Three pillars of technological advances are driving the next era of innovation in defense systems, and for a change, it’s not just more firepower. Digital engineering, AI, and digital twins are changing how capabilities are conceived, tested, fielded, and refined. The result is new ways of building enduring strategic and tactical advantages over adversaries.
These interconnected technologies are enabling the defense industry to adopt model-based approaches, driving faster design cycles, more efficient prototyping, and proactive maintenance interventions.
The use of digital twins for products and processes in projects, such as the Navy’s Aegis Combat System, offers the opportunity to lower costs and reduce friction. For the DoD, it means systems are powerful enough to update and adapt in real time to counter new threats. For contractors, it presents an opportunity to build more intelligent systems in a world where the technological gap is rapidly narrowing and the United States faces increasingly complex and asynchronous threats.
The principal benefit of digital engineering is its ability to transition real-life production activities to a virtual model-based environment, which speeds the path to new capabilities on the battlefield. Unified, model-based environments offer advanced simulations where design, testing, prototyping, and other processes are conducted on a computer screen, driven by real-time data, AI, and advanced analytics.
In an analog world, processes typically run sequentially. Engineers must clear one set of challenges before moving on to the next. Digital model-based environments enable these activities to run simultaneously. That means engineers can iterate on designs rapidly, as potential problems are revealed early in the process, and avoid costly rework through physical prototyping.
The advent of large language models supercharges this capability. AI tools can quickly offer multiple configurations while predicting performance and advising on potential tradeoffs before more formal production begins. Faster design changes everything. Now, product engineers do not have to be wedded to the “perfect” idea from the onset of a project. They can run through scenarios and immediately shift directions as more data becomes available.
A Northrop Grumman technology demonstration project that could influence the direction of US Air Force combat aircraft has benefited from the application of digital engineering in design. According to reporting from Airforce Technology, the Model 437 Vanguard stealth aircraft was designed, built, and tested in less than two years. Ultimately, it “reduced engineering modifications and redesigns to under 1%, a stark contrast to the 15% to 20% typically incurred with conventional methodologies.”
Speed and cost savings are only part of the story. The real breakthrough is how digital twins can align equipment with evolving missions in real-world conditions.
Given the stakes of battle, military supplies and equipment must meet exacting standards. An electrical or mechanical failure at the wrong time can cost lives. Over time, the defense industry has developed extensive manufacturing and testing processes that prevent these failures from happening.
One such process is the creation of physical prototypes—pre-production models that can be tested, even in the hands of warfighters, to gather data on strengths and weaknesses. The challenge is that creating these prototypes and then adjusting the design or functionality based on data can be lengthy and expensive.
Digital engineering moves prototyping into the virtual world, enabling engineers to study how their ideas perform with software-driven computer simulations. Besides defense, the use of digital twins has expanded across various industries, driven by increased computing power, advanced data analytics, and AI.
Informed by real-time data flows, digital twins enable program managers and manufacturing and engineering teams to explore various design configurations and programming scenarios without the expenses associated with physical prototyping. As a company with over four decades of providing IT, engineering, and professional services to the intelligence and defense industries, Sumaria Systems offers strategic integration of advanced technologies to create digital twins of complex systems and infrastructures.
The use of digital prototyping may sound futuristic, but it is a technology that is already here and in use today. For example, the US Army launched a 3D printing program with its 28th Explosive Ordnance Company (EOD) in 2022. It began using it in real time later that year in connection with the United States’ support of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In a project that took just five days, the 28th EOD was able to use its prototyping capability to create a training model of advanced enemy landmines that Ukrainian forces could use for training purposes. Traditional prototyping would have taken as long as eighteen months. “This level of prototyping and flexibility was unprecedented and allowed the unit to adjust to changing conflicts and train on new technologies as they are found, not months after,” stated the Army in 2023.
Digital twins and AI are transforming defense manufacturing by facilitating unprecedented collaboration among the many contractors involved in developing complex technology for the warfighter.
Mission requirements have always been dynamic and fast-changing. Today’s highly fluid geopolitical and technology environments are adding even greater variability, requiring contractors to become masters of flexibility and agility.
Most defense programs include contributions from multiple contractors. In a legacy environment, the defense enterprise depends on efficient synchronization between designs, processes, and priorities. Digital twins and AI provide contractors with a single, authoritative model and enable real-time collaboration based on evolving data streams. This encourages aligned decision-making and enables the team to respond quickly to changing requirements. One significant benefit is that contractors reach consensus on trade-offs more quickly. This approach encourages innovation, as contractors can collaborate to explore new ideas while efficiently sharing insights. The team can also work through design cycles faster, speeding up the testing of system upgrades before committing to a specific solution. Engineering, acquisition, and operational teams stay aligned throughout the lifecycle.
The sea change in digital transformation is that it positions more people in the build process earlier, as Will Roper, a former US Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics and now a senior adviser to McKinsey, explained in a 2022 podcast interview. As more projects adopt digital twins and AI, it “starts building the confidence that ‘Yes, we can now replicate many aspects of reality sufficiently that we don’t have to go build the physical thing and test it anymore.’ That’s just recreating old data. We should have a fierce desire to end nonrecurring engineering. Engineering should be recurring or reusable.”
The integration of digital twins and AI into the evolving discipline of digital engineering is dramatically transforming the defense acquisition and fielding lifecycle, with benefits accruing directly to the warfighter.
“Digital twins are no longer just a concept; they’re accelerating defense innovation from design to deployment,” said Sumaria CEO Dave Dzaran. “By creating real-time, data-driven replicas of equipment, systems, and environments, the DoD can simulate scenarios, predict failures, and optimize performance long before assets reach the field. The result? Faster development cycles, smarter sustainment, and enhanced combat readiness.”
Sumaria’s four decades of experience in IT systems, engineering, and professional services are well positioned to help your project’s management realize the full benefits of digital technology. Its team has extensive experience in deploying digital engineering across the project’s lifecycle, from design, engineering, testing, and validation to field deployment, sustainment, and modernization.
Digital twins and AI bring real-time foresight and control into defense manufacturing. Whether building new systems or sustaining legacy platforms, these technologies empower DoD leaders to reduce cost, mitigate risk, and ensure production resilience at scale. Contact us for help with the strategic integration of advanced technologies and methods to streamline and optimize the development, maintenance, and operation of systems and infrastructures.