Digital Twin implementations for the F-110 Frigates of the Spanish Navy at Navantia
Company
Navantia is building the new F-110 frigates for the Spanish Navy, next-generation vessels that incorporate, for the first time, a fully integrated ship Digital Twin.
To ensure that the Digital Twin operates coherently, synchronously, and in a scalable manner across different platforms, Navantia needed to strengthen the definition, design, and standardization of several critical services within the system.
Challenge
Design and specify the core services that enable the operation of the Digital Twin. In addition, collaborate in defining interfaces, traceability mechanisms, and design standards for the remaining system modules.
The challenge was to provide technical precision, functional consistency, and a common working framework within an extremely complex project, distributed across multiple companies and developed under the strict military methodology MIL-STD-498.
Problem
- Lack of standardization: The various project components required a common definition and unified criteria to ensure compatibility and functional coherence.
- Risk of inconsistencies: The Digital Twin is deployed across PDMD, PDAB, and PDCO platforms. Without a robust synchronization system, system states could diverge between shore, onboard, and contractor environments.
- Incomplete critical services: Essential modules such as the Digital Mock-Up and the Notification Service required full specification to move forward into design and testing phases.
- Heterogeneous documentation: The involvement of multiple suppliers introduced risks related to documentation quality, inconsistent approaches, and lack of technical alignment.
Solution
How we do it?
Surcontrol contributed by designing and specifying several core modules of the Digital Twin, while also standardizing processes and documentation.
- Digital Mock-Up: Specification of the virtual ship model visualization system, including access to maintenance, logistics, simulation, and training functionalities, as well as integration with internal and external systems.
- Platform Synchronization: Design and specification of the system responsible for keeping the three Digital Twin instances aligned (shore-based, onboard, and contractor environments).
- Notification and Alert Service: Definition of a centralized alert and incident management service with prioritization, classification, and integration with tactical and logistics systems.
- Standardization and documentation quality: We led key tasks to ensure scalable and rigorous development, including: creation of the official SDD design guideline, review and design of user interfaces, full traceability aligned with the quality assurance plan, active participation in the Navy’s working group
Results
- Critical Digital Twin services defined, structured, and aligned with the MIL-STD-498 military methodology
- Robust synchronization between PDMD, PDAB, and PDCO platforms
- Complete specification of the Digital Mock-Up, the operational core of the Digital Twin
- Notification and Alert system designed under unified criteria
- Standardized documentation and consolidated technical reviews
- Greater consistency and quality across multiple suppliers
- Active collaboration within the Navy’s official working group