Deploying Networked Real-Time Simulation, Putting the Virtual Enterprise to Work Some Aerospace Experience

Aerospace products are typically high-tech, high quality and low volume. They are produced by specialised geographically dispersed companies. The production is dominated by a large amount of engineering. In the engineering phase each company makes extensive use of real-time simulation for its own (sub) systems. At the same time the aerospace industry is becoming more competitive. This way of working combined with the business realities provides an opportunity to deploy the virtual enterprise concept in the aerospace domain. This paper focuses on the virtual enterprise as realised by networking existing real-time simulators. Major applications of networked real-time simulation are training, mission planning and networked R&D. Each of these applications will be illustrated with an example from a different domain. Networked simulations require exercise management for which this paper presents a re-usable implementation based on international standards. Our experience, consolidated in the SmartFED tool, shows that the virtual enterprise concept as embodied in networked simulation provides benefits like increased quality and reduced timeto-market of a product.