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#Nimble technologies full#
Now, many are pursuing full digitalization of the engineering process from initial product concept to production. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated most companies’ digital transformation. Leading companies like these are investing in digital initiatives, modularity, and sustainability along the entire value chain. In January 2023, Boeing, for example, announced hiring an additional 10,000 workers, and Airbus said it expects to add more than 13,000 workers in 2023 to increase production. In fact, 59% of engineering executives in the sector expect budgets to grow slightly to significantly over the next three years as they ramp up production (see Figure 1). To compete in this new world, A&D companies are looking to shift spending and to accelerate ER&D investment. In the defense industry, the DoD has followed the lead of the private sector and introduced its own sustainability plan. Airbus, Boeing, and the aviation industry groups have agreed to zero net emissions by 2050-a hugely ambitious goal. On the sustainability side, pressure is increasing to make aircraft and air travel more sustainable.
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This could be an infantryman who might also be a freelance developer for a tech giant, for instance, or a medic who is a champion-level esports player and could thus more easily learn to pilot drones. The algorithm scours for hidden skills that are not necessarily part of someone’s military specialty but that are highly relevant to evolving military needs. One of the prototypes awaiting their launch is GigEagle, a platform that uses machine learning to find experts in the US National Guard and Army Reserve for specific missions. In 2015, the US Department of Defense (DoD) created a division called the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) that uses advances in commercial technology to help the military deploy cutting-edge defense systems faster without the red tape of the traditional procurement system.įor instance, in 2022, the DIU turned 17 commercial prototypes into fully fielded military capabilities, up more than 50% from the prior year. In the defense sector, evolving global threats such as the conflict in Ukraine have increased pressure to hasten defense acquisitions. In fact, many commercial and traditional defense programs launched within the past decade have not met their ambitious timelines. The demand for speed still, however, outstrips the reality of how quickly new platforms and systems can be made. The demand for shorter development cycles and the race to zero emissionsīoth commercial airline customers and the government want more for their money and faster. Finally, they realize that the large-scale layoffs in the tech sector present a rare opportunity to fill existing vacancies and hire the talent they need for the future. Aerospace and defense leaders who are pulling ahead are responding to these seismic shifts by investing in new areas of ER&D and rethinking their approach to innovation and codevelopment. Today, many leaders also see ER&D as a strategic capability that will determine their future success and shape new business models.Īs a result, the current tumult also opens opportunity for companies that are nimble enough to react quickly. Traditionally, the focus has been to make products better and cheaper.
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There is also a shift in how executives view ER&D, a core function for many large companies, itself.
#Nimble technologies software#
On top of this, chief engineers are navigating one of the largest transformations in decades as engineering and R&D (ER&D) expands from traditional disciplines such as mechanical and electrical to include digital ones such as software and cybersecurity. And companies are racing to address these issues all while struggling to fill an expanding talent gap. The common denominator is speed-namely, whether to bring products to market more quickly, or to slash the costs of existing products, or to meet sustainability requirements by 2050 (if not earlier). Chief engineers in aerospace and defense (A&D) face mounting market pressures.
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