Ansys solutions supports global aerospace and defence companies in their digital transformation journey to accelerate innovative leaps, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. As Indian defence companies are also bolstering into innovation, Steve Bleymaier, Brig Gen (USAF Retired), CTO for Aerospace & Defense at Ansys talks with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World about how existing infrastructure and operation setups can be utilised to their maximum potential by using digitisation.
Steve Bleymaier has served in the US Air Force for 28 years and in 2019, he transitioned to being a civilian in the workforce and began a consultancy firm to advise on aircraft sustainment and logistics.
Excerpts from the interview…
What are the initiatives offered by Ansys to provide support to global aerospace and defence customers?
Engineering simulation is transforming aviation by reducing costs across the entire product life cycle, accelerating the development of future aircraft systems that are safer and more sustainable, and extending its reach from design and development to the optimization of operations and maintenance. Ansys simulation solutions help accelerate modernization and optimize the life cycle of both aerospace and defense technology from the microchip to the mission. Delivering advanced capabilities more quickly enables A&D leaders to stay ahead of threats. Ansys is working in 5 key areas to support its global Aerospace and Defence customers, namely Digital Engineering, Autonomous System Development, Spectrum Operations, Hybrid & Electric Propulsion Systems, and Safety, Security&Reliability.
Tell us about the digital transformation steps taken to accelerate innovative leaps, reduce costs, and mitigate the risks of your customers.
The A&D industry faces new challenges that many of us have not faced before. The industry is required to innovate at a much faster rate than before, and that can’t be achieved through traditional engineering methods. This can only be achieved through digital transformation. Ansys is helping aerospace companies digitally engineer their goals and innovate to gain a quantum leap. By enabling Models Based Systems Engineering and introducing Digital Mission Engineering, Ansys helps connect the digital thread from the microchip to the mission and across the entire system life cycle. These open architecture, simulation-connecting solutions transform an organization’s traditional methods of engineering from siloed, closed, disconnected processes, to an open, collaborative, connected, mission-centric environment with traceability to an authoritative source of truth of a design reference mission model.
Ansys has triggered a cost-saving impact of billions of dollars with results such as the reduction of drag by 4% ora weight-fuel burn by at least 10%.Furthermore, Ansys has embraced cloud-based solutions to enable its customers to access its software solutions from anywhere in the world. This has reduced the need for customers to invest in expensive on-premise infrastructure and has improved collaboration across distributed teams. Ansys is developing solutions and solutions that leverage GPU along with CPU to enable faster and more accurate simulation and modeling. This has enabled its customers to accelerate the product development cycle and reduce the time to market for new products. Ansys is integrating AI and ML capabilities into its software solutions to automate and optimize complex simulations. This has reduced the need for manual intervention and improved the accuracy and reliability of simulation results. We are also developing industry-specific solutions that address the unique challenges faced by its customers that may require an integrated approach between different solutions and practices. For example, creating an integrated framework to solve an autonomous problem.
How are the existing infrastructure and operational setups utilized to their maximum potential by using digitization?
Existing infrastructure setups can be automated to support bigger digitalization goals for the companies. Large amounts of old/legacy data are lying idle. Companies can use this data to gain insights and take informed key decisions for their sustainment or even for the next design change. Ansys is working with companies to use the existing infrastructure to support their predictive maintenance goal for operational efficiencies. A few companies are hesitant to completely revamp their existing systems and processes. Ansys is working with such companies to deliver an open framework to connect the existing setup and introduce new elements to create more efficient processes.
Indian defense ecosystem is on a growing stage with a high volume of budget enhancement. How do you see the growth pattern & global support?
India is the world’s second-largest defense market, and its defense sector has seen significant growth in recent years.The Indian government’s push for the localization of defense equipment has become attractive to investors and innovators. Ansys is working closely with Indian defense organizations and defense startups, supporting their product innovation through digital technology adoption.
Make in India & Make for the World are the new focus area of India’s MoD. How does Ansys look into it and is part of the Govt. mission?
Ansys is a software technology company and doesn’t produce any physical products. However, we work closely with companies in India to support their design and operational needs through digital technologies. Ansys supports Make in India initiatives of the Indian Government and many startups in the country through the Ansys Startup program.The Ansys Startup program is for early-stage startups with limited funding and resources. We provide full access to multi physics simulation software plus high-performance computing so they can tackle their engineering projects quickly and cost-effectively.
To encourage upskilling and support the recently trained manpower, the Ansys Academic Program is promoted in India. It offers simulation software and resources for educational institutions to support the teaching of engineering, science, and design curricula. Our free student software has been downloaded more than 2.7 million times across the world.
After three decades of service with the US Air Force, what thought led you to start consulting for Ansys (Federal Aerospace &Defence) and later joining the FA&D Sales Team and eventually becoming the CTO for Aerospace &Defence? Any challenges you would like to mention in the adaption of working?
I really liked the people I was consulting for in Ansys Federal Aerospace &Defence (FA&D). I also loved the Ansys mission, and I aligned well with its values, so it was easy for me to want to be part of the FA&D team to lead the Federal Team focused on the Federal government. When I learned about the solutions Ansys provided, and I thought about what I had been doing, I really wished I had heard of Ansys when I was in the Air Force. I immediately thought about how Ansys could help the Air Force and the rest of the Department of Defence (DoD),especially on cost, schedule performance and risk, and where I could help Ansys to understand aircraft sustainment and what I like to call the “last great frontier of the digital thread.” The majority of weapon systems used in the DoD are “legacy” and don’t have much digital thread, to begin with, but will be used for many years to come; so, figuring out how to “back in” digital thread to systems that are already fielded is a challenge, but critical to figuring out how to incorporate Ansys solutions such as hybrid digital twin in legacy systems.
How do you see working with the Indian approach of digitisation of the Indian defence system?
The Indian Government has realized the importance of digitalization in the defense sector and taking various initiatives to transform this industry. India is witnessing the highest-ever thrust towards defense modernization in the last 10 years. To work with the Indian defense system, we are engaging in developing partnerships with Indian defense companies along with collaboration with Indian academic institutions working in the defense technology space. Ansys is working closely with organizations that are leveraging Government initiatives like Production Linked Incentives, Deployment Linked Incentives, Technology Development Fund schemes. Ansys is leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, and a system engineering approach to enhance the operational capabilities of such growing organizations.
Anything additional input you would like to share with our readers?
I recently enjoyed a trip to Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore where I met with Ansys colleagues and Aerospace & Defence customers in government and industry. I was very impressed with the vision and drive of the leaders and engineers I met, and the rapid pace of innovation and technology. Above all,I loved meeting the people, experiencing the culture, and eating the food! I look forward with joy to my next visit to India.
