In 2019, Airbus initiated a new phase of its digitalization by signing a memorandum of understanding with Dassault Systèmes for the deployment of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The two groups announce a strengthening of their partnership, placing this digital infrastructure at the heart of Airbus's future programs, whether they are civil, military, or helicopters.
The 3DEXPERIENCE thus becomes a strategic pillar of Airbus's product lifecycle management, mobilizing more than 20,000 users – employees, partners, suppliers – around a collaborative environment in a sovereign cloud. 
At the core of the setup are digital twins. By simulating the behavior of a complex system in its operational environment, they allow for upfront performance optimization, anticipation of critical scenarios, and continuous quality monitoring in operation. Supporting this, generative AI opens new perspectives in concept exploration, task automation in design, or early anomaly detection.
The stakes are high: reduction of development cycles, cost control, adaptability to increasing production demands. Most importantly, there is an expected contribution to the decarbonization of the sector through more efficient and agile designs.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, emphasizes the importance of this transition: 
"Digitalization is an essential lever to meet our major challenges: increasing the production rate of our commercial aircraft, designing future platforms aligned with our decarbonization objectives, and anticipating tomorrow's defense and security solutions".

To support this transformation, Dassault Systèmes will provide Airbus with seven 'industry solution experiences' integrated into the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, each targeting a critical phase of the industrial lifecycle:
  • Program Excellence – Optimization of program management;
  •  Winning Concept – Development of innovative concepts;
  •  Co-Design to Target – Effective collaborative design;
  •  Cleared to Operate – Product validation and certification;
  •  Ready for Rate – Preparation for increased production rates;
  •  Build to Operate – Optimization of industrial processes;
  •  Keep Them Operating – Advanced maintenance and support management.
For Bernard Charlès, Chairman of the Board of Dassault Systèmes, the future of aeronautics will be fundamentally virtual: 
"Our long-standing collaboration with Airbus is entering a new chapter that will enable the entire company and its ecosystem to innovate globally, more efficiently and entirely virtualized for the coming decades. Thanks to our 3DEXPERIENCE platform, Airbus will be able to fully leverage generative AI technologies as well as scientific advances in materials science, modeling, simulation, production, and optimization of operating systems. This opens new perspectives for imagining, designing, and manufacturing the experiences that will shape the future of the aerospace industry".

Translated from Airbus et Dassault Systèmes : un partenariat stratégique à l’épreuve de la transformation numérique

To better understand

What is a digital twin and how is it used in the aerospace industry to optimize the performance of complex systems?

A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical system, used to simulate and analyze its behavior in various scenarios. In aerospace, it is used to optimize performance, anticipate critical scenarios, and improve quality during operation.