USAF Leverages AI to Help Maintain Bombers, ICBM Mission-Readiness

November 29, 2022

The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), a major command of the United States Air Force, has expanded its partnership with Virtualitics to establish a Center of Excellence and deliver AI-enabled software solutions for the bomber and missile weapon systems to increase aircraft availability and mission readiness. With Virtualitics, AFGSC will benefit from industry-leading technology to deliver predictive maintenance, inventory management, supply chain optimization, and manpower resource allocation. Connecting these enterprise solutions ensures that not only are aircraft maintenance needs identified, but they are also aligned with the exact resources and parts available.

The USAF has been working to improve Mission-Capable rates, the principle metric that indicates the health and readiness of an aircraft fleet. AFGSC will deploy AI to predict aircraft failure and raise MC rates with Virtualitics. Technicians are matched to the right job and can proactively address critical issues during routine maintenance and avoid unplanned downtime while keeping mission-critical aircraft airworthy.

Virtualitics focuses on leveraging explainable AI techniques that foster a level of transparency that enables stakeholders to clearly understand the "why" behind a prediction, and even drill deeper into the raw data. Ultimately, the Virtualitics AI platform gives AFGSC improved decision-making across all echelons, from the Commander's office to the wing and down to the warfighter. Virtualitics has worked with AFGSC for three years, and these new use cases represent a significant expansion of the partnership and AFGSC's dedication to bringing advanced AI capabilities to the battlefield.

"Predictive maintenance will absolutely change the game for commanders," said Maj. General Jeff Taliaferro, U.S. Air Force (Ret), "Virtualitics makes it possible for not only improved day-to-day decisions but even more importantly deployment decisions. Knowing in advance an aircraft will need a major repair before deployment will enable much better decisions that could save missions and millions of taxpayer dollars."

"We're extremely proud to grow our partnership with the United States Air Force to solve some of the world's most complicated problems and support vital missions carried out across the globe," said Michael Amori, CEO and co-founder of Virtualitics. "The partnership reiterates Virtualitics' momentum in the Federal space. Gartner named us a 2022 Cool Vendor for analytics and data science, and that recognition is only reaffirmed when we earn the trust of organizations as well-respected as AFGSC."

The partnership furthers the AFGSC mission which states, "We must continue to hone our ability to compete strategically, modernize capabilities, and increase capacity to succeed in a high-intensity conflict. In tomorrow's high-end operational environment, we as Strikers will be stressed and tested in ways we have never seen. Our AFGSC Strategic Plan focusing on People, Mission, Modernize and Engage will guide AFGSC to best prepare for tomorrow's challenges and win against our nation's adversaries."