Moar on the cloud logisitics for F-35s, AKA ODIN, that replaced ALIS

Transition to New F-35 Logistics System Hits Headwinds

May 26, 2021

The effort to transition to a new and improved logistics system for the F-35 joint strike fighter is facing delays due to funding constraints and other challenges. The setback comes as the program is under pressure to improve operations and maintenance and to control costs.

The legacy Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS, was designed to support F-35 operations, mission planning, supply-chain management and maintenance. However, it has been plagued by problems over the years.

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Last year, officials announced plans to move to a new system known as the Operational Data Integrated Network, or ODIN. It is being billed as a more user-friendly, integrated information system to include modern hardware, architectures, software development methods, data environments and platforms.

The transition is being led by the Joint Program Office with support from Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the F-35 and ALIS.

“Our shared goal is continue improving speed, minimizing hardware footprint, reducing required labor, and enhancing user experience and overall capability,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed’s executive vice president of aeronautics.

The aim for ODIN is to improve maintenance efficiency, inventory management and responsiveness, he added.

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“Our intent with ODIN is not to just rebrand ALIS,” he said. “ODIN is all about a new hardware baseline, a new integrated data environment and new applications, and user interfaces that make it a better system from the ground up that we [the JPO] own in its entirety, and we will then execute.”

Maurer noted that there has been some encouraging progress, highlighting the importance of the capability needs statement.

“That document contains some performance measures for ODIN, which did not exist for ALIS,” she said.

However, “we still have questions about the overall end state for what ODIN is designed to be,” she added. “There are still a lot of unanswered questions about some of the fundamental issues that we raised in our work on ALIS about cloud usage and software development models and ensuring user feedback, and some other things. … We are cautiously optimistic, but we’ll stay studiously skeptical.”

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https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/5/26/transition-to-new-f-35-logistics-system-hits-headwinds

Better cloud technology to be adapted to F-35s by Lockheed Martin

February 24, 2023

"The US Airforce is keen to operate more seamlessly by contracting Lockheed Martin to research and develop a more advanced generation IT infrastructure based on cloud technology for its F-35 fighters."

The F-35 Lightening II is the most sustainable tactical aircraft out there according to Lockheed Martin, but the US Department of Defense (DoD) wants to optimise its fleet sustainment and readiness performance even further.

On 23 February, the DoD awarded F-35 designer and manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, a $32.5m contract modification against a previous order for a fleet of the stealth aircracft.

This modification adds scope to design, develop, and establish the F-35 NextGen Open Mission services. Lockheed will encompass the usage of modern cloud-based technologies and modern software methodologies for the Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Cloud-based technologies are increasingly being invested in and are beginning to play an integral part of the defence industry. The concept of a shared IT infrastructure provides flexibility, resource-efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

GlobalData states that cloud allows sensors, services and agencies to interconnect, giving forces the necessary superiority to overwhelm enemies that lag behind in such force multipliers.

Lockheed Martin had initially adapted its Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) to its first rollout of F-35s. However, this logistics system – which had been intended to monitor all aspects of the F-35 maintenance and the fleet at large – demonstrated problems of inaccurate or missing data according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2020.

ALIS’s successor system, the Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN), was introduced in 2021. ODIN has since proven to be vast improvement. The Joint Strike Fighter programme website tells us ODIN’s properties.

“ODIN will be a cloud-native system that incorporates a new integrated data environment and a new suite of user-centered applications; it will be a significant step forward to improve F-35 fleet’s sustainment and readiness performance”.

However seamlessly this system may be working now, the fact remains that the DoD’s modification suggests that it has new demands for the IT backbone of its greatest vehicle asset.

What is known – from this modification and the success of ODIN – is that cloud is identifiably the future system for the F-35 fighter. But what cloud capabilities should Lockheed Martin devote to R&D with the US Government’s investment?

As the war in Ukraine has shown, opposing forces can deploy electronic warfare (EW) assets that rely on heavy jamming outputs that can easily interrupt telecommunications. In such an environment, cloud computing would face serious challenges.

Part of Lockheed’s development modification to F-35 logistics may look to strengthen the security of its cloud infrastructure.

There has already been growing interest in this area in Q1 2023. On 23 February, NV5 Global acquired Axim Geospatial, which offers “cloud services” and “critical infrastructure and security”. This acquisition demonstrates the increased concern for cloud security in the defence and intelligence industry.

Moreover, another key target of research concern would be to improve the seamless flow of data collected from sensors.

The aerial objects shot down over North America so far this year have given the high-altitude surveillance market increased attention. The Chinese spy balloon has particularly drawn US concern to protecting its intelligence, particularly critical data.

It seems reasonable that attention will be given to the data flow between sensors and the wider cloud network.

GlobalData’s report on Cloud Computing in Defense tells us that the US Airforce (USAF), which heavily relies on the continuous flow of data from multiple sensors, is shifting the sensor-to-shooter cycle operational approach into one of data-to-decision. It is a much wider one that refers to the core capability of this period, the collection and analysis of data, to make an informed decision.

If this modification tells us anything, it is that a demand for cloud-based technologies, and their secure maintenance, are only expected to increase as we enter a phase of modern warfare that uses data as an asset to be exploited.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/cloud-adapted-to-f-35-fleet/

Cloud architecture plan for F-35s gets revised

March 30, 2023

"The US Pentagon alters its plan for the F-35’s cloud architecture: the legacy ALIS system is not a lost cause and the ODIN system will receive continued upgrades."

Migrating to cloud architecture is the backbone to digital transformation. The United States Air Force (USAF) seek to benefit from this open intelligence system with more rapid response times and informed military decision-making.

The fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet is an integral platform at the heart of this information-intensive environment, with its adept sensor equipment and integrated resources – where data is transferable across an open cloud architecture.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) identify the importance of this critical data infrastructure and is keen to enhance the systems they use to fulfil their technological potential. On 29 March, the DoD awarded a modified contract valued at $179m to the F-35’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Lockheed Martin, to increase the ceiling to provide for the ongoing development, installation, integration, training and delivery of the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and the Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN).

The modification continues support for the ALIS-to-ODIN transition, and more importantly, the DoD wants to modernise ALIS itself. This is a pivot in the DoD’s plan in its evolving migration to the cloud. Hitherto, the DoD has only sought the transition of its F-35 fleet from ALIS to ODIN – which the contract still pursues – but efforts have since been restricted to ODIN as a successor cloud architecture, with the eventual neglect of ALIS in the mind.

Upgrading ALIS with “software modifications” and “new capability development” marks a noteworthy change in the DoD’s new, two-pronged approach for developing both cloud architecture systems.

Their renewed faith in ALIS comes alongside another modified contract awarded to Lockheed for further development, production and sustainment of wider software builds for the F-35 fleet, which is valued at $120m.

The President’s FY 2024 Budget (PB24), published 13 March, stated one of the highest priorities for funding allocation in next year’s defence budget would include “a record investment in research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of $145bn”.

The DoD’s priority in funding RDT&E in the current security climate goes some way to explaining the USAF’s sudden road-to-Damascus pivot on its F-35 cloud architecture. Adapting ALIS as well as ODIN will no longer dispose of ALIS as a legacy system. This will bring about greater and more wide-ranging software capabilities available beyond the singular transition and commonality of the successor ODIN architecture.

This is affirmed by the fact that the F-35 architecture contract is primarily financed by the country’s fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance funds and the fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation funds. This aligns with the country’s concern for its research and development expansion in emerging technologies the cloud.

At the same time, however, US national strategy views integrated and interoperable measures as a high priority as the superpower seeks to pool common efforts with its allies and partners to maintain a competitive edge against the People’s Republic of China; whom the PB24 describes as the “pacing challenge” in the years to come.

The problem with the DoD’s investment in both cloud-native architecture sustainment systems is that the F-35 fleet is used by militaries across the world, and the use of both may be seen to impede interoperability.

It is not the first time that the US has been accused of threatening the flow of interoperability and dialogue with its partners. In fact, the UK Defence Committee has recently published a report on 7 March detailing concerns that the US threatens the fragile communications for coordinated military strategy in its relations with the UK. Some instances of roguish behaviour cited include the military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 as well as military intelligence sharing among other things.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/cloud-architecture-plan-for-f-35s-gets-revised/

Start of F-35 ODIN Software Fielding to Squadrons Delayed Until 2025

April 21, 2023

While the U.S. Air Force’s fiscal 2023 and 2024 budget requests said that fielding of Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) software for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 fighter would begin in the third quarter of this year and end in the first quarter of 2025, first fielding of the software is now slated for 2025.

The F-35 program wants to field ODIN–a cloud-based, government-owned logistics software system–to replace the more than two decade-old Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS).

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) did not reveal the reasons behind the delay in ODIN software fielding.

On Apr. 19, Lockheed Martin emailed a response and on Apr. 21 the F-35 program issued a nearly identical response.

“The F-35 JPO is pursuing our multi-year strategy to address the most pressing ALIS hardware and software challenges while simultaneously evolving to ODIN,” the F-35 program said in its response. “A key to this strategy is delivering incremental value as we mature capabilities. Elements of ODIN have been fielded today, such as virtualized software to run on ODIN hardware. We are continuing to build on that with foundational infrastructure elements as well as data archive and retrieval functionality in 2023. Fielding these software capabilities will improve unit hardware performance, provide easier data access, and enable enhanced fleet analytics.”

“We anticipate the full transition to a modern software architecture will begin fielding to F-35 squadrons in 2025,” the JPO said. “We will continuously develop software, infrastructure, data, and hardware capabilities to stay aligned with the air vehicle and continue to address the services’ priorities, within available resources.”

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Last month, Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the F-35 program executive officer, said that the program had fielded OBK to 16 sites last year and plans to begin fielding the classified ODIN and mission planning hardware this year.

“In 2022, we fielded two more ALIS software releases which addressed users’ top requirements and strengthened our cybersecurity posture,” according to Schmidt’s prepared testimony to the House Armed Services Committee’s tactical air and land forces panel on March 29. “One of those software releases included changes necessary to support air vehicle TR-3 [Technology Refresh-3] flight testing and fielding. We also began the development of the final ALIS software release, in accordance with our cybersecurity risk burndown plan, which updates several commercial software components that have reached end-of-life and are no longer supported by vendors. In parallel, we began work on the ODIN foundational software elements that will enable future application modernization and will continue development throughout 2023. We also began the modernization of select applications that were incompatible with the future architecture.”

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The Air Force said in its fiscal 2024 budget request that plans for fiscal 2024 were to complete “ALIS to ODIN software containerization efforts and development of foundational infrastructure for software and data modernization to increase user capability. ”

In addition, the Air Force said that its fiscal 2024 goals were to “continue development of the Linux platform and ODIN data architecture; finalize current generation hardware update, continue analysis of alternatives on next-generation hardware tech insertion supporting ODIN development and test plan as well as capability requirements that are not currently encompassed in the baseline equipment; optimize the ODIN cloud-based infrastructure while continuing migration and modernization of the ODIN enterprise; leverage the establishment of modern software architecture from Unclassified development efforts to develop and release the Classified portion of the F-35 Maintenance Systems ODIN enterprise; [and] develop and deploy improved capabilities to replace legacy applications.”

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https://www.defensedaily.com/start-of-f-35-odin-software-fielding-to-squadrons-delayed-until-2025/air-force/

>>19570512

There are plenty of good people - even stupid people often mean well.

Sounds like a lot of stupid people failed to listen to what you have been saying.

Sorry that habbened to you, fren.

But… you are here, and that means something.

Per what you shared, maybe this applies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPR3GlpQQJA

o7