Second Front Accelerates Department of Defense Approval for OpsLab on AWS

OpsLab has been delivering software solutions to commercial airlines since 2019, helping them manage aircrew and ground staff scheduling more efficiently. By using algorithms that automate decision making for schedule adjustments, operational disruptions, and route mapping, the software streamlines operations and reduces overall costs. OpsLab addresses the challenge of pilot shortages in the military by modernizing and automating squadron scheduling and pilot assignments for sorties. Traditionally, most military bases with flying operations relied on outdated, on-premises systems for flight and pilot scheduling, which limited access to specific workstations on base. As a result, pilots had to wait for the next day’s flying schedules, creating a slow, manual process that failed to optimize the US Air Force’s most valuable resources—its pilots and planes.

To deliver solutions to the DoD, OpsLab had to meet higher levels of compliance and more rigorous testing compared to the commercial aviation industry. The DoD mandates that all software must meet specific accreditation standards based on varying Impact Levels (ILs) related to the sensitivity of its use. Products must receive an Authority to Operate (ATO) at Impact Levels 2, 4, 5, or 6 to be accredited for deployment on DoD networks. OpsLab estimated that getting to IL5 would cost it $1 million in expenses, take up to 2 years, and draw management and staff attention away from its core business. “The most important thing for us was not the money but getting our software in use fast,” says Arun Nair, founder and chief executive officer of OpsLab. “We didn’t want to wait another year or two to get our software being used by our customers.”

To achieve its goal, OpsLab chose Second Front because of its expertise in deploying software to the DoD and its commitment to providing exceptional customer service. On its own, OpsLab would have needed to expand its in-house security and compliance team significantly to accomplish the same results. “We looked at doing it ourselves but realized it would be expensive and slow and we wanted to deploy right away,” says Nair. “Second Front got us there fast.”

Through its Game Warden platform, Second Front streamlined the accreditation process by conducting a comprehensive security and compliance assessment of OpsLab’s architecture. In tandem, the OpsLab application was migrated onto the Game Warden platform on Amazon Web Services (AWS), using Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) as its foundation. After all the final checks on application stability, functionality, and security were completed, the compliance documentation was ready for sign-off.

The Game Warden platform runs on AWS GovCloud (US) and includes site reliability, day 2 operations, and incident response support backed by a robust service agreement. These services helped OpsLab save resources by not having to build out a larger engineering and security team for the ongoing management, optimization, and maintenance of its infrastructure after the initial deployment.

Game Warden automates key functions like security controls, audit logging, and database management using Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) and other AWS services. By enabling continuous monitoring and ensuring compliance with DoD standards, Second Front supports a seamless, continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, enabling secure software delivery to mission-critical environments.

OpsLab was able to meet stringent DoD standards using Second Front’s pre-vetted, secure cloud environment. Normally, the accreditation process could take up to 2 years to complete—with Game Warden, this was reduced to just 90 days. Thanks to the speed of accreditation and the scalability provided by Second Front, OpsLab is now in use at 44 US Air Force bases worldwide and two US Navy bases. Those bases can now better use aircraft, airspace, and maintenance assets. 

OpsLab aims to improve pilot training efficiency by 5–7 percent, allowing pilots to complete their training programs faster and progress from stage to stage more quickly. Aside from efficiency, scheduling automation has other benefits for pilots and can reduce attrition by improving work-life balance. Previously, flight crews would have to remain on base for several hours after missions to get their flying orders for the next day—now, they can go home after their mission is completed.

“Pilots, an incredibly valuable resource, were waiting up to 4 hours a day after flying while schedules were manually written up,” says Nair. “Now it’s intelligent, automated, and accessible from anywhere, leaving pilots free to focus on their real job—staying mission ready and training.” Nair adds that pilots now have more time to improve their own skills and train fellow pilots. OpsLab wants to expand its offering to include cargo flights and gain accreditation at IL6, a process that Second Front can help it achieve. The company is also in discussions with the US Marine Corps and NATO forces.