4D Digital Engineering and 'Authoritative Virtualization' in New US Fighter

Article is paywalled, but Google Cache has it: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:MD6ykx...

Article by Dr. Will Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

Exerpts: "Digital engineering takes computer creation technology to the next level, rendering not just the design of complex systems, but their assembly, environment, and even physical performance in high-powered virtual reality (VR). ... Digital engineering is transcending into a type of four-dimensional architecture — one that designs 3D systems and time-driven processes governing them in realistic VR, long before their physical twins are built."

"A good case and point is Formula 1 racing, where there are no physical prototypes today. Every car feature and all physics governing it—even the rubber literally meeting the road—is painstakingly virtualized and anchored by authoritative test data. The end result is hundreds of digital cars being explored each season, even optimizing for individual racetracks, all without bending a single piece of metal. Real-world checkered flags attest just how authoritative these “e-Cars” can be."

"The same breakthrough is now occurring for military systems. Our eT-7A successfully virtualized production, constructing hundreds of e-planes digitally to optimize their physical assembly. Our new ICBM used virtualized design to explore six billion digital missile variants in mere months. And our advanced sixth-generation e-Plane is adopting Formula 1-style practices to out-iterate pursuing adversaries using our so-called Digital Century Series approach."

Also link to US Air Force doc on this digital acquisition strategy: https://software.af.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/There-Is-...