French aerospace company Thales Group and technology consultant Accenture have partnered to develop a blockchain-based system that could help eliminate counterfeit and grey-market supplies in the complex global supply chains supporting the aerospace and defense industry.
The working prototype, demonstrated at the Farnborough Air Show, is based on Hyperledger Fabric of the Linux Foundation and developed as part of Thales' firmwide digital innovation program.
It combines blockchain, internet-of-things and other technologies, to track, trace and authenticate aircraft parts and materials.
A research report, released in June by Accenture reveals that about six in seven aerospace and defense companies or 86 percent of them, expect to integrate blockchain into their corporate systems by 2021.
Aerospace and defense companies hope to use blockchain's secure, immutable and decentralized features to help them reduce maintenance costs, increase aircraft availability, and minimize errors in tracking aircraft parts.
In early May, Accenture was part of a 37 company consortium of startups and technology companies focused on applying blockchain technology in the automotive sector. It also included four of the world's major automobile manufacturers BMW, Ford, General Motors and Renault.
In mid-March, Accenture partnered German logistics company DHL to develop a blockchain-based working prototype to benefit the logistics industry, particularly for pharmaceutical products.
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