Next-gen flightline maintenance demonstrated

Showcasing how flightline maintenance and sustainment can be digitally transformed to reduce time and costs associated with aircraft maintenance and repair, Northrop Grumman Corp., AT&T, and Secure EMP-Resilient Edge (SEMPRE) demonstrated the ability to securely share sensitive, classified military data across geographies at high speeds.

Northrop Grumman integrated its secure communications solution into a commercially available augmented reality (AR) headset worn by an aircraft maintainer to transfer high volume, classified aircraft data across a SEMPRE 5G private network and AT&T’s 5G commercial network between Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and Northrop Grumman facilities in Palmdale and San Diego, California.

Jenna Paukstis, Northrop Grumman vice president general manager, Networked Information Solutions, says, “The Flightline of the Future is a next-generation digital solution providing U.S. forces with the capability to securely access information and subject matter experts right on the flightline to repair assets with speed and accuracy, reducing costs and increasing fleet readiness.”

Previously, this information was accessible only in a secure location.

The demonstration showed the infrastructure deployed can deliver hardened connectivity and compute capability even when connection to the cloud is no longer available. https://about.att.com, https://www.northropgrumman.com; https://sempre.ai