat interfaces enabling intuitive, conversational interactions with the system, making predictive analytics and insights accessible to users at all levels.
• Robust, secure and elastic cloud computing that provides the necessary scalability and flexibility to handle the vast amounts of data and complex computational tasks inherent in a digital twin. This ensures data security and privacy are maintained, which is crucial in today’s digitally-driven business environments.

The resulting solution will provide novel integrated supply chain planning and execution capabilities and benefit the DAF and AFSOC in developing a consistent, real-time common operating picture and contingency planning to support the C-130 fleet.

Building on the momentum from the Phase I contract, the Vibronyx DSCT will grow to become an enterprise ready solution for both the public and private sector. In tandem with notable partnerships across the commercial markets and the DoD, Vibronyx continues to pioneer digital twin technology to accelerate supply chain transformations and strengthen U.S. national defense.