AUGUST 2023AEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM8By Dr. Marc W. Honikel, Vice President, Engineering, Rheinmetall Air Defence AG [RHM: ETR]DIGITAL ENGINEERING AT RHEINMETALL AIR DEFENSEIntroduction The latest military conflicts, notably in Ukraine, have stressed the need for modern effective short range air defence systems that protect against attacks from small, fast and agile targets. With almost 100 years of experience on the market, Rheinmetall Air Defence (RAD, formerly Oerlikon Contraves) is a global leader in the field of gun-based air defence and the sole single-source supplier of automatic gun, command and fire control systems. The core competency of RAD is the development, manufacturing and servicing of advanced air defense systems.ChallengesThe challenges for the development of modern air defense systems lie in the change of the operational and industrial environment. New threats, such as drones or standoff weapons, are being equipped with increasingly advanced technology that is relatively cheap and available for mass production. Ever-shorter technological innovation cycles that enhance threats and defense systems alike are set against long procurement and life cycles of products. Products are also networked with systems from other manufacturers in the course of use. As a result, the trend toward horizontal and vertical networking at systemic and industrial level continues to increase, while the available qualified workforce is decreasing.Digital EngineeringIn order to be able to anticipate these challenges, new paths must be taken in the product development. An important building block for this is the consistent entry into digitalization. RAD therefore adapted the Department of Defense (DoD) vision of digital engineering (DE) for itself shortly after it was published in 2018 [1]. According to DoD's definition, DE combines model-Dr. Marc W. HonikelIn My Opinion
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