Military Mission Systems Design

Our process

Too often we hear from those who have commissioned aviation mission system design projects only to find that a simple Minor Change has turned into a monster project.

We are firmly of the belief that engaging in open and honest discussions with all stakeholders helps us to set clear expectations and provide expert guidance from the start, avoiding the problem of scope creep. To assure a timely, planned and controlled process we aim to assist our customers in making the correct design decisions using our established methodology, whilst ensuring compliance with all regulatory (including Military Airworthiness Approvals and BCAR), statutory and legal requirements. Our design process is defined by gateways as illustrated below.

• Project Management support
  Regardless of the size and complexity of the project, our Project Management Office (PMO) will be on hand to manage the entire process from your initial briefing through certification to embodiment. The team has a wealth of experience in designing Minor & Major Changes for Military and National Security clients and their bespoke mission system requirements.
• Minor or Major change
  All modifications are classified as either Minor or Major Changes, both of which have different development paths, risks and associated timelines. One of our first steps is to check to see if one of our many existing ‘off-the-shelf’ designs are suitable, saving the client both time and money. If this is not the case, we then proceed to classify the Change as Minor or Major.
• Inputs
  Working within the Military Authority’s specification, the Project Team and our Design Team collaborate with OEM’s to identify suitable equipment for the project. The design team then consider the ergonomic, anthropometric, and operational suitability aspects and present them to the customer at key milestones such as Preliminary Design Review (PDR) & Critical Design Review (CDR).
• Outputs
  Building from the Authority’s requirements, CONOPS and our initial design concepts, we employ a wide variety of techniques to produce prototypes & illustrations for customer validation. These include 3D renders, full-scale ‘mock-ups’ and ‘in-house’ 3D printing to name a few. These will be presented to the key stakeholders at the earliest opportunity to gather feedback and approval prior to manufacture. The creation of prototypes also allows the Project Team and operators to provide valuable input and visualise how the design change will affect their working environment.
• Internal reviews
  We continuously review the design process and evaluate all decisions being made to highlight any challenges that may present themselves during the compliance and verification stage. This includes weight and balance, electrical load, interior layout and operational performance.

We see our job as a partner to a military Authority and its Project Team, to help navigate the design process to ensure that the mission requirement is delivered efficiently and effectively.