Navy logistics tool emulates Expedia

The U.S. Navy has developed a Web-based tool that helps logistics planners tighten Navy supply lines by identifying unused space on thousands of military and commercial flights, and ships travelling the globe any given day.

The Transportation Exploitation Tool (TET), whose development was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is a cloud-based software tool that helps speed the delivery of spare parts, personnel and other supplies via the quickest available route. ONR provides science and technology support to the Navy and Marine Corps.

The search software enables a planner to enter a description of the cargo that needs to be shipped and where it’s going. Then, “Expedia-like,” it shows all the potential routes where space is available and offers recommendations on the most efficient options.

ONR program manager Bob Smith told Armed with Science, a Defense Department blog: “TET uses advances in technology to provide outstanding optimization of available flights and ship routes, saving our logisticians enormous amounts of time — and that can literally mean saving lives.”