NATO STO

A Digital Twin (DT) has been defined as ‘A virtual representation of a connected physical asset' (Ref American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)). Noting that several alternative definitions have been proposed in recent years by different organizations the task group will have a goal to find a common agreed definition. DTs are used in data rich simulations connected to real world systems that are becoming increasingly recognized as an approach to the issue of complex system of systems design, development, production, operation, sustainment and training in military, government and commercial domains, with uses in many areas such as manufacturing, health, automotive, aerospace, smart cities and transportation. DTs, while requiring extra additional effort, offer the prospect of greater reliability, reduced timescales and a reduction in the cost of implementing systems. They can be used to reduce the cost of test and evaluation, increase the amount of experimentation, and enhance decision support and mission planning and rehearsal as well as increasing the probability of mission success and improving the models developed during acquisition. There is a growing demand to be able to federate DTs, nominate preferred standards, experiment on collaborative scenarios, learn from best practices and apply appropriate security. Moreover, a NATO DT perspective would be of value to inform and align national policies to support DTs in the supply chain and over the life cycle. Much of the previous activity by NMSG research and other task groups have predominantly concentrated on the use and interoperability of simulation technologies for individual, group and collective training in the live, constructive and virtual domains. This TAP focusses more on the use of simulation in the form of DTs for CD&E and operational use.