Into the wild blue yonder: the USAF adopts blockchain

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is reportedly embracing blockchain technology more than ever. Two announcements from last week reveal that the military branch has signed on with blockchain companies to help improve its operations as the branch continues to soar higher and longer.

Constellation Network announced early last week that it had been selected by the U.S.A. to deploy technology that would help it to “securely unlock traditionally siloed and non-accessible data and data sources.” The San Francisco-based company is behind infrastructure elements that create a decentralized data marketplace, as well as enterprise-level software solutions for data provenance and integrity.

The company’s VP of business development, Benjamin Diggles, commented about the partnership in a press release, stating, “It’s a match at the right time with the right partner,” adding that “the USAF has a multitude of data sources like drones, planes, and satellites that need to be secured. Clean and consolidated data that can be queried instantly is a big need within the defense apparatus.”

The second agreement was announced a day earlier and involves the USAF and Indiana-based SIMBA Chain. It will see the USAF relying on the technology for supply chain security and management in its Blockchain Approach for Supply Chain Additive Manufacturing Parts (BASECAMP) project. An announcement adds that the arrangement will have BASECAMP test a SIMBA blockchain prototype for the registration and tracking of components of Additive Manufacturing for its entire lifecycle.

The announcement adds, “SIMBA Chain’s cloud-based, Smart Contract-as-a-service (SCaaS) platform enables users, developers, government, and enterprises to quickly develop and deploy blockchain dapps for iOS, Android, and the web.” SIMBA has its roots in the government, having been part of a pilot at the University of Notre Dame funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an unhackable communications platform.

The USAF, and, in general, the Department of Defense (DOD), has been more open to blockchain technology and more ready to advance than other sectors of government operations. Recognizing the benefits the blockchain can offer, both public and private entities are beginning to adopt the technology more than ever. Within the next five years, the transition from conventional methods of operations to blockchain-based operations is going to grow significantly, led by those who were able to recognize its true value.