ABSTRACT
In the 1980s a number of major contractors made the strategic decision to become the Design Authority on Aerospace and Defence Systems. Traditionally, suppliers had provided a service to fulfil the whole spectrum of tasks from product or program conception, to design, to providing through manufacture and tests. The new strategy would mean that the large players in the industry would outsource the manufacturing of equipment and components to small and medium-sized organizations who would provide these items at more competitive prices thanks to economies of scale and demand across multiple customers. The prime contractor then assumed the risk of the equipment that they acquired, working as part of the system. They were responsible for the design integration as well as the physical system integration and testing.
