Blockchain technology has grown well beyond its initial uses in finance to become ubiquitous across various commercial industries such as banking, healthcare, automobiles, supply chain management and document verification. Since its debut, its use has quickly expanded across an array of commercial sectors like banking, healthcare, automobiles, supply chain management and academic document verification.
Soon after its debut, its use proved its worth as a business solution across each market segment it touched; blockchain quickly garnered tech enthusiasts' interest for various reasons while developers devise new applications across a wide array of sectors for use by this revolutionary technology.
So the question arises of why blockchain technology has such a following and is so in demand: what makes its underlying structure unique? Blockchain's emphasis lies on encryption data storage and management through its nodes network - eliminating risks inherent with traditional database networks or databases.
Blockchain technology enables complete decentralization, providing improved accessibility and security at each step in the exchange process. As such, innovation becomes a disruptive setup with endless potential possibilities.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain technology consists of digital records of information 'blocks' linked together digitally in order to form an audit trail or ledger known as the blockchain, accessible only by authorized users and decentralized. Any time data changes occur, all users in the network need to approve before it can be added back onto the chain with timestamping; once added, it cannot be amended or reversed, thus increasing transparency, traceability, and efficiency for businesses of any size.
Blockchain data differs significantly from cloud storage in that its entries are immutable and cryptographically validated by approved users, thus guaranteeing its integrity and correctness. Decentralizing ownership allows trusted ownership across an ecosystem compared to public cloud which only offers secure hosting capabilities with restricted access control by large vendors.
The Current State Of Blockchain In Defence
Every day, governments compete to implement blockchain in defense sectors as it offers them an edge against rivals and stands as a symbol of military strength. Alongside NATO allies, the United States appears to be exploring ways to incorporate Blockchain technology into military systems as it develops. They appear particularly drawn towards IoT development using this tech; indeed, section 1646 of the 2018 National Security Doctrine Act specifically names it.
In order to improve maritime aviation through the use of blockchain technology, the US Naval Aviation Command partnered with ITAMCO, a firm located in Indiana, in 2018. This can lower overall operating costs and allow better tracking of replacement aircraft components.
The Department of Defense of the United States of America also highlighted Blockchain. They believe its technological innovations could optimize supply chains with estimated values estimated to exceed $100 billion, including logistics infrastructure that had come under scrutiny during studies published prior to 2015. As this particular infrastructure had vulnerabilities that needed eliminating, Blockchain may help eliminate some vulnerabilities associated with it.
Read More: Revolutionizing Industries: How Blockchain Technology is Transforming Key Sectors
How Could Blockchain Be Leveraged In Defence?
The two main benefits of blockchain technology for manufacturers within manufacturing are supply chain management and intelligent contracts.
Blockchain provides supply chains with transparency and traceability by recording each step in a product's journey from raw material through raw material processing, raw material purchasing and customer delivery to customer delivery. This ensures its authenticity as well as providing licensing/condition of usage details across its journey through supply chains - giving organizations that lack visibility beyond first tier suppliers more power in pinpointing any quality issues faster and containing them more quickly.
Traditional management approaches for manufacturing supply chains relying heavily on strong relationships, auditing, and documentation led to rising costs. Now, with Blockchain's decentralized nature of information tracing back to suppliers themselves - in turn, eliminating manual processes while providing improved warranty management; Defence suppliers now have easier access to respond more rapidly when regulatory compliance requests arrive.
Smart contracts are pre-programmed transactions incorporating an "if...then...' structure, which automates the execution of certain actions when specific conditions have been fulfilled, providing certainty while cutting the time taken and human errors from repeatable tasks. Once conditions have been fulfilled (IBM, 2022), smart contracts initiate another transaction, such as making payment or initiating despatch instructions, which makes contract administration much faster and more accurate compared with individual editing of records in traditional contract administration practices - increasing transparency while improving security levels among supply chain relationships and information records alike.
What Complexities Should Be Considered?
As it currently stands, blockchain technology cannot deal with real-time data; therefore, if you need an automated machine system, this method will not suffice. Furthermore, its complex and secure structure does not lend itself well to advanced analytics.
As blockchain is still a relatively new and complex technology, its costs remain quite expensive; for the technology to provide maximum benefit to its supply chains, all participants must be able to participate. Many smaller Defense industry suppliers lack both the technology and human resources required for full integration; larger OEMs can manage this challenge by setting up the best blockchain platform themselves before inviting suppliers in their supply chains to opt in and take part.
As Blockchain is still a relatively new technology, some countries do not acknowledge it as an acceptable means of handling sensitive or classified information or legally binding smart contracts. Therefore, organizations should do their research on both local regulations and trade requirements to fully assess potential investments into Blockchain tech before moving ahead with any purchases of it.
Blockchain Can Revolutionize The Defence Sector
However, the landscape in defense is constantly shifting. In 2020, several Department of Defence contractors released a whitepaper entitled 'Potential Uses of Blockchain by the US Department of Defence," in which they examined how blockchain could protect R&D data against Cyber attacks (Digit 2020), as is also evident with US Army's interest in Blockchain for improving supply chains within marine aviation. Reuters recently reported that the UK Ministry of Defence was exploring ways that Blockchain technology might enhance security camera networks' trustworthiness (Reuters, 2019). Defense electronics manufacturers and other organizations, like defense electronics retailers, have invested in Blockchain to prevent counterfeit components from entering their supply chains. According to estimates from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), $7.5 billion annually in revenue loss due to counterfeit parts is lost annually within this industry alone.
Blockchain technology's promise to improve supply chain efficiencies and transparency across complex supply chains is undeniable, as is its capacity for performance improvements, warranty administration and quality tracking throughout the product lifespan. Yet nerves over data security issues, appropriate applications for Blockchain applications and decentralized storage remain widespread concerns across Defence organizations.
Relatively few manufacturing organizations (CRI), roughly 3-3%, have made Blockchain investments for their own business needs. Still, many big hitters in the defense industry have begun exploring and realizing its potential applications; several notable military manufacturers, in particular, are exploring its capabilities further before their government customers publicly approve its use, but significant interest remains. Blockchain offers considerable promise as an exciting future solution that may shake up sector foundations to unlock greater value for all those onboard.
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Conclusion
Government organizations such as the Department of Defense are exploring the use of blockchain in defense. Government contractors that start engaging with Blockchain early could have an edge over competitors who come late, providing opportunities not otherwise accessible.
