The United States Air Force (USAF) has chosen smart contract startup SIMBA Chain to provide the blockchain which will be used to secure its supply chain.

In a news release published on Aug. 26, SIMBA Chain said the technology it develops will be used on the battlefield and at home.

USAF hopes blockchain will make its data more tamper-proof

SIMBA Chain explained that long value chains are a security issue “especially critical in military applications, where hostile entities would attempt to obtain or modify critical data.”

The aim of the project is to coordinate distributed manufacturing on the field with blockchain. For now, SIMBA Chain is tasked with prototyping a blockchain approach for the registration and tracking of additive manufacturing components during their entire lifecycle.

Secret 3D printing plans transmission

The startup employs Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, claiming that it delivers “trust and reliability, key factors when providing support on the battlefield.”

The company wishes to decentralize parts of manufacturing on the battlefield while maintaining data integrity so “repairs to vehicles can’t be tampered with by a third party, as top-secret 3D printing plans could be transmitted to forward forces without unwanted surveillance.”

As Cointelegraph reported in December last year, the graduate school for the U.S. Air Force has developed an educational tool on blockchain technology for supply chain management.