The Department of Defense (DoD) and industry are looking to better realize the long-term benefits granted by use of digital transformation for Automated Test Equipment (ATE). This includes digital acquisition, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Model-Based Test Engineering (MBTE). The digital trend will affect all aspects of product life cycles including acquisitions for new systems. This digital transformation brings with it the possibility to revolutionize the industry and accelerate the pace of engineering development. The ATE community is actively engaged between industry, vendors, and deliverables and workflows. This paper will define multiple examples and use cases for model-based engineering including translation from Systems Engineering Modeling Language (SysML) to Automated Test Markup Language (ATML), Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) and a digitally transformed ATE acquisition framework with several specific benefits and challenges for each. An examination of current work in progress is presented including National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) committee work, trade show demonstrations, prototype tools and test platforms. SysML and ATML are explained at a high level and compared to each other in order to clarify the differences between them and highlight the need for a systematic method of translation. Some pitfalls of translation are explained and the need for a consistent industry and DoD accepted style guide is clarified through use of a specific translation example. Finally, an end-to-end acquisition blueprint is explained along with the many perceived benefits of a model-based product development.

Keywords—digital engineering, model-based systems engineering, SysML, ATML, automated test equipment, digital acquisition