In this article, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) discusses the need for speed in the aerospace and defense industry, particularly in the face of new technological advances, geopolitical tensions, and changing customer needs.

• In the past 30 years, both commercial and defense programs have experienced longer-than-expected development timelines resulting in budget overruns and customer dissatisfaction. Defense programs that previously took five years to develop during the Cold War, now take around 20 years to complete. The F-35, for example, has been in development since 1995, while the Boeing 787 took seven years from the program announcement to enter service, two times the initial timeline (exhibit 1, page 3)
• Companies sometimes rely on immature technology when reaching for disruptive innovation, which can add complexity and risk to a project. Combining multiple emerging technologies simultaneously can make it harder to execute on time and on budget. The new immature technologies are pushed by companies as these latter are facing natural limits as it’s more difficult to reach better performances (exhibit 2, page 4).
• The central role of software in modern aerospace and defense platforms has increased program length and complexity, posing challenges for OEMs who lack software development as a core capability and must meet stringent safety requirements.
• A desire for asset-light business models has led to increased outsourcing in the aerospace and defense industry, which can spread financial risk and introduces complexity and friction. This is partly due to limited competition for nonrecurring costs of producing components, leading to supplier pricing power and potentially less responsiveness. Quality issues from outsourcing to suppliers with less-established track records can cause delays and budget overruns, with reputational risk accruing to the OEM. The report gives the example of Boeing and Airbus material outsourced proportion through time (exhibit 3, page 4). 
• The aerospace and defense industry primarily relies on traditional waterfall project management methodologies which can be time-consuming, inflexible, and limit the ability to react to changes in project requirements or technology.
• The A&D industry needs to shift to a new approach that prioritizes setting non-negotiable timelines and performance improvements within that period, with the schedule becoming the primary metric of performance, in order to keep up with innovative new market entrants such as SpaceX (a focus on the company is available page 9). This will fundamentally reset the way the industry manages new programs and require companies to take specific steps.
• The report gives other solutions such as: “Focus on incremental advances”; “Rely more on established technology”; “Shift to an agile development approach”; “Shift to an agile development approach”; “Shift to an agile development approach”; “Streamline supply chains”
• The report highlights that shifting to faster program development can lead to significant financial gains across multiple areas including shorter R&D periods, a shorter learning curve, a faster path to the aftermarket, minimized friction in the supply chain, and fewer operational problems when aircraft go into service (page11).