The Aerospace Industry's Hardware-Accurate Digital Twin Deficiency

Digital Twins in Aerospace and Defense

In a recent discussion with Forbes, James Chew, Senior Global Group Director for Aerospace and Defense at Cadence, and Charlie Schadewitz, Vice President of Aerospace and Defense at Cadence, revealed a startling fact. In many aerospace and defense applications, hardware-accurate digital twins—if used at all—are often deployed after the prototyping phase to refine or fix designs that already exist in the real world. This "fly-fix-fly" philosophy seems backward, especially compared to the tech industry, where hardware-accurate digital twins are employed early and often.

The Untapped Potential of Hardware-Accurate Digital Twins in Aerospace

Cadence's Palladium Z3 and Protium X3 systems for chip debugging and advanced prototyping are part of its vast suite of electronic design automation (EDA), hardware-accurate digital twin, and simulation tools. These tools enable key innovations across many leading-edge industries. In the tech sector, simulation and hardware-accurate digital twin technologies are integral. They are leveraged throughout the manufacturing lifecycle to gain valuable design insights, from tiny low-power chips to massive data centers. However, these technologies aren't as pervasive in the aerospace and defense sectors—at least not in the traditional sense.

The Benefits of Early Adoption of Hardware-Accurate Digital Twins

Hardware-accurate digital twins offer numerous benefits across industries because they ultimately help improve products and services. Companies can identify and remedy problems or refine systems early in the design phase by creating a virtual copy of a real system. This approach can make offerings more reliable and high-quality.

Key advantages of using hardware-accurate digital twin technology early in projects include:

• Accelerated Time to Market: Companies can iterate on their designs in a virtual world, significantly cutting down the time from initial concept to final production.
• Enhanced Sustainability: Using fewer physical resources and reducing waste aligns well with today's green initiatives.
• Smoother Operations: Hardware-accurate digital twins highlight system deficiencies, helping identify improvement areas.
• Increased Output: Fine-tuning processes based on digital data and accurate simulations ensure optimized prototypes and ideal material usage.
• Agile and Rapid Modernization: Electronic systems companies use Hardware Accurate Digital Twins to rapidly develop and push out new software capabilities at the speed of relevance, seemingly anticipating the market need and delighting their customers.

These benefits can dramatically improve customer outcomes, whether the customer is an end user or a government entity.

The Current Paradigm in Aerospace and Defense

Unfortunately, the aerospace and defense sectors have traditionally not faced penalties for doing things wrong, especially when government contracts are involved. When mistakes are made, additional funding is often provided to "fix" the design and iterate again. This paradigm is not conducive to delivering products on time, on budget, and on schedule. However, it has been the norm for decades, and changing this mindset is challenging.

Steps Toward Change

Cadence is working to educate its customers and key government officials to change this outdated paradigm. The company seems to be making headway. In December 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) implemented policies for using digital engineering to develop defense systems. The DoD plans to progressively build its digital engineering capability to support automated system design, development, and production.

However, given past challenges in related programs, there are concerns about the timely implementation of these capabilities. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has also noted that companies may soon be required to use digital engineering tools, like hardware-accurate digital twins, for iterative development and collaboration. The Comptroller General of the United States has been directed to review and brief congressional defense committees by January 1, 2025, on the DoD's use of digital engineering and hardware-accurate digital twins in weapon systems development and production.

The Future of Hardware-Accurate Digital Twins in Aerospace and Defense

From an outsider's perspective, these moves make sense. Hardware-accurate digital twins are fundamental in many industries for delivering products in the most efficient and timely manner possible. While designing and building aerospace and defense systems will have unique requirements, the benefits of physically accurate simulation and hardware-accurate digital twin technologies still apply.

The message is clear to aerospace engineers and managers: The earlier hardware-accurate digital twin technology is integrated into projects, the better the outcomes will be. It's time to move away from the "fly-fix-fly" philosophy and adopt a more proactive, efficient approach to system design and development.

Call to Action

For those ready to revolutionize their approach to aerospace and defense projects, consider exploring the advanced hardware-accurate digital twin and simulation tools offered by Cadence. These technologies can help organizations achieve higher reliability, faster development times, and enhanced sustainability. Don't wait until it's too late—integrate hardware-accurate digital twin technology early in projects and experience the difference.

Learn more about how Cadence can transform aerospace and defense projects.