mckinsey -重构航空航天与国防业务体系提速增效、赋能增长 Rewiring aerospace and defense operations for speed and growth

Mcsey

&company

Aerospace&DefensePractice

Rewiringaerospaceanddefenseoperationsfor

speedandgrowth

Tomeetsurgingdemand,manufacturersmusturgentlyrethinktheiroperationstounlockspeed,focus,andfrontlineempowerment.

ThisarticleisacollaborativeeffortbyNickMellors,RyanBrukardt,withIshmaelAmegashie,MikeConway,andSeanCassady,representingviewsfromMcKinsey’sAerospace&DefensePractice.

©Gettylmages

August2025

Mostaerospaceanddefensemanufacturers

arestrugglingtokeepupwithrisingdemandand

rapidtechnologicalchange.Aselectfewhave

foundwaystosafelybreakoldparadigms,however,rapidlyrewiringtheiroperationstomatchthe

currentpaceofchangeinthesector.Withthis

approachtheyareconsistentlyachievingrate

increasesof50percentinmonths,withlittletonocapitalcost,measurableincreasesinquality,andimprovedfrontlineengagement.1

rearmamentplans.TheUSexpectstodoubleits

productionofmissilesfrom5,000to10,000per

year,forexample,whiletheEuropeanUnion’s

WhitePaperforEuropeanDefencecallsfor

additionaldefenseexpendituresof€800billion

($900billion)acrosstheblocinthecomingyears.2Between2030and2054,productionofmilitary

surfaceships,submarines,andamphibiousvesselsisexpectedtobe50percenthigherthanitistoday.3

Theglobalaerospaceanddefense(A&D)landscapehasenteredaperiodofsignificantinnovation,

disruption,anddemandgrowth.Geopoliticsis

drivingdemandfordefensesystems,commercialaviationisexperiencingunprecedentedinnovation,anddisruptorcompaniesarescalingup.

Inthedefensesector,majorpowershave

respondedtoheightenedtensionswithextensive

Growingpains

ForA&Dplayers,therecentsurgeindemandhascreatedsignificantchallenges.Workinginahighlyregulated,safety-criticalbusiness,companies

inthesectorhavebuilttheiroperationswitha

well-deservedrisk-aversepostureincriticalareassuchassafety,quality,andproductperformance.However,thisriskaversionhasoftenbledoverintoplaceswherecalculatedrisk-takingiswarranted,

1

McKinseyanalysis.

2Cancian,MarkF.“RebuildingU.S.Inventories:SixCriticalSystems,”CenterforStrategicandInternationalStudies,January9,2023;WhitePaperforEuropeanDefence–Readiness2030,EuropeanUnion,March21,2025.

3

TestimonyonTheNavy’s2025ShipbuildingPlanandItsImplicationsfortheShipbuildingIndustrialBase,CongressionalBudgetOffice,March21,2025.

A&Dcompaniescantakesixactionsto‘rewire’forgrowththroughoperations

1.Embeddirectlyonthefrontline.Workbackwardfromrealconstraintstoensuretheproblemsthatreallymatterareaddressed.

2.Cracksilosondayone.Buildcross-functionalteamsandworkacrossdepartmentstosolveproblems.

3.Makechangesimmediately.Launchquickwinsinamatterofdaysandexperimentwheresafe.

4.Beresourceful.Maximizewhatisavailablenowinsteadofwaitingfornewtoolsorfuturecapital.

5.Seizemomentum.Usequickwinstoprovethatchangeispossibleandraiseaspirations.

6.Useupskillingtochangeculture.Createownershipofoutcomesandbuildthecapabilitiesinthefront-lineteamtoimpactthem.

2Rewiringaerospaceanddefenseoperationsforspeedandgrowth

Rewiringaerospaceanddefenseoperationsforspeedandgrowth3

andevenhealthy,suchasoperationalimprovementsandcross-functionalcoordination.Thathasledto

rigidprocessesthatarenowunabletoadapttothehigherproductionratesdemandedofthem.

Additionally,organizational,commercial,and

technologicalconsiderationshavecontributedto

thesector’spoorflexibility.Manybusinessesrely

onhighlyskilled,specializedteamsthatoperate

insiloswithlimitedcross-functionalcollaboration.

Contractstructures,suchasthecost-plusapproachcommonindefenseprocurement,havecreated

littleincentivetopursueoperationalefficiency

orproductivitygains.Andtheever-increasing

complexityandconfigurabilityoftheseproducts

compoundexistingmanufacturingandsupplychainchallenges.

Yetthereisplentyofopportunitytoimprove.Inour

experienceonthefrontlinewithA&Dmanufacturingteams,theratiooftimespentworkingonproducts

(touchtime)totimespentonotheractivitiesislessthan50percent.Productsbeingbuilt(workin

process)oftenspend90percentormoreoftheirtimesittingidleonthefactoryfloor.Companies

cantapintothisopportunitywithoutaskingtheirteamstoworklongerhours,rush,orcutcorners,andwithoutmakingcostlyinvestmentsinfacilityexpansions.Instead,theycanfocuson“rewiring”theiroperationstoremoveconstraints,eliminatewaste,andoptimizeend-to-endflow.Gettingthatrightcandeliversignificantreturns,increasing

throughputpotentialby50percentormoreina

matterofmonths,withoutcompromisingsafetyorquality,andoftenatnoadditionalcost.

Exhibit

Acrossaerospaceanddefensesites,speedcorrelateswithimpact.

Productivityofsite’sfrontlineworkforcethroughoperationstransformation,¹%

Movedquicklyandrewiredoperations

EstimatedpotentialEarlywinsPost-transformationsustainment

Site3

+90%

8months

Site4

+100%

6months

20

0

Baseline²1month6months6months

Site1Site2

+25%

+15%

“Slowandsteady”approachwithinlegacywiring

60

40

1%productivityistheratioofvalue-addedtimetototaltimepershiftforthefrontlineworkforce.2Startoftransformation.

McKinsey&Company

4Rewiringaerospaceanddefenseoperationsforspeedandgrowth

A&Dorganizationsthathaveadoptedthisapproachfindthatitrequiresthemtomakeuncomfortable,

fast,andfocusedchangestotheiroperations,butthatdoingsounlocksbiggerimprovementsthancanbeachievedwithlegacyoperationalwiring

(exhibit).

Therewiringimperative

ManyA&Dorganizationshavealreadytriedvariousstrategiestoimprovetheproductivityandspeedoftheirfrontlineoperations.Toooften,theseeffortsfailed,resultinginaproliferationofmeetings,

charts,andnewmetrics,andnomeaningfulchange.

Inourexperience,thesepriortransformation

effortstypicallywentwrongbecausethey

attemptedtorunnewwaysofworkingthrough

theorganization’sexistingoperationalwiring.Thattrappedthetransformationeffortsinaculture

ofintenseriskaversion,siloedteams,heavy

bureaucracy,rigidprocesses,andafocusonlarge,sweepingsolutionsthattakeyearstodesignandimplement.

Breakingwiththepastrequirescompaniesto

recognizethatdifferentaspectsofoperations

requireadifferentapproachtorisk.Whileareas

suchasdesign,qualityassurance,andproduct

testingwillalwaysdemandstrictriskcontrols,thereareotherareasofoperationsthatneedanopen,

nimbleapproachandawillingnesstoexperiment.

Thatsecondcategoryofactivitiesincludesactionsthatcantransformmanufacturingthroughput:

basicoperationalimprovement,cross-functional

coordination,andtheselectionofmetricsthatdrivedecision-makingbythefrontline,forexample.In

theseareas,tryingnewthings,learning,failing,andtryingagainarehealthybehaviors.

Operationalrewiring,fromthefrontlineback

Doneright,operationrewiringallowsA&D

organizationstotapintotheirfullproductivity

potential,creatingavirtuouscycleofoperational

improvementsthatcanboostthroughputby50

to150percent,accordingtoouranalysis.The

organizationalcircuitrynecessarytosupportsuchimprovementsmustbebuiltfromthegroundup.

Successfulcompaniesembedtheirchangeeffortsdirectlyintofrontlineoperations,workingbackwardfromrealproductionconstraintstoensurethey

focusontheproblemsthatmattermost.This

approachprioritizesrapidresultsovertheoreticalperfection,addressingpriorityissuesratherthantryingtofixawholesiteorsystematonce.

Tocrackorganizationalsiloesquickly,rewiring

shouldbecross-functionalfromthestart,involvingpeoplefromdifferentfunctionsandworking

acrossdepartmentstofindsolutions.Itshouldbe

intenselypragmatictoo,workingwithresources

thatareavailabletodayinsteadofwaitingfornew

toolsorfuturecapital.Teamsshouldbewillingto

experimentwhereveritissafetodoso.Theyshouldimplementquickwinsandusethemtoproveto

colleaguesthatchangeispossible,helpingtobuildmomentumforfurtherimprovements.Andrewiringshouldfocusonpeopleaswellasprocesses,

givingfrontlineteamsownershipofoutcomes,andequippingthemwiththeknowledgeandskillsto

keepidentifyingopportunitiesandimplementingimprovements,turningoperationsintoadriverofgrowthratherthanaconstraint.

Rewiringintherealworld

A&Dorganizationsthathaverewiredtheir

operationsinthiswayarealreadycapturing

significantimprovementsinproductivityand

throughput.Let’slookattworecentexamples.

Asteelfabricationfacilityinacomplexnetwork

hadbeenbehindschedule,overbudget,anda

consistentnetworkbottleneckforadecade.Its

processescouldn’tkeepupwiththeincreasing

complexityofthepartsitmade,thesupplychain

wasnotdelivering,andmanagersbelievedtheir

workforcewasnolongersufficientlyskilledtobe

productive.Thecompanywasplanningamulti-yearexpansionprojecttoincreasethroughput,while

alsooutsourcingtolocalfabricators.

Rewiringaerospaceanddefenseoperationsforspeedandgrowth5

Whenthecompanydecidedtorewireits

operations,itimmediatelyfoundsignificant

improvementopportunities.Crossfunctionalteamsworkingacrossthemanufacturingfrontlineidentified21initiativeswiththepotentialtotransformthroughput.Theyincluded:

—Establishingacentralcommandcenterandrunningcross-functionaldailyshopleadershiphuddlestobreakdownsilos

—Buildingamanualmapofworkinprocess(WIP)andusingcoloredmagnetstomarkconstraints.Thatlow-techapproachfilledacriticalinformationgapthatanongoingthree-yearprojecttobuildadigitaltwinoftheplanthadfailedtofill.

—Iterativelytestinganewmaterial

managementsystemtodevelopastable,

reliableapproach,startingwithcoloredtapeandbowstomarkmaterialbeforegraduatingtoadigitalsolution

—Workingdirectlywithwelderstoidentify

achronicconstraintnotcapturedinthe

data—variabilityinthelocationsonthe

productionfloorwherequalityinspectionswereperformed—andstandardizingtheselocationstoimproveflow

Thefacilitymovedquicklytoimplementthese

andotherinitiatives,achievinga55percent

rateimprovementinthefirstmonth,building

momentumandbreakingdownlegacyways

ofworking.Aftersixmonthsithaddoubled

throughputandeliminateditsbacklogofwork.Theplanthassustainedtheperformancesince,becomingacatalystforimprovementsacrossotherfacilitiesinthecompany’snetwork.

Anothercompany,amanufacturerofcomplex

aerospaceelectronics,facedsimilarconstraintsandinitiallybelievedperformanceissueswerelargelyexternal,includingthechallenging

designofthecomponents,thelimitedfootprintofitssite,anditssupplychain.Planswere

underwayforalarge-scalefacilityexpansion.

Workingfromthefrontlinebacktorewireitsoperationsshowedthecompanythatmanyofitsdifficultiesweredrivenbyself-inflictedissues,especiallypooralignmentbetweenorganizationalsiloes.Ittackledthoseissueswithasetofquick-winactions,including:

—Redefiningthestandardhoursforkey

operationstouncoverandeliminatebaked-inwaste

—Conductingarapidqualityanalyticssprinttoidentifyandprioritizeasmallsetofissuesthathadanoutsizeimpactonproduction

delays

—Improvingitssupply-chainmaterial

forecastsusingsimpledashboardsthat

pulleddatafromexistingdatabases.This

filledaninformationgapthatmanagershadattributedtothedelayedimplementationofamajornewenterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)system.

Thoseinitiativesandothershelpedthesite

boostproductionrateby