Blockchain, remote maintenance, digital identity, these and other cutting-edge technologies presented yesterday at the Air Force’s Automated Information Systems Department during the Innovation day, a moment to take stock of what has been developed so far and on the roads to be undertake in the future for the blue weapon, increasingly projected towards the new domains of space, autonomous flight and cyber
“I believe it is important and fundamental for the Armed Force to stay up-to-date and follow the technology and concretely understand what benefits we can derive from what are the new technologies”. So commented the chief of staff of the Air Force, general Alberto Rosso, the work of the Innovation day held at the Automated Information Systems Department (Resia) of the Arma azzurra in Rome. The day was a time to present some of the most recent innovations, which have reached the advanced stage of practical experimentation. The event is part of the research projects promoted by the Air Force with the “Logistics 4.0” plan (here an interview on the subject with the Logistics Commander of the AM, general Giovanni Fantuzzi, present at yesterday’s event), a project launched in 2017 aimed at implementing cutting-edge solutions that can support the daily work of women and men of the Armed Force.
THE DIGITAL INNOVATION HANGAR
Yesterday’s initiative is part of the “Digital innovation hangar” project of the Aeronautical Logistics Command, an innovation hub responsible for carrying out various programs for the automation and digitization of organizational processes and enabling solutions. The Digital innovation hangar also acts as a meeting point between the various stakeholders involved in the innovation process of the Armed Force, within which the Air Force soldiers can confront themselves with national industrial, academic and research realities to interact the efforts of each component of the development and use of emerging technologies.
THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGIES
Yesterday’s event was an opportunity for Resia himself and the Command and Control Systems Management and Innovation Department (Regiscc) to present a series of research projects and application of new digital technologies to the processes and activities of the Air Force . Among these, a system for the remote maintenance of equipment, instruments and aircraft: in practice, an operator deployed even outside the national territory will always be able to count on the support of specialized personnel who remain in Italy, who will “see” what the military sees in mission through “smart glasses”. The entire communication, recorded and archived by the Armed Force, is protected by advanced blockchain systems, which guarantee its integrity and security. Other proposed applications of blockchain technology, together with artificial intelligence, concerned access control systems and digital identity, designed to facilitate the work of military personnel without compromising the security of the systems. An AI-enhanced Object detection system was also presented to automate the analysis functions of the images collected by the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (Isr) platforms.
INDUSTRIAL SYNERGIES
The collaboration between private companies and the Armed Force has emerged as a fundamental pillar of the innovation process of the Air Force. “I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the companies and entities outside the Armed Force that collaborate and participate with us” continued General Rosso addressing the representatives of the industrial and innovation world – Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and DEAS – present yesterday: “it is a joint effort and with your contribution we can offer not only an operational product but an opportunity for growth, greater understanding of technology and development of capabilities”. The Air Force has in fact launched a rich network of collaborations with SMEs and large companies that strengthen their ability to develop new technologies. This innovation process, however, remains internal to the Armed Force, with proprietary and “in house” solutions that use the expertise of individuals to achieve cutting-edge solutions.