For many years, the United States Military has been experimenting with blockchain in a number of settings to enhance its operations. Now, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is adopting blockchain into its budgeting and accounting processes.
According to a Thursday press release, the USAF has enlisted SIMBA Chain, a blockchain-as-a-service platform, to develop a blockchain-based system for tracking and monitoring the military’s cash flow and supply chain quality and management. The goal of the project, dubbed Digital Blockchain Budgeting Accountability and Tracking (DiBaT), is to tokenize all dollars within the USAF supply chain budget, as well as track fund movement across billing centers, purchasing teams and suppliers.
DiBaT, as per the release, uses SIMBA Blocks to track and audit funds in a secure, zero-trust, tamper-proof blockchain that allows USAF management to view where money is being utilized and how it is presently positioned within the allocation and payment system. It will also increase supply chain visibility and transparency in the materials purchased.
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Joel Neidig, co-founder and president of SIMBA Chain, said that the firm and the US Air Force anticipate the project will have a beneficial influence on transparency and efficiency while also assisting them in determining the return on investment from items they acquire frequently. He added that:
“We have been working with Air Force for the past 4 years on various implementations, we are excited to move out of the pilot and proof of concept phases to more production environments. Air Force is definitely the leader in blockchain adoption for DoD.”
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The United States military is made up of six branches: the Marines, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force. Half of these branches have previously announced major plans to utilize blockchain technology or other forms of digital assets.
In 2019, the USAF selected SIMBA Chain to help secure its supply chain and also partnered with blockchain big data management startup Constellation. The U.S. Navy awarded Consensus Networks a $1.5-million contract in November to create a blockchain-based logistics system called HealthNet. Last year, Space Force said that it would release nonfungible token versions of patches and coins specifically tailored for the launch of one of its spacecraft.
