Partnership Aims to Make Navy Shipbuilding a Fully Digital, Model-driven Process
Image courtesy of Dirac
PORTSMOUTH, VA—Dirac has announced a strategic partnership with Fairlead, a leading American maritime engineering and manufacturing firm. The goal is to accelerate U.S. shipbuilding capabilities by introducing a software-defined, model-based manufacturing approach.
This collaboration will see Dirac’s digital production platform integrated into Fairlead’s operations, enabling real-time manufacturing execution, automated work instructions, and a streamlined design-to-delivery process. A Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE) from Dirac will be stationed at Fairlead’s Virginia facilities to support the rollout and ensure seamless adoption.
The partnership is designed to make Fairlead one of the Navy’s most agile industrial partners, capable of scaling high-volume, modular ship production with precision and adaptability. Dirac’s full platform stack — including design-for-manufacturability tools, facility layout planning, operator feedback systems, and automated maintenance workflows — will be deployed across Fairlead’s facilities.
Dirac and Fairlead aim to transform shipbuilding into a fully digital, model-driven process — where every design is instantly manufacturable, every operation traceable, and every production cycle optimized for speed and quality.
“We’re not just adopting new tools — we’re redefining the operating system of maritime manufacturing,” said Jerrod Heiser, Head of Product at Dirac. Learn more about Dirac.
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