Istari Digital is poised to revolutionize the aviation industry with its latest project involving the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® X-56A. This advanced modular drone is set to become the first aircraft in the world to receive digital certification. This groundbreaking achievement marks a significant shift in the way aircraft are developed and certified.
Last year, the United States Air Force awarded Istari Digital a $19 million contract to lead the Flyer Øne program, named in honor of the Wright Brothers. This ambitious initiative aims to develop and obtain flight certification for a digital twin of the X-56A before its physical construction. This unprecedented approach, inspired by digital certification practices in industries like Formula 1 racing, promises to significantly accelerate aircraft development, aligning it with the rapid advancements in software engineering.
“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, known for its secrecy regarding project details, has finally revealed 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 a sophisticated drone designed to explore new heights in High-Altitude Long Endurance aviation. This aerial vehicle, with a 7.5-foot fuselage and a 27.5-foot wingspan, first took 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, showcasing advancements in flight control, particularly in demonstrating the suppression of body freedom flutter using slender, flexible wings.
The Flyer Øne design incorporates significant modifications to landing gear systems, cameras, and addresses 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.”
Roper, during his time as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, spearheaded the adoption of digital engineering practices within the defense sector, authoring the “There is No Spoon” in late 2020, drawing inspiration from the Matrix. This led to the Pentagon mandating digital engineering for all upcoming programs. However, unlike the straightforward integration seen in Formula 1, the aerospace and defense sectors encounter significant obstacles due to the complex interplay of intellectual property and classified data.
Istari Digital’s solution is a new decentralized data meshing technology that expands upon the concept of a “digital thread.” Earlier this month, they launched Model Øne, a program designed 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 this infrastructure could simplify and accelerate virtual technology across various 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 seamlessly connects Lockheed Martin’s simulation models with the Air Force’s stringent airworthiness criteria. Its purpose is to fulfill the extensive evidence requirements traditionally demanded for a Military Flight Release through digital means.
Once approved, the aircraft-on-a-chip will be physically constructed according to the stipulated design and tested at Edwards Air Force Base. If the physical aircraft aligns accurately with its digital counterpart, from a research and development standpoint, the aircraft-on-a-chip will be considered a functional airplane. This digital-first approach facilitates updates and enhancements through software, bypassing the costs, time, and environmental impact 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. It took over half the season for Mercedes to model, understand, and correct these issues. Mercedes Tech Director, Mike Elliott, attributed the problem to 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. But, similar to Formula 1 racing, adhering to outdated practices spells defeat. Despite the presence of new risks, the advantages of rapid design and reduced cycle times are undeniable.
