Digital Engineering: Making it Real.

• Position: IN BRIEF

* The new era of digital engineering is causing some minor problems--at least in terms of public perceptions, said Jim Kowalski, vice president, government programs at Northrop Grumman.

Early work on programs the company is working on, such as the B-21 bomber and LGM-35A Sentinel rocket, is now done on computers, so they can't physically show anyone the progress being made.

As for the Sentinel, which is designed to deliver nuclear weapons as part of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program, it was conceived to be digitally designed from the beginning. "And that has led to a lot of really great progress," Kowalski said at the AFA's annual conference.

"A lot of times until you actually see something...