MAY 2025AEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM8In My OpinionWith expansive experience on a wide variety of commercial and defense platforms, digital engineering expertise and advanced manufacturing approaches, Spirit AeroSystems is uniquely positioned to support DoD and Defense prime contractors with the development and fielding of future Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).UAS will be an area of enduring demand for the DOD. The Department is investing in UAS development to enable replacement of legacy platforms and position to counter current and future threats. UAS will operate across a wide range of architectures, involving disparate types of systems, from swarms of small modular mission-configurable systems, to tailored special purpose systems built at lower-rate. Notwithstanding the fact that future UAS systems will be modular and easily upgradable and deployable, they must be affordable.Moreover, the DOD will need to have a capability to produce these systems at higher rates with exceptional quality, potentially on product lines that involve multiple models. The challenge for the DOD and UAS prime contractors is to develop, test, field and sustain the most capable systems in the shortest time possible at the lowest possible cost. DOD and UAS prime contractors can address the above challenges in UAS development and fielding by adopting three practices/concepts:· Employing commercial best practices for affordability, producibility and industrialization as well as utilizing existing infrastructure· Leveraging digital engineering and model-based simulations early to flatten learning curves and speed program development· Digitally integrate advanced manufacturing and right-sized automationAdopting commercial best practicesCommercial companies have the ability to create significant cost savings for the DOD through proven cost-reduction practices and cultures based on efficiency. Continuous cost improvement is engrained in the culture, which has generated decades of supply chain best practices, design-to-cost techniques and requirement management strategies. Employing commercial best practices, like should-cost and clean-sheet price analysis, helps programs achieve cost targets and bend the cost curve to the low end of traditional cost ranges. Expansive commercial and defense supply chain networks drive increased purchasing power, subsequently creating significant supply base cost leverage for prime customers.Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the engineering DNA that drives Integrated Product Teams. It requires an inordinate amount of focus on production research, planning, and execution during the design phase of a program. The cost and flow of production systems are validated through digital modeling, ensuring a low-risk transition into full system integration, qualification, and production. Additionally, these commercial production systems typically manage multi-model production lines.At Spirit, we drive improved quality and reduced assembly flow, tooling and capital requirements for full rate production through the use of our Spirit Exact® solution. Leveraging precision drilled holes to eliminate traditional assembly tool strings, Spirit Exact has reduced production cycle times by 30 percent on our commercial aircraft programs. Spirit Exact can be easily applied to UAS system development and lead to meaningful reductions in tooling, capital equipment and assembly costs. It can also facilitate the establishment of a production system that is adaptable to change, accommodates multi-model lines, improves maintainability through full digital definition, and enables interchangeability.Spirit has significant experience on program startup through low-rate and full-rate production across multiple military and commercial platforms. We know how to apply experience and lessons learned to UAS development to increase program manufacturing readiness level, and in turn, reduce program performance risk. By Eric Hein, Vice President - Defense Programs, Spirit AeroSystemsDIGITAL ENGINEERING DRIVING UNMANNED SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENTEric HeinTHE CHALLENGE FOR THE DOD AND UAS PRIME CONTRACTORS IS TO DEVELOP, TEST, FIELD AND SUSTAIN THE MOST CAPABLE SYSTEMS IN THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE COST
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