Asset Readiness and Monitoring for Operational Resilience (ARMOR)

The Navy has made significant strides in collecting aircraft maintenance and sensor data from DECKPLATE and HMS and consolidating it within the SDR platform across its fleet, yet the potential of this rich data trove remains largely untapped in the realm of predictive maintenance. These systems continuously gather vast amounts of operational and health data from various assets, including detailed sensor data on 18 different models of aircraft. This data, which includes performance metrics, integrity measurements, and electronic system statuses, is critical for monitoring the current health of naval platforms. Despite its availability, this data is primarily used for basic monitoring and after-the-fact fault analysis rather than for predictive analytics. As a result, opportunities for preemptive maintenance actions that could prevent costly and mission-critical system downtimes are missed. By developing a more integrated approach leveraging advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, the Navy could transform existing data into predictive insights. Implementing ARMOR for the Navy would bring substantial benefits, fundamentally transforming how maintenance is approached across its vast array of aircraft. The primary advantage of such a system is the substantial increase in operational readiness. By leveraging real-time data and analytics, predictive maintenance allows for the early detection of potential equipment failures before they occur. This capability ensures that repairs can be scheduled at optimal times without disrupting critical missions, thereby maintaining, or even increasing the availability and readiness of aircraft.Forge proposes the development of ARMOR for the Navy, initially considering common components (such as the ARC-210 radio—a critical communications system used across multiple airframes such as the F/A-18, E-2, and P-8) as a potential starting point. The ARC-210 radio serves as a promising candidate due to its widespread use and critical role in mission communications, offering a clear path to demonstrate ARMOR’s effectiveness in reducing unplanned downtime and enhancing maintenance cycles across different platforms. However, we remain flexible and responsive to Navy needs and are prepared to pivot to other components if the operational requirements or data availability suggest a better alternative.The development process will be designed to accommodate various systems, allowing us to adapt the prototype to different components as needed, ensuring broad applicability. The solution will rely on the consolidation of historical maintenance data, real-time sensor inputs, and machine learning algorithms to assess as well as predict equipment failures in order to optimize readiness. By initially focusing on a single, high-usage component, we aim to demonstrate ARMOR’s capability to improve operational reliability and scale it to additional components and airframes.