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Military MRO: Enhancing Readiness By Optimizing Resources and Suppressing Irritants (II of II)

 

February 24th, 2025 - By Murielle Delaporte - Highlights of the third panel of the AD2S conference cycle entitled “Innovation in military MRO, an air power factor” (Part II)

 

2) Data capture: a revolution in progress

 

For Alain Christien, data is at the heart of the current technological revolution and must be the subject of training at all levels: “explaining the data dictionary must be done in the training schools for non-commissioned officers and officers”, he says stressing the fact that his organization (AID) is currently working on how to extract data from sensors and platforms without the need for test benches.Once the data has been “quality-assessed”, it is then possible to create a digital twin, for which specific training is now also required, as it is a new “profession in its own right”.

 

A digital twin of the A400M is in fact already operational at the BA 104 in Orléans (1): “France is the pilot nation on this project in conjunction with the French state industrial facility (AIA) in Clermont Ferrand,” explains François Boche. A400M data transfer between end users and maintainers has gradually become part of an everyday practice as confidence has grown in the reliability of a digitized process.

 

The “Smart Force” now makes it possible to break with the “siloed” use of data in aviation: it is now possible to adapt what already exists in the civilian world to the military world through the Skywise platform, which collects usage data from some 10,000 aircraft.

 

“On an A400M,” continues the Airbus engineer, ”there are 200,000 objects that produce data, but only 5,000 of them are used. So there is significant room for improvement.” Linking air base (ESTA) data and flight data makes it possible to increase availability without having to modify anything in the supply chain, thanks to better anticipation of replacement needs, especially if extra maintenance is necessary in case a deviation from the flight domain occurs.

 

Predictive maintenance is therefore now a reality and makes it possible to increase the potential for flight hours - + 9% for the A400M - while reducing the number of maintenance hours = - 7% for helicopters.François Boche cited the case of the fuel filters on the A400M: the complete overview offered across the entire fleet by systematic data exchange made it possible to highlight the beginnings of widespread deterioration of the filters and a risk of stock shortages. This led to a readjustment of the filters in order to anticipate orders.

 

For him, two conditions are essential for the development and sustainability of such processes:

 

  • The continuation of good cooperation between all MRO stakeholders - industrial and state - and effective coordination by the DMAé and the DGA.
  • The training of “data scientists”, who are often not very familiar with the operational world: “for this project, 40 people were mobilized” and the need for data scientists is therefore a factor that should not be neglected.

 

Predictive maintenance is thus a good way of working to respond to the "irritants" of MRO and is becoming more widespread, as evidenced by its integration into the support contracts of the HIL (light joint helicopter).

 

On the MRTT air tanker, the areas for progress in this field come from the Singaporean Ministry of Defense, which is pushing Airbus “for digital solutions and has opened up secure high-speed pipes allowing data transfer to Airbus on all its MRTT aircraft and helicopters” (which is not yet possible in France for a variety of reasons). The result is, of course, greater responsiveness and real added value on the part of the manufacturer.

 

Vincent Gicquel took a similar line regarding the significant scope for progress in data collection: in the case of radars built by Thales, it is “less than 1% of the data that is currently collected by the forces”. The difficulty lies mainly in the storage of this data, and Thales has high hopes for quantum encryption, miniaturization and artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming decade.

 

“Data is the main concern of Thales and is at the heart of its activity (...): we are working in particular with the DMAé and the Navy staff on data access protocols,” he explained, also emphasizing the importance of not working in stove pipes.

 

In the industrialist's opinion, AI will “open many doors” in the MRO field, which is why Thales has organized itself in this field “mirroring the Ministerial Agency for Defense AI (AMIAD)”(2). Bringing together AI resources within the group, Thales has launched a “defense AI accelerator” bringing together 600 experts ranging from laboratory research to the integration of AI in products and services.

 

Among the AI applications in progress, Vincent Gicquel cited the following areas:

 

  • upstream data collection (“extended control tower”);
  • a complete “from A to Z” repair chain (digital twin);
  • fleet management services and personalized training (Headlight program);
  • research in the field of sustainable development and global warming (measurement of the carbon footprint throughout the production chain, but also the impact of warming waters on electromagnetic waves and therefore on the functioning of sonar and detection radars).

 

Naël Le Boucher from MBDA also focused his presentation on data collection as a “concrete example of innovation and agility” with the TRACE LoRa System project: this project, carried out in nine months “in open innovation and in collaboration with E-Business Venture” based on an AID call for tenders, now enables the automated remote reading of data relating to the maintenance of ammunition, “a tedious task and a major irritant for the military agency in charge of ammunition, the SIMu, which until now had to carry out this sensor reading manually in the igloos [where the ammunition is stored]”(3).

 

The scaling up of Lora (for “Long Range”) technology from 2024, following the development of a demonstrator in 2023, was made possible thanks to the mobilization and good coordination of all the players. This example proves the added value and feasibility of the “application of IoT technologies to defense in complete security” (IoT for “Internet of Things”), including in the field of secure communications and cyber defense.Other applications are thus possible, such as:

 

  • control of storage conditions;
  • infrastructure monitoring;
  • control of environmental conditions (in particular humidity levels);
  • reduction of the energy footprint.In the field of MRO, the “optimization of equipment fleet management with real-time visibility of the lifespan of the existing fleet” is now possible thanks to digitization and is proving to be crucial.

 

This concrete example of “agile innovation”, specific to the MRO of ammunition and achieved in a very short time, illustrates the added value generated by a good synergy between institutional and industrial players (in this specific case between the AID, the SIMu and MBDA).

 

Notes:
(1) Editor's note: on the digitization of the A400M chain, see for example the article published in the SIAé magazine Portances #7 published in September 2022, pages 3 and 4: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/siae/Portances_71.pdf

 

(2) Editor's note: on Amiad, see for example: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/amiad-bilan-6-mois-son-lancement

 

(3) Editor's note: “The TRACE LoRa system project was developed by E-Business Venture and MBDA, in collaboration with the Joint Munitions Service (SIMu), the DGA Aeronautical Techniques, DGA Information Management expertise and testing centers, and the Joint Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems Directorate (DIRISI),” quoted in: https://www.defense.gouv.fr/aid/actualites/automatiser-maintien-conditions-operationnelles-munitions

 

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