US Navy explores blockchain technology to enhance tracking system

The U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is looking into the use of blockchain technology in tracking aviation parts throughout the parts life-cycle.

The current process of knowing the origin and history of flight-critical aircraft parts is a manual resource-consuming process that drives up the cost to operate military aircraft. Once parts are delivered to the user, they are tracked with pen and paper on a Scheduled Removal Component Card and manually entered into a database.

The Navy is now seeking to leverage blockchain technology to transform how it tracks the lineage of parts. On these lines, it has commenced research that hopes to switch the Naval Aviation Enterprise to a permissioned blockchain.

According to the official release, NAVAIR's Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) Advance Technologies Team has partnered with Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO), developers of SIMBA Chain – a product of an Army lead DARPA project for tracking secure messages using blockchain.

As part of the agreement, the Navy will get access to cutting-edge chain code as well as innovative protocols that can quickly and securely recall large data sets.

“The Navy model will be a permissioned chain with a consensus mechanism requiring less computing power. Conceptually developing consensus methods that maintain the integrity of the ledger while providing for all of the stakeholders will be a collaborative effort,” NAVAIR said in a statement.

Noting the vulnerability of a distributed supply chain, NAVAIR said that cyber-security will be one of the key focus areas.

“By bringing the experts together early in the development of possible architectures, the authorities will better understand the risk and reward of a connected distributed system,” it added.

The team involved in the research believes that increased visibility and traceability will help NAVAIR support the Naval Air mission with an increased emphasis on safety and at a lower cost.

"The Navy is very excited to work with ITAMCO on this cutting-edge technology to improve visibility, anti-tampering, traceability and data transparency in the NAVAIR supply chain," said George Blackwood, Logistics Management Specialist F/A-18A-E & EA-18G ISSC North Island Fleet Support Team.