ALIS and other automated logistics systems

Cockpit, radar, helmet-mounted display, and other avionics
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by spazsinbad » 28 Apr 2017, 17:45

ALIS 2.02 Ready to Go
28 Apr 2017 AFM

"Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday that the newest version of its Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS, which the company calls “the IT backbone of the F-35,” has been approved for installation on Air Force and Navy F-35s. Another version of ALIS, to be fielded by early 2018, will be coming before the F-35 can close out the system design and development phase, according to Lockheed.

The completion of version 2.02 means that “for the first time, the entire F-35 from tip to tail, including the propulsion system, is integrated within ALIS,” vice president of F-35 logistics Reeves Valentine told reporters on a conference call....

...The new system also automates the tracking of parts among variants of the F-35, provides “enhanced networking,” and streamlines “the resource management for deployed operations,” said Valentine. He called ALIS 2.02 “one of the largest incremental steps of development” so far in the F-35 program because it provides “a single system where all of this data is captured and collected,” giving operators “the tools and the data they need in order to economize across the entire fleet.”...

...But 2.02 is not the final version before the F-35 can enter initial operational test and evaluation, a transition that has been delayed by issues with ALIS development. For IOT&E, a 3.0 version will be required. “Fielding will start very early in 2018,” Valentine said. Among other features, ALIS 3.0 will have better security, faster data transfer for large files, and lightning protection.

A follow-on 4.0 version is expected in early 2019.

Source: http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pag ... to-Go.aspx


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by popcorn » 29 Apr 2017, 08:45

https://defensesystems.com/articles/2017/04/26/f35.aspx

F-35’s computer now integrates propulsion data

The Pentagon has approved integration of a software upgrade to the F-35’s maintenance computer system, which adds propulsion data and improved networking technology to its range of processing functions... The new software approval includes the Air Force F-35A and Navy F-35C. After successful flight testing, upgraded ALIS software – called version 2.0.2 – will be installed at all operational F-35 sites by the end of 2017, a Lockheed Martin statement said.

ALIS 2.0.2 now integrates propulsion data, which allows users to manage the F-35 engine from inside ALIS, eliminating the need for multiple maintenance systems and field service representatives to assist with engine diagnostics, analysis and maintenance, available Lockheed information stated.
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by spazsinbad » 03 May 2017, 23:06

F-35's Logistics System Moves Forward With New Software Upgrade
26 Apr 2017 Stew Magnuson

"...“For the first time, the entire F-35, from tip to tail, including the propulsion system, is integrated within ALIS,” Reeves Valentine, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of F-35 logistics, told reporters April 26.

Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine comes with its own performance and health monitoring system that also requires software upgrades. It was operating separately from ALIS, but is now fully integrated — with the exception of the Marine Corps’ F-35B version of the aircraft.

There was a lag in software upgrades Pratt & Whitney needed for the F135 short take-off and vertical-landing engine on the F-35B, he said. That is complete
, and will be in place when the Air Force and Navy begin installing the 2.0.2 upgrades, he added.

Source: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... re-upgrade


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by steve2267 » 03 May 2017, 23:12

Will ALIS cross service lines and nationality lines?

For example, if some Marines were flying cross-country across CONUS and had an issue with their aircraft and stopped at an Air Force Base at which F-35s were stationed, would the Air Force guys be able to use ALIS to tend to the Marine aircraft?

Ditto if on some future international, collaborative campaign. If you had Dutch, UK, Norwegian Lightnings mixed in with US Lightnings, will all be able to play with the same ALIS?
Take an F-16, stir in A-7, dollop of F-117, gob of F-22, dash of F/A-18, sprinkle with AV-8B, stir well + bake. Whaddya get? F-35.


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by SpudmanWP » 03 May 2017, 23:16

Most likely but the Guest Base will not have any historical data on the visiting F-35. I'm sure it's com up since all these F-35s flying around are not taking a full ALIS system with them.
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by Dragon029 » 04 May 2017, 02:12

Each F-35 squadron will have a standard operating unit (SOU), a server on which the unit's data is housed. Each country will have a central point of entry (CPE), which holds all of the data from its fleets. Each country's CPE then transmits data to the single autonomic logistics operating unit (ALOU), which is housed at Lockheed Martin's Forth Worth facility and acts as a global fleet-management storage device. “It is the one place where you can integrate for each service and country information across the fleet,” Mellon says.


http://aviationweek.com/awin/f-35-s-amb ... ent-system

If the Guest Base is some forward deployed thing using satellite comms, then there'll be issues with downloading the aircraft's historic data, but in the case of something like a USAF F-35A visiting a RAF, etc base 5 years from now, it'll just be a matter of requesting the data from the ALOU, which would then be able to be downloaded quite quickly.


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by steve2267 » 04 May 2017, 03:32

Heck, how much data are we talking here?

When the doctor is done with the patient, why can't the patient take ALL his updated records and complete history with him on a thumb drive? That is to say, why can't an aircraft's complete history and records be stored someplace safe onboard the aircraft. Encrypt the records even. Would serve as a check against the records kept on the ALIS servers from being hacked or corrupted. Cyber warfare and all.
Take an F-16, stir in A-7, dollop of F-117, gob of F-22, dash of F/A-18, sprinkle with AV-8B, stir well + bake. Whaddya get? F-35.


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by neptune » 04 May 2017, 08:33

steve2267 wrote:Heck, how much data are we talking here?

When the doctor is done with the patient, why can't the patient take ALL his updated records and complete history with him on a thumb drive? That is to say, why can't an aircraft's complete history and records be stored someplace safe onboard the aircraft. Encrypt the records even. Would serve as a check against the records kept on the ALIS servers from being hacked or corrupted. Cyber warfare and all.


...my doctor is getting away with updating my medical records on my thumb drive but.. the number of systems of on each F-35 would far exceed a thumb drive capacity >1TB from each flight. My monitoring systems architecture for the mega-million dollar machines greatly exceeds that limit, but my historical servers are local for the automatic analysis of trends and events.
:)


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by spazsinbad » 05 May 2017, 10:25

Ensuring Mission Readiness with ALIS 2.0.2 Upgrade
04 May 2017 LM PR

"...“The maintainers like the flexibility of taking a Toughbook [laptop] to the jet and having everything they need at their fingertips, and that’s your next-generation mindset,” said Steve Supachana, the lead field support engineer at Nellis AFB. “They like the ALIS 2.0.2 upgrade and the fact that they have more stats on the aircraft and have more eyes-on, instantaneous information on the status of their aircraft....

...Since completing the ALIS 2.0.2 validation and verification at Nellis AFB, the ALIS team has also completed the upgrade at NAS Lemoore in California.

Over the course of this year, the ALIS 2.0.2 upgrade will continue to roll out across the U.S. F-35 sites at a rate of two per month. After ALIS 2.0.2 has been stood up across all domestic F-35 bases, the team will begin international implementation until the entire enterprise F-35 fleet is flying with the latest software."

Photo: "Steve Supachana, Lockheed Martin lead field support engineer" https://www.f35.com/assets/uploads/images/supa-news.jpg


Source: https://www.f35.com/in-depth/detail/ens ... .2-upgrade
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by spazsinbad » 01 Jun 2017, 15:32

Hill AFB Airmen generate 3,000th F-35A sortie, adopt upgraded ALIS
31 May 2017; 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

"HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) -- The 3,000th F-35A Lighting II sortie departed Hill Air Force Base generated by maintainers from the active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Air Force Reserve’s 419th FW May 22, 2017. That sortie, and all others flown that day were carried out with the new version of the Autonomic Logistics Information System. Commonly called ALIS, it’s the F-35A’s information technology infrastructure....

...Operationally implementing the upgraded version of ALIS—ALIS 2.0.2.4—is another milestone for the Airmen working in the F-35 program at Hill AFB. “The biggest improvement is the incorporation of the propulsion system within ALIS,” said Senior Master Sgt. Jory Cyr, the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit lead production superintendent. “This alleviates the need to have multiple products to manually track time change items and inspection times. This ALIS update combines air vehicle and propulsion system times in one location.”

Cyr said aircraft maintainers here attended classes, which highlighted changes between the previous and current versions of ALIS, and a support team was available in each section to answer questions. “Aircraft maintenance does not stop when we install these new updates so there were numerous man hours spent making sure all the documentation was correct within the new system prior to flying each aircraft,” he said. “The 34th AMU was able to fly 100 percent of our local scheduled sorties after the upgrade showing the outstanding dedication and attention to detail by everyone within the 388th Fighter Wing.”

The successful ALIS upgrade and F-35 milestones are proving that the Air Force’s newest fifth-generation fighter and the Airmen who maintain it are key to America’s defense. “The culmination of the ALIS 2.0.2.4 and our 3,000th sortie is important because it highlights how fast the program at large is moving forward and how locally we are generating sorties at a very high rate—with only 22 aircraft assigned,” Miles said. “For example, in March we flew each of our aircraft an average of 17 times. Our Airmen are out-producing the entire F-35 enterprise and the Hill AFB stand-up of F-35 operations is ahead of schedule.”"

Photo: "Lt. Col. Dave DeAngelis, an F-35 Lightning II pilot assigned to the 419th Operations Group, prepares for flight May 22, 2017, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The flight in aircraft 5079 was the 3,000th operational F-35 sortie flown at Hill AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo/Paul Holcomb)" https://media.defense.gov/2017/May/30/2 ... 0-0005.JPG (1.1Mb)

Source: http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/ ... aded-alis/
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by gideonic » 01 Jun 2017, 21:17



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by nutshell » 01 Jun 2017, 22:50

I'd kill to see, personally, what is in fact text log worth of a ****** terabyte.

Be serious.


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by spazsinbad » 16 Aug 2017, 01:39

LM GM F-35 Weekly Update
03 Aug 2017 Jeff Babione

"ALIS 3.0 and TMS 2.0 Reach Critical Milestone
Last week, our RMS partners completed the Formal Functional Test for ALIS 3.0 and the Training Management System
(TMS) 2.0. Testing was completed one week ahead of schedule and the team found no unexpected errors during the test,
achieving a 99.7% pass rate. TMS 2.0 provides user-friendly personnel management and flight scheduling capabilities,
and allows users to define flexible training plans. TMS was developed natively within ALIS. Conducting verification within
ALIS 3.0 demonstrates the strength of TMS in its operational environment. ALIS 3.0 is on track to finish development by
the end of 2017."

Source: https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... 8_3_17.pdf (0.2Mb)


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by SpudmanWP » 22 Feb 2018, 16:50

ALIS 3.0 Testing Complete But Improvements Are Slow
2/21/2018
—JOHN A. TIRPAK

The F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Integration System, or ALIS, completed operational testing on Feb. 19 and fielded units will be updated with this version on a priority basis, based on which units have the most pressing need, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager for Training and Logistics Solutions Amy Gowder told reporters Feb. 21.

Speaking at the unit’s Orlando, Fla., facility, Gowder confirmed that ALIS 3.0 had completed “flight testing” at Nellis AFB, Nev., although this is an in-house company term and the system does not actually fly.

ALIS is a series of mobile servers mounted in two vertical racks—one classified and one not—that gathers and processes the flight experience of all the F-35 jets in a squadron, automatically ordering parts and maintenance actions as required. The 13 or so servers are transportable and go with the unit when it deploys. Lockheed and its F-35 military customers are looking at a somewhat smaller system that could deploy with a detachment of, say, six jets, as the Air Force has said it will be doing more frequently.

A team of installers travels to F-35 operating locations and updates ALIS hardware over a weekend, when missions are typically not flown, Gowder explained. Units receiving the update first will be those that are operational and flying real-world missions, followed by those doing training.

Despite it being the most up-to-date version of the logistics system, Gowder said Lockheed recognizes it must improve ALIS 3.0, as one of the major elements in its sustainment cost reduction efforts.

“One area [that] we do know” needs improvement is in the number of ALIS administrators, Gowder acknowledged. There are eight needed per squadron, and that must come down, she said, because manpower is a “key driver” of sustainment costs. Future versions will be more centralized to reduce the number of people needed to feed and maintain aircraft information.

She said the company is also looking to improve “usability liability” issues, which means that some ALIS functions actually take longer to perform than they do in legacy logistics systems. The Joint Program Office is allowing Lockheed to “roll in fixes” to both earlier versions and 3.0 to “improve usability.”

Another area slow to pay off is in automated test. ALIS performs this function at the unit part level, but not yet for the overall system, which Gowder said is “where the big bang for the buck is.”

The company and JPO are deeply into discussions about version 4.0, which was originally slated to be released in 2019, but Gowder suggested that target won’t be met, because of new requirements being added and the differing needs of international users.

“We may choose to defer some nice-to-have” features from 4.0 to accelerate more urgently needed improvements, such as cybersecurity, she noted. The focus will continue to be on “quality data integrity,” Gowder noted. The propulsion system—the F135 engine and its performance and parts—was added to ALIS in 2017, greatly expanding the amount of data it amasses and tracks. The company is trying to make sure that flaws from “legacy” logistics systems don’t migrate into ALIS when data is ported over to it.

Gowder asserted that the release of 3.0 fixes some of the problems that have led to F-35 sustainment costs taking too long to come down, and as it spreads throughout the fleet in 2018, “I think you’ll see a big improvement” in sustainability this year, she predicted. With a further update in 2019, more progress should be made, she added.


http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2018/February%202018/ALIS-30-Testing-Complete-But-Improvements-Are-Slow.aspx
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by popcorn » 23 Feb 2018, 00:43

Thanks Spud. Good to know ALIS is progressing, slowly but surely. Software impacts on sustainment costs need to be better appreciated. IIRC someone in top leadership once commented that because of it's complexity and importance, perhaps ALIS merited being it's own separate DoD program.
"When a fifth-generation fighter meets a fourth-generation fighter—the [latter] dies,”
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