Today, blockchain data platform Fluree announced it won a contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for providing command and control communications systems using blockchain technology.
North Carolina-based Fluree is working on developing a blockchain database. Last June, the firm raised $4.7 million in a seed round led by 4490 Ventures. The differentiating factor of this platform is it combines blockchain and graph database technologies.
“It has the ability to make the data immensely collaborative by allowing multiple parties to actually interact with it and improve security, and it really allows you, especially with how we’ve organized our database, to get better leverage out of the data,” co-CEO Brian Platz told TechCrunch last year.
The USAF wants an interoperable communications system for its various departments, along with a high level of security. After all, command and control is all about sending messages to troops in the field. Encrypted communication is the top priority for the USAF and the Department of Defense (DoD), and Fluree will offer its interoperable blockchain solution across the DoD network.
“The Fluree solution leverages a blockchain architecture for security while supporting the storage of large data volumes following FAIR data principles in the integrated graph database,” said Platz.
Under the contract, Fluree will partner with a department within the USAF and develop a platform capable of enabling Multi-domain Command and Control (MDC2) operations for the DoD and its global allied partners. Later, it will run events to identify specific customer needs and work on a prototype using the Fluree data management platform.
The contract was awarded under the USAF’s AFWERX initiative. Fluree’s platform will interoperate with existing DoD systems.
The U.S. Air Force and the DoD have been actively exploring blockchain applications. Last year, it announced deals with SIMBA Chain for manufacturing traceability and with Constellation for data interoperability and security.
The Department of Defense is looking at blockchain and allied technologies to prevent chip tampering and awarded two contracts.
More recently, the USAF contracted Xage for securing its IoT and other military devices.
