Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic provides software and architecture engineering support to the Department of Defense F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) logistics system.
The autonomic logistics information system (ALIS) integrates a broad range of capabilities including operations, maintenance, prognostics, supply chain, customer support services, training and technical data. A single, secure information environment provides users with up-to-date information on any of these areas using web-enabled applications on a distributed network.
“NIWC Atlantic has been so instrumental to ALIS because the organization has provided highly skilled people to fulfill a variety of roles, from cybersecurity, network architecture, propulsion and new site implementation, to sustainment management,” said Cmdr. “Tripper” McGee, F-35 joint program office (JPO) ALIS lead. “NIWC Atlantic has been very responsive to changing program needs for personnel.”
The NIWC Atlantic air and space team supports the F-35 JPO with software development and integration, project management and cybersecurity.
“NIWC Atlantic is strategically placed to bring new capabilities at a reduced cost to the program with a focus on products, people and processes, while delivering information warfare solutions that directly benefit the warfighter,” said John W. Smith Jr., NIWC Atlantic information technology systems architect.
NIWC Atlantic conducts system architecture design and reviews, laboratory hardware/software testing, local site network design/engineering activities, system installation and testing, technical refresh plan development, requirements change management, and contract development and evaluation for ALIS.
The F-35 is the first tactical aviation system to have sustainment tools engineered in concert with the aircraft for efficiency and cost effectiveness. Compared to previous aircraft, a higher fidelity of information about the F-35 fleet is tracked within ALIS to reduce operations and maintenance costs and increase aircraft availability.
“The people in the F-35 joint program office, as well as those from Lockheed Martin Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, are high performing professionals and a pleasure to work together with,” said Tom Gwiazdowski, NIWC Atlantic software integrator for ALIS. “It’s great to be part of fielding this capability for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, as well as several of our allied partners, knowing the F-35 will be in operation for decades to come.”
The F-35 JPO completed fielding of ALIS 2.0.2.4 in early 2019. ALIS 3.1, which will be fielded in the summer of 2019, incorporates prognostic health of the propulsion system. ALIS 3.5, which is scheduled to be released in October 2019, will include further upgrades. ALIS undergoes cybersecurity testing during each iteration, and corrective actions are taken to address any vulnerabilities.
The F-35 Lightning II Program (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter Program) is the Department of Defense’s focal point for defining affordable next generation strike aircraft weapons systems for the Navy, Air Force, Marines and allies. The F-35 will bring cutting-edge technologies to the battlespace of the future.
As a part of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities.
