U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin recently announced that it will be working to incorporate blockchain technology into its supply chain and software development processes. In a press release last week, Lockheed Martin revealed that it is working with Guardtime Federal to implement a blockchain solution that should enhance efficiency and security as the firm continues its work for the U.S. government.
According to the company statement, “"With this effort, Lockheed Martin becomes the first US defense contractor to incorporate blockchain technology into its developmental processes, enabling more efficient and assured offerings to the federal government."
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' Engineering and Technology vice president Ron Bessire offered a clear assessment of the company’s expectations as it integrates the innovative technology into its processes:
"These new cyber security approaches will enhance data integrity, speed problem discovery and mitigation, and reduce the volume of regression testing, which results in reduced schedule risk. The faster our developers can discover issues, the faster we can deliver."
The decision should ensure that Lockheed continues to remain at the cutting-edge of defense technology innovation, and is in tune with the U.S. government’s own growing interest in distributed ledger solutions. 2016 saw that interest increase as the Department of Homeland Security used federal grants to encourage innovation and the government’s own Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began to explore the technology.
