In the aerospace and defense industry, the terms “sustainment” and “obsolescence management” are common, and it’s easy to understand why. Unlike conventional consumer products such as cellular phones, which have a lifespan of only a few years, “products” in aerospace and defense are produced and supported for decades. 

 

This poses unique challenges to test engineers who must maintain a fleet of test stations based on legacy and, in many cases, obsolete equipment. This paper examines the following two approaches to this challenge and identifies some options in the marketplace today.

 

• Redesigning around a similar component 

• Integrating a new component or migrating to a new platform