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Please read further for an expanded discussion of the Light Prime concept and to contact us for more information.
What is the Light Prime Concept?
The Light Prime is a concept where a small, agile organization (defense contractor in this case) applies a modular methodology to both the system under development and the team that develops it. Typically, defense contracting consists of a Prime contractor that is expected to perform a majority of the work on the project, with a number of subcontractors bringing in their technologies or capabilities to assist the Prime.
The problem is that the structure of systems often reflect the structure of the organization that creates it. Not necessarily a problem on its own, but when a large, monolithic organization develops a large share of a system of sufficient complexity (i.e. software application, military aircraft, space suit, etc.), the system begins to incorporate the business cases, profit model, intellectual property model, and other outcomes that provide greater benefit to the creator of the system – as opposed to the user/customer.
What is the solution?
We intend to do better by architecting, developing, and supporting systems following Modular and Open Systems Approach (MOSA) paradigms for both the organization that is developing the system, but also for the system itself. Does this mean we are attacking the intellectual property rights of the inventors of novel technology? Absolutely not. Instead, we design our systems to use open interfaces such that any major subcomponent can be replaced by a substitute component: potentially made by another manufacturer, or a new technology altogether. Consequently, both the system and the organization take on a modular structure which permits us to change, add, or delete components or suppliers as needed to fit the mission.
Why does the customer care?
This modular approach puts all of the control back into the hands of the user/customer. It provides an ability to sustain these complex systems over extended lifetimes by soliciting the competitive market for vendors to provide sustainment and modification services. Consider a missile with a seeker that has become outdated. One answer is to go to the supplier (or Prime contractor that owns all of the intellectual property) and pay whatever they want for replacement parts. This modular approach provides an opportunity to solicit replacement technology from multiple vendors, creating competition in the market, driving down pricing while providing a strong impetus to innovate. It’s a win-win for both the customer and the industry.
What about the legacy Prime contractors?
Small, lean organizations do not always lend themselves to mass production. We can’t scale like the “big guys,” and that’s fine with us. If our efforts are typically scoped to the development, prototyping, possibly the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), and support phases, we need someone with the manufacturing capacity to build a large quantity of the system. Enter the legacy Prime contractors. The goal of the Light Prime is to develop the system, develop the technical data package, and then provide support to production, operations, and sustainment.
Next Steps
JTE Systems has collaboratively published two papers on Defense (War) acquisitions through a modularized approach. Please proceed to the JTE Systems Homepage and you can find the documents under Publications. We are currently finalizing the abstract for a third publication that is intended to detail how the Distributed Acquisitions approach will realize products and systems through a Light Prime contracting approach.
Please proceed to the JTE Systems main page for more information.
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