In the course of a panel discussion during the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference at Dana Point, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg explained that the use of digital twins has increased the quality of parts and systems used in aircraft production by 40%. At the same time, he announced that he wanted to make more use of "model-based engineering", as it is referred to at Boeing, in the development and simulation of aircraft lifecycles. The plan, however, is to digitize not only development, but also the entire supply chain plus service and support.

Boeing described model-based engineering for the first time in an article written in 2017. The Group used the model in the development of the Air Data Reference Function (ADRF) for the Boeing 777X. The system processes data, for example for wind speed and flight altitude, and converts it into digital information for cockpit displays.

Its competitor Airbus has also been working on digitizing its development for some time.