As a global security leader, Lockheed Martin faces rapidly evolving technological threats. To maintain its cutting edge, the aerospace giant is pursuing an ambitious digital transformation. At the helm of this is Grant Epling, a senior project engineer who recently offered insights into Lockheed Martin’s digital twin initiatives during a Digital Twin Consortium webinar.
Epling underscored the necessity of this undertaking: “The world has been changing rapidly with alarming technological advancements and threats from various adversaries, and our customers within Aerospace and Defense have made it clear that they’re evolving to meet the threats and that they expect us to evolve with them.”
A central focus is developing digital twins — ultra-realistic virtual models linked to physical assets via sensor data.
“The real power of twin is that they provide you an accurate description of an object that changes over time and as more and more data becomes available your models, your simulations, your predictions become more accurate,” said Epling.
These capabilities position Lockheed Martin on the forefront of Joint All-Domain Operations, seamlessly uniting air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.
“Simulating a combat scenario in a digital twin with high fidelity models enables leaders to see what might work and maybe more importantly what might not work in a contested or combat environment all before the warfighter goes into harm’s way,” stated Epling.
Looking ahead, standards and partnerships will be vital. Epling focused the importance of “establishing a framework of interoperable standards-based digital twin capabilities,” while cultivating collaboration across “industry, government, and academia.”
Through this transformation, Lockheed Martin aims to provide an unparalleled sphere of digital insight, empowering customers to “sense, make sense, and act” with unrivaled speed and precision. As Epling affirmed: “We’re committed to protecting the security of our country and our allies — it is our number one goal as a company.”
Featured image: Credit: Lockheed Martin
