Milestone
This action involves establishing the foundational "blueprint" for the global digital twin. This means defining the common data standards and core software architecture that will allow all future aircraft, airports, and ATM systems to connect to a single, shared, real-time virtual model of the entire aviation network.
Without this common architecture, multiple incompatible "digital twins" will be built. This creates data silos and "digital borders," making it impossible to achieve the Long-Term goal of a single, unified, AI-driven global network.
Scenario
Optimising together
Context Factor
A fully developed, certified, and deployed ecosystem of net-zero technologies, from new propulsion to full autonomy.
Timeline
Short term
PESTEL
Define common digital and data standards for global aviation operations.
This involves establishing technical working groups to define a "universal language" for the new system. This includes creating a single, universal standard for tracking complex data, such as for 'Sustainable Aviation Fuel' (SAF) lifecycle tracking.
Read moreValidate foundational AI models for autonomous systems in the digital twin.
This involves testing and validating the core AI models for full autonomous flight control and next generation air traffic control in a purely simulated environment. This "in-silico" testing (e.g., using the new digital twin architecture) is used to prove the AI's safety and decision-making logic before it is ever connected to a real aircraft.
Read moreDeploy the 'Gen 1.0' system-wide digital twin for network optimization.
This involves deploying the first operational version ("Gen 1.0") of the system-wide digital twin as an advisory tool. It moves from an "architecture" (Short Term) to a live tool used by controllers and airlines for initial active flight path optimization and network-wide "what-if" scenario planning.
Read more"..., limitations on data storing and processing create high compliance costs and hinder the creation of large, integrated data sets for training AI models. This fragmentation puts EU companies at a disadvantage relative to the US, which relies on the private sector to build vast data sets, and China, which can leverage its central institutions for data aggregation." (The future of European competitiveness (2024), p. 30)
"Competition for computing power and lack of investment in connectivity could soon translate into digital bottlenecks." (The future of European competitiveness (2024), p.31)
"If the collected data can be made available to the research community, this will expand the validation possibilities to finally reduce the uncertainties of the climate impact assessment." (Destination 2050 (2025), p. 133)