How Digital Twins Are Reengineering Aerospace from the Ground Up

Interview with Carlos Castro | PACE Aerospace & IT (TXT Group) | Nearly 20 years in aerospace engineering, consultancy and business development

Published: July 14, 2025 · Updated to add the expert's affiliation, clarify forward-looking statements and add regulatory sources.

Disclosure: Carlos Castro works at PACE, which develops and sells Desmo and Missions, the software tools discussed in this article. Product descriptions reflect his views and the company's positioning, not an independent assessment by Dialectica.

Aircraft are still designed in silos: aerodynamics in one tool, propulsion in another, systems in a third. Carlos Castro, who has spent nearly two decades in aerospace engineering and business development, argues that digital twins are starting to connect those pieces into one continuous loop, from early design to, eventually, certification and maintenance.

Connected Tools, One Digital Thread

A digital twin is a detailed, continuously updated virtual copy of a physical object, such as an aircraft. Its value grows when the tools that model each part of that object can share data. "Each modeling tool excels within its designed domain, but integrating them into a cohesive digital twin environment remains complex," Castro says. "The ultimate challenge lies in defining durable interfaces that connect tools with varying fidelity levels and domain focuses."

At PACE, that is the role he describes for Desmo, an early-phase design platform that brings together aerodynamics, propulsion, structures and systems architecture, and connects to engine design and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software. "In a mature digital thread, we are connecting preliminary design tools like Desmo with tools from engine manufacturers, allowing aircraft airframe and engine design to happen in a connected loop." Linked to PACE's Missions tool, designs can be tested for performance and economics in specific operating scenarios.

Design for the Aircraft's Whole Life

Castro sees digital twins changing the earliest phase of development. Instead of static simulations, teams can test how an aircraft behaves in real use: how weather or routes affect fuel burn, or how design choices change maintenance needs. "Digital twins help simulate not just static performance metrics, but dynamic mission scenarios and lifecycle behaviors, such as fuel burn, maintenance costs or charging cycles."

That matters most for hybrid and fully electric aircraft, where energy use and total cost of ownership are open questions. Today's practice is still compartmentalized, he notes. "Current practices involve calculations and simulations within or across a few tools, but we expect improvements through increased data availability and potentially AI assistance." Looking further ahead: "With more data and AI, we may be able to derive calculation methods for novel aircraft designs without traditional prototyping."

Certification Is the Next Frontier, Not the Current One

Castro expects digital twins to play a growing role in certification, fleet management and maintenance over the next five to ten years. "Digital twins are likely to evolve from engineering support tools into core enablers of certification, operations and lifecycle management," he says. In his view, regulators may begin to accept digital twin models as part of the evidence for novel aircraft and autonomous systems.

That would build on practices that already exist. Aviation authorities have long accepted analysis and simulation as part of the means of compliance for some requirements, alongside physical tests, and EASA has published guidance on how machine learning may be assured in safety-critical systems. A full digital twin is not today a recognized substitute for flight or ground testing, and wider acceptance would come through regulatory guidance that has yet to be written.

Reliability is the gating factor. "Reliability is key. We're still limited by computational resources. But as we integrate requirements, design and operational data, digital twins will help us predict failures and optimize maintenance." He expects maintenance to shift from fixed schedules to predictions based on historical and real-time data, which would reduce downtime and extend aircraft life.

How PACE Positions Itself

Castro describes PACE's strategy as moving from selling individual tools toward supporting broader digitalization programs, with TXT Group acquiring niche companies to widen the product suite. "TXT Group and PACE have acquired niche companies with specific products. Our suite of tools supports the digitalization of aviation companies."

The company takes part in European research programs such as Clean Aviation. "We participate in numerous R&D programs in Europe, partnering with OEMs, suppliers, SMEs and national research institutes." Castro says the company can roll out custom features within a few months, which he sees as a differentiator.

Simulating Cleaner Aircraft Before Building Them

Digital tools let engineers test new propulsion concepts and their environmental impact before any hardware exists. "Tools like Desmo (formerly APD and SysArc) are already used to simulate sustainable aircraft concepts like electric, hybrid-electric, SAF-powered and hydrogen fuel cell designs," Castro says, with work continuing alongside research bodies such as DLR and ATI. Preliminary design tools still need to hand off to more detailed analysis. "Desmo, being focused on preliminary design, needs to interface with more detailed analysis tools, especially for novel propulsion systems like distributed propulsion and its aero-propulsive interaction effects."

Castro's Advice for Executives

• Digitalize with purpose: focus on areas where digital twins and digital threads create clear business or technical value, not technology for its own sake.
• Prepare for new workflows: AI, model-based systems engineering and interoperable platforms will shape how teams work.
• Invest in connected platforms: Castro argues that tools which share data across design, mission analysis and operations create more value than isolated point solutions.

"We need to stop thinking of design, certification and operations as separate steps. With the right tools and data, they can all speak to each other, and that's where the real value begins."

Carlos Castro is an aerospace professional with nearly two decades of experience across engineering, consultancy and business development. He works at PACE Aerospace & IT, part of TXT Group, which develops aircraft design and digitalization software including Desmo and Missions.

Sources

• NASA and U.S. Air Force, The Digital Twin Paradigm for Future NASA and U.S. Air Force Vehicles (Glaessgen and Stargel, 2012)
• EASA, Artificial Intelligence Roadmap and concept papers on machine learning assurance
• FAA guidance on modeling and simulation in certification
• Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking

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