[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" use_background_color_gradient="on" background_color_gradient_direction="135deg" background_color_gradient_stops="#0a1f44 0%|#ffffff 100%" custom_padding="120px||120px||false|false" locked="off" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" module_alignment="center" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_image src="https://webheadtech.com/wp-content/uploads/beale-airforce.png" title_text="beale-airforce" align="center" module_class="project-hero-logo" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" width="100%" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" text_orientation="center" custom_padding="50px||||false|false" global_colors_info="{}"]<h1>Case Study: Beale Air Force Base - Secure Aviation Data Platform</h1>
<h3>Delivered</h3>
<p style="padding-bottom: 50px;">A secure, cloud-native platform supporting aviation data ingestion, validation, and operational delivery for Beale AFB. The solution integrates iOS and web clients with containerized backend services, unified messaging, and an AWS- based DAFIF processing pipeline to deliver compliant, mission-critical aviation datasets.</p>
<div class="rfp-chip-group"><span class="rfp-chip">DevSecOps & Zero-Trust Architecture</span>
<span class="rfp-chip">Aviation & Defense Data Compliance (FAA / ICAO / DOD)</span>
<span class="rfp-chip">Secure Cloud-Native & Containerized Systems</span>
<span class="rfp-chip">Operational Resilience & Platform Interoperability</span></div>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" locked="off" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row column_structure="1_2,1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>The Opportunity</h2>
<p>Beale Air Force Base required a secure, resilient platform capable of ingesting, validating, and delivering safety-critical aviation data in compliance with FAA, ICAO, and Department of Defense standards. The system needed to support both web and iOS clients while enforcing strict access controls, auditability, and data integrity across the entire processing pipeline.
</p><p>
Key challenges included ensuring precision and schema accuracy for aviation datasets, securely processing DAFIF updates in a cloud environment, avoiding messaging vendor lock-in, and maintaining operational reliability in a zero-trust context. Any solution had to meet defense-grade security expectations while remaining flexible enough to evolve alongside mission requirements.</p>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>The Solution</h2>
Webhead designed and delivered a secure, cloud-native aviation data platform built around DevSecOps and zero-trust architectural principles. The solution uses containerized backend services, IAM-scoped AWS workflows, and strict validation layers to ensure only authorized, compliant data moves through the system.

A unified ingestion pipeline processes DAFIF uploads through AWS API Gateway and Step Functions, executing precision checks, schema validation, and authorization before publishing verified data to operational views. Secure messaging abstractions decouple alerting and notifications from vendor dependencies, improving long-term resilience and interoperability.

The result is a mission-ready platform that delivers compliant aviation data with high confidence, supports secure multi-client access, and enforces end-to-end security across APIs, containers, and cloud infrastructure—while remaining auditable, extensible, and operationally reliable.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" background_color="#f4f6fb" background_enable_image="off" custom_padding="50px||50px||false|false" locked="off" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row column_structure="1_2,1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" header_text_align="center" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>Audience &amp; Critical Journeys</h2>
<p><strong>Audience:</strong> Beale AFB operators and planners, administrators, DevOps/security teams.</p>
<p><strong>Critical Journey:</strong> Authorized users access iOS or web clients → requests flow through secured APIs → data is validated and authorized → DAFIF uploads are processed via AWS API Gateway and Step Functions → verified aviation data is published to operational views → alerts and updates are delivered via secure messaging.</p>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" header_text_align="center" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>Opportunity</h2>
<p><strong>Challenges:</strong> Safety-critical data accuracy, multi-standard aviation compliance, secure cloud processing, and messaging vendor lock-in.</p>
<p><strong>Resolution:</strong> Implemented strict schema and precision validation, container and cloud isolation, IAM- scoped AWS workflows, and a unified messaging abstraction to ensure secure, auditable, and flexible operations.</p>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" background_enable_color="off" background_enable_image="off" custom_padding="50px||50px||false|false" locked="off" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row column_structure="1_2,1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" header_text_align="center" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>Approach</h2>
<ul class="outcomes-list">
 <li><strong>Design:</strong> Modular, containerized architecture with clear service boundaries and least-privilege access</li>
 <li><strong>Development:</strong> Node.js APIs with centralized validation, React + TypeScript frontend, isolated MongoDB services</li>
 <li><strong>DevSecOps:</strong> Secure API Gateway, VPC-isolated Step Functions and Lambda processing, automated test suites, and environment- driven configuration for controlled deployments</li>
</ul>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.24.2" _module_preset="default" header_text_align="center" global_colors_info="{}"]<h2>Outcomes</h2>
<ul class="outcomes-list">
 <li><strong>Success metric 1:</strong> Automated, secure DAFIF ingestion via AWS Step Functions (~17 Lambda functions)</li>
 <li><strong>Success metric 2:</strong> End-to-end DevSecOps enforcement across containers, APIs, and cloud workflows</li>
 <li><strong>Success metric 3:</strong> Improved operational resilience through platform-agnostic messaging and reduced vendor dependency</li>
</ul>

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