US Air Force chooses Simba Chain for supply chain security

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The U.S. Air Force will use Simba Chain for supply chain security on the battlefield and at home, as part of a wider drive towards blockchain systems.

Simba Chain was chosen by the Air Force to aid Additive Manufacturing efforts, helping manage the logistics and repair of forward-deployed forces in a secure on-chain environment. Notably, security is of paramount concern, with military applications particularly targeted and vulnerable to enemy hack attempts.

The technology has been adopted as part of the Air Force’s Blockchain Approach for Supply Chain Additive Manufacturing Parts (BASECAMP) project, which is developing a prototype system that can track and register Additive Manufacturing (AM) components across their life cycle.

The Simba Chain is powered by industry-leading Microsoft Azure infrastructure, helping maintain the integrity and security of data.

In a press release announcing the project, Simba Chain said their technology addresses one of the biggest security issues in manufacturing for military applications.

The Air Force uses a complex supply chain to equip and repair forward-deployed forces and SIMBA Chain will play a key role in securing that chain.

According to the blockchain firm, “Long value chains are among the biggest security issue in manufacturing for Industry 4.0. This is the case for all manufacturing but is especially critical in military applications, where hostile entities would attempt to obtain or modify critical data.

Simba Chain said the choice of technology is critical to protecting sensitive supply chain data, noting, “This means that repairs to vehicles can’t be tampered with by a third party, as top-secret 3D printing plans could be transmitted to forward forces without unwanted surveillance. Blockchain is an ideal application for its decentralized nature, and SIMBA provides a simplification layer for blockchain developers to implement complex, security-focused solutions like BASECAMP.”

Developed in 2017, Simba Chain was built with military applications in mind, following a grant awarded to the University of Notre Dame Center for Research Computing and ITAMCO.

Specifically tasked with developing a “secure, unhackable” platform for military transactions and data exchange, the cloud-based Smart Contract-as-a-service platform allows for rapid development and deployment of decentralized apps on the blockchain.