Monday, August 19, 2024 Istari Digital is set to transform aviation with its latest project involving the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® X-56A, which is poised to become the first aircraft globally to receive digital certification. Last year, the United States Air Force granted Istari Digital a $19 million contract to lead the pioneering Flyer Øne program, named in tribute to the Wright Brothers. This innovative initiative aims to develop and obtain flight certification for a digital twin prior to its physical construction, setting a new standard for accelerating aircraft development to match the swift advancements in software engineering.
While digital certification is routine in industries like Formula 1 racing, it’s unprecedented in aviation. “It’s not as futuristic as it sounds,” said Will Roper, Istari Digital founder and CEO. “For a new aircraft variant, if the structure and flight dynamics can be simulated accurately, physical prototypes become the slow lane.
Hardware as software is the fast lane.” Istari Digital has previously been tight-lipped about the specifics of their aircraft and industry partners. In an exclusive reveal, they shared the exciting news.
“Having just passed a major Design Review, we’re thrilled to announce the modification of the Skunk Works X-56A is on track to achieve the first digital flight release,” Roper said . “The United States Air Force X-Plane program has a storied history of breaking physical boundaries—from the sound barrier to sub-orbital flight. Now, they’re breaking digital barriers too.
” Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ X-56A is an advanced modular drone crafted to explore new heights in High-Altitude Long Endurance aviation. This aerial vehicle, boasting a 7.5-foot fuselage and a 27.
5-foot wingspan, successfully embarked on its maiden flight in the summer of 2013 from Edwards Air Force Base. The X-56A is specifically engineered to test and enhance flutter prediction and suppression technologies. The project has made notable advancements in flight control, particularly in demonstrating the suppression of body freedom flutter using slender, flexible wings.
The Flyer Øne design features significant modifications to landing gear systems, cameras, as well as addressing obsolescence issues. “In many respects, this is a simpler variant of the aircraft,” said a member of the Skunk Works team . “We collected significant data during the original program, so the simulation of updated flight performance has a solid foundation.
” During his time as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Roper pioneered the adoption of digital engineering practices within defense sectors, authoring the Matrix-inspired “There is No Spoon” in late 2020. Following this, the Pentagon mandated digital engineering across all upcoming programs. Nevertheless, unlike the straightforward integration seen in Formula 1, the aerospace and defense sectors encounter significant hurdles due to the vast array of intellectual property and classified data involved, complicating their adoption processes.
Istari Digital’s solution is a new decentralized data meshing technology that expands on the concept of a “digital thread.” Earlier this month, they launched Model Øne, a program to build an “internet of models” for the Pentagon. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Roper and former Google CEO and Istari Digital investor Eric Schmidt highlighted how such infrastructure could simplify and accelerate virtual technology across industries.
“Applying software practices to hardware will lead to revolutionary speed and agility,” Schmidt said. “Istari Digital is providing the missing infrastructure to connect coding environments with existing engineering tools, making software speeds possible for hardware at scale.” The newly developed digital infrastructure for the X-56A serves as a seamless connection between Lockheed Martin’s simulation models and the Air Force’s rigorous airworthiness criteria.
Its purpose is to fulfill the extensive evidence requirements traditionally demanded for a Military Flight Release through digital means. Once sanctioned, the aircraft-on-a-chip will be constructed according to the stipulated design and tested at Edwards Air Force Base. Should the physical aircraft correlate accurately with its digital counterpart, then from a research and development viewpoint, the aircraft-on-a-chip qualifies as a functional airplane.
This digital-first approach allows for updates and enhancements via software, bypassing the costs, time, and environmental toll typically associated with traditional physical modifications. However, Roper cautions, “It isn’t surprising this subsonic drone can be modeled in near virtual reality because it is anchored by significant physical world data. The original X-56A was built to collect flexible wing data because it could not be modeled from extrapolated rigid-wing designs.
Model pedigree determines what can be a digital twin.” The risk of over-extrapolation was evident in the 2022 Formula 1 season when new ground-effect regulations led to unexpected “porpoising” effects for many teams, including Mercedes. Taking over half the season to model, understand, and then correct them, Mercedes Tech Director, Mike Elliott, blamed a single simulation error: “If we hadn’t made that one mistake, we’d have a car that was winning the world championship,” Elliott said .
As Flyer Øne ascends into the digital realm of aviation, it brings with it accelerated design velocities and emerging technical challenges. However, much like in Formula 1 racing, adhering to outdated practices spells defeat. Despite the presence of new risks, the advantages of rapid design and reduced cycle times prevail.
.
