In this episode of the Applied Imperative podcast, Dale Goulding interviews Todd Tuthill, VP of Aerospace, Defense, and Marine Industry at Siemens Digital Industries, to discuss AI in the aerospace industry.
Aerospace is a high-stakes and high-investment industry, and speed is everything. A 5% delay in a program can break the business case of the program, which is why digital transformation is essential for success, Dale said.
“There’s way more money and opportunity in aerospace than there are people,” Todd said. “So many imperatives to get the right products to the customers on time and quickly.”
Stream the full episode here.
What is the five-step journey to digital transformation?
Todd outlined a structured approach that companies can follow: configuration, connection, automation, generative design, and closed-loop processes. However, many never make it past the second step.
“A lot of companies get stuck at connect,” Todd said. “Many companies even think that’s the end of the journey, but to me, that’s just the foundation.”
The real value starts with automation. When companies stop spending engineering time on repetitive tasks, like searching for data or copying screenshots into slide decks, they unlock significant efficiency. “It amazed me how much I was paying people with PhDs, best engineers on the planet, to search for data,” Todd said.
Even without advanced AI, companies can begin to automate and see results. “There are so many things that companies can do now with or without AI,” Todd said. “Start putting [your data] to work and just automate mundane things.”
Generative design and AI are part of the picture, but they are not the whole story. “The tools will get smarter…but don’t wait for that. There’s so much to be harvested just now,” Todd said.
Aerospace success stories
Northrop Grumman’s Digital Pathfinder is a standout example. “A 50% reduction in manufacturing,” Todd said. “That’s huge.”
The team shared their results publicly at Realize LIVE, showing how a fully digital workflow enabled them to move from program kickoff to first flight in just 27 months.
Todd highlighted that innovation is accelerating across the sector, from hydrogen-powered fuel to blended wing body aircraft and commercial space. Companies like JetZero and Natilus already have customers waiting. “Everybody wants to fly across the ocean for half the fuel,” he said. “That’s enormous savings in program cost.”
Todd also stressed that digital transformation is not just for design. “We spend a whole lot more money manufacturing these complex things that we do designing them,” he said. “It’s for manufacturing and support as well. It’s for the whole lifecycle.”
Todd emphasized the point not to get discouraged. “Everybody always thinks, ‘I’m so far behind,’ but it’s a journey. We’re all on that journey,” he said.
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