Lifecycle Systems Engineering as the Backbone of Unmanned Systems

Crewless air and ground systems have become an indispensable force multiplier, providing intelligence and attack capabilities across every domain. They might be unmanned, but they are far from unsophisticated. These aircraft and vehicles feature advanced electronic systems with ever-lengthening lifespans, meaning that many of today’s unmanned platforms will be in the military’s arsenal for decades.

This fact alone requires a mindset shift. The days of optimizing systems for fielding and then worrying later about long-term costs like sustainment and modernization are coming to an end. As a result, program managers and acquisition officers must consider those items earlier than ever in a system's development lifecycle.

Lifecycle systems engineering enables managers to think about design, operations, sustainment, and modernization as a single, continuous system. That makes its components—digital engineering, open architectures, digital twins, analytics, and AI—vital to achieving readiness.

The programs that succeed over the next decade treat longevity, affordability, and upgradeability as engineered properties from day one; they’re not downstream problems to be managed later. The key is adopting a lifecycle systems engineering mindset.

Lifecycle Systems Engineering for Unmanned Platforms That Last

Unmanned platforms are expected to stay in service for decades. As a result, program managers and acquisition leaders must consider design, maintenance, and sustainability as part of a continuous workflow, rather than as separate tasks and separate phases.

It’s crucial to think in the long term for practical reasons. The Department of War estimates that about 70% of the total cost of a weapons system occurs during operating phases, after the initial procurement and deployment. As a result, systems must be designed with increasing attention to wear and tear, environmental stress, mission tempo, supply chain volatility, and real-world maintenance considerations. The more you can anticipate happening in the field, the better prepared you can make your vehicle or craft.

That’s increasingly the benefit of model-based systems engineering (MBSE). This growing discipline centers development activities on a virtual, interactive representation of the platform that’s more than a static CAD drawing. MBSE provides lifecycle management capabilities that enable teams to simulate failure modes, maintenance pathways, and sustainment strategies before a single component is built.

Data distinguishes the utility of lifecycle systems engineering in defense systems. The virtual models run and are updated with real field data, generating insights into how systems perform over time. Regular feedback helps model the long-term performance of specific components and materials.

One way to think about these data-driven “digital twins,” the Department of War wrote in 2024, is as an “industrial metaverse.”

“This metaverse is not focused on games or social content applications; rather, it is the next evolutionary step of advanced manufacturing. According to the World Economic Forum, it is ‘a persistent 3D platform implemented across an organization, value chain, and product life cycle, serving as a digital reflection of an entire organization in its operational environment,” the Defense Business Board stated, quoting the World Economic Forum.

In this context, design choices also matter greatly. Features like standardized connectors, accessible panels, and modular subsystems help make systems last longer and be easier to use, reducing the need for maintenance and promoting proactive, predictable service cycles.

Since digital twins create a “digital thread”—connecting various professionals with knowledge of how every part of the system works—unmanned vehicles and aircraft can be constantly updated based on their actual use in the real world. Continuous insights lead to continuous refinements, keeping unmanned systems in service and enabling them to evolve over time as new threats emerge.

Designing for Total Cost of Ownership of Unmanned Systems

Lifecycle systems engineering broadens program teams' cost focus. Worrying about staying on budget is no longer just a matter for procurement officers.

Fortunately, program leaders can now consider the total cost of ownership, making key trade-off decisions that may cost more up front but ultimately save taxpayers money for many years once the systems are in place. They can generate a more reliable estimate of operational, sustainment, and platform evolution expenses.

Lifecycle systems engineering focuses on the total cost of ownership in several ways.

1. Digital Infrastructure Prevents Expensive Late-Stage Corrections

Lifecycle systems engineering involves investing in real-time digital models that extend beyond a simple CAD design in utility. Authentic simulation environments across the digital thread enable engineers to identify risks early, before they become embedded in systems and deployed in the field. Engineers can limit integration and sustainment risks in the virtual environment, reducing rework and the need for repetitive test cycles.

2. Open Architectures Turn Upgrades Into Incremental Decisions

Designing fully integrated systems tied to proprietary vendor technology is a legacy behavior of the Department of War that no longer makes sense in an era of rapid technological change and emerging global threats. The integrated system can run into small issues when it becomes locked into a single approach, which can translate into big problems.

A critical tenet of lifecycle systems engineering is the use of modular open systems architecture (MOSA). MOSA reduces the risk of lock-in by decomposing subsystems, enabling individual sectors or collections of components to be replaced or new software versions to be uploaded, rather than starting from scratch.

3. Predictive Sustainment Shrinks the Logistics Footprint

Condition-based maintenance and analytics are vital aspects of lifecycle systems engineering that lower costs and improve system longevity. They turn component replacement into a proactive rather than reactive process, which helps reduce surprise failures, optimize spares, and shift sustainment to minimize downtime and support overhead. Digital twins, analytics, and AI empower engineers to predict when parts might break and establish reliable repair cycles.

4. Shared Digital Models Reduce Organizational Friction

In creating a weapons system, major aircraft, ground vehicle, or other complex project, vendor teams can grow large, extending beyond the Department of War and prime contractors to other support contractors and subcontractors. Lifecycle systems engineering uses the digital thread to align engineers, program managers, commanders, technical teams, and operators around a single source of truth, reducing rework, miscommunication, and training burden across the enterprise.

Engineering for Change, Not Just Endurance

Lifecycle systems engineering does more than just keep systems current with today’s threats. Over the long term, it’s the only viable design approach for keeping unmanned systems relevant, given the pace of technological change and geopolitical shifts.

With lifecycle systems as the backbone, unmanned vehicles are no longer static builds for single-mission objectives. They become evolutionary platforms, evolving as adversaries introduce new capabilities faster than traditional acquisition cycles. Doing so promotes continuous adaptation rather than waiting for systems to age and become obsolete.

Here are a few of the future-proofed capabilities that can emerge:

• Compressed timelines that move equipment from the whiteboard to the field. Lifecycle systems engineering enables hardware and software to be validated before leaving the hangar, making modernization and acquisition more repeatable and lower risk.
• Open architectures that free the Department to make incremental changes to a platform. It can do this instead of scrapping a system entirely and starting anew. One example is the Army’s C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards Mounted Form Factor, a hardware-and-software approach that delivers capabilities like assured position, navigation, and timing via swappable plug-in cards. This approach “will enable rapid capability integration in the future,” according to the Army. A single system can now address multiple missions across its lifespan.
• Speedier and more compressed certification pathways that also reduce complexity, time, and cost. The modular approach of MOSA aligns regulatory reality with technical possibility, enabling systems to evolve without restarting the entire approval process each time.

Partner With Sumaria on Lifecycle Systems Engineering

Systems engineering redefines what’s achievable when building an unmanned system. It adds a new measure for success: how a system performed over years of operation, adaptation, and evolution.

Programs that embed sustainability, cost discipline, and upgradeability into their architectures from the start are better positioned to meet the realities of modern defense, including constant change, constrained budgets, and escalating complexity. This makes lifecycle thinking a necessity, not a luxury. So, team with Sumaria Systems to create unmanned systems that are operationally viable and cost effective in the long term.

Partnering with Sumaria provides a strategic advantage through cutting-edge unmanned systems engineering and digital solutions tailored to defense programs. Our expertise helps you reduce development time, lower costs, and improve system reliability, ensuring that your programs meet critical deadlines and security standards. We are dedicated to supporting your mission objectives with innovative technology, experienced personnel, and a focus on long-term sustainment and upgradability. Let us help you achieve operational superiority and strengthen national security through advanced engineering support. If you'd like to speak with one of our specialists, feel free to book a one-on-one call.