EP 72 — Zone 5's Thomas Akers on Why Production-Focused Requirements Beat Performance Goals
Zone 5 Technologies cut cruise missile costs from $1.5 million to $200,000 by rethinking not just the engineering, but how you build the supply chain and factory floor around cost targets from day one. Thomas Akers, CEO, shares how his team goes from contract award to weapon flight in 4 months by keeping engineers right next to the production line, writing all their own software, and doing machining in-house. When a problem hits the shop floor, an engineer can be there in a minute.
The real insight is what he calls their "production-focused requirement set." Instead of designing for maximum…
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