From build to beyond: Parker Aerospace and DUST Identity launch Lockheed Martin F-35 into digital space

Weaving together digital engineering and technology, Parker Aerospace today announced collaboration with Lockheed Martin and DUST Identity. The alliance implements DUST technology to connect Parker Aerospace products with Lockheed Martin aircraft to track parts from build to delivery and maintenance. The collaboration optimizes Parker Aerospace product traceability and supply chain security as proven by Parker’s military flight controls and flight actuation technology.

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Parker Aerospace, DUST Identity and Lockheed Martin are partnering to digitally fingerprint products to better track and trace product build, performance and service. The new technology creates a unique digital thread to enhance performance and increase supply chain security. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Digital thread and DUST technology boost efficiency and supply chain integrity

A longtime proponent of integrating functions within its organization, Parker Aerospace, with Lockheed Martin and DUST, is undertaking a digital transformation to optimize processes.

At the core of DUST Identity’s digital thread is its Diamond Unclonable Security Tag, a unique identifier for physical items built from quantum-engineered diamond particles embedded in high-performance polymers. Applying DUST “fingerprints” to Parker Aerospace components for Lockheed Martin begins with the F-35 horizontal tail electro-hydrostatic actuator. This change ensures traceability, authenticity and supply chain integrity by securely anchoring the digital thread record to their exact physical parts.

By integrating business functions via digital thread, Parker Aerospace will improve real-time production item tracing, increased inspection efficiency and shortened maintenance turnaround. These gains increase speed-to-market, lower costs, higher quality and efficiency, extended product life cycles and better reliability. DUST technology connects the Parker Aerospace product journey with Lockheed Martin, from inception through manufacture, delivery and beyond.

Improvements enhance how components are delivered and improves customer insights. This technology could be considered for aerospace products with increased aircraft part availability by applying a digital thread.

For Lockheed Martin, the application of DUST’s digital thread enhances the efficiency for the full lifecycle traceability with any part on any aircraft. As a sophisticated platform, the F-35 will benefit from more robust and efficient data that is used for both predictive maintenance and to reduce the cost and turnaround times for repairs.

Says Steve Sheehy, Vice President for Sustainment Strategy & Business Development with Lockheed Martin, the three-way collaboration further demonstrates the collective commitment to digital transformation. “Lockheed Martin’s vision is to help our customers leverage emerging technologies — artificial intelligence, edge computing and 5G.MIL connectivity — to seamlessly and securely connect all 21st Century security assets in the joint battlespace, and to ensure readiness for any mission around the world,” he says. “This partnership builds on Lockheed Martin’s sustainment expertise by increasing the velocity of end-to-end sustainment through the rapid retrieval of documents, reducing inspection points and through an overall reduction in time to data. For the maintainer on the flight line, these enhancements will reduce touch time while accelerating predictive maintenance by expanding the connections of performance data with specific parts.”

“We’re excited to support these two leading industry organizations to embed anchored digital threads within some of the most critical supply chains in the world,” said Ophir Gaathon, co-founder and CEO at DUST Identity. “Maintaining high-levels of aircraft part availability, improving the process efficiency and expanding insight from data are shared objectives. Accessing trusted, relevant and accurate data is key. Having the right data at the right place at the right time for every part is one a foundational capability enabled by DUST’s anchored digital thread.”

“Our organization is continually striving to move more quickly, iterate faster, enhance our quality and manage costs,” said Tracy Rice, vice president of technology and innovation, at Parker Aerospace. “Implementing a digital thread will connect every manufacturing function within Parker Aerospace and transform the way our business interacts with customers such as Lockheed Martin. The benefits to both organizations will be tangible, measurable and significant,” Rice added.

About Parker Aerospace. Parker Aerospace is a global leader in commercial and military aircraft and aeroengine technology. The company collaborates with customers to move their programs forward.

About Parker Hannifin. Parker is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow. Learn more at www.parker.com or @parkerhannifin.

About DUST Identity. DUST Identity, Inc. provides digital thread solutions to deliver award-winning capabilities that optimize asset availability and streamline product and supply chain data with integrity and security. The company is backed by Lockheed Martin and Airbus to support the aerospace, defense, industrial and automotive sectors to build resiliency and drive efficiency.

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Parker Aerospace, Lockheed Martin and DUST Identity are partnering to digitally fingerprint products to better track and trace product build, performance and service aircraft. This new technology creates a unique digital thread to enhance performance.