When Critical Systems Outlast Their Supply Chains

Across industries, from aviation and naval operations to specialized ground systems, many platforms remain in service far longer than originally intended. Airframes, vehicles, and vessels introduced decades ago are still viable, often adapted into roles never anticipated. Their longevity is a testament to engineering ingenuity and the dedication of those who maintain them.

With that longevity comes a challenge. Original equipment manufacturers may no longer support essential parts. In some cases, they no longer even exist. Once remaining stockpiles are exhausted, operational assets can be at risk. A single unsupported wheel, circuit board, or housing assembly can render otherwise capable systems unusable.

The stakes are high: readiness suffers, maintenance costs climb, and organizations face the choice of retiring a proven system or investing in costly replacements. Reverse engineering provides a key advantage. 

The Power of Reverse Engineering

Obsolescence engineering allows organizations to minimize risk associated with diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages, extending the life of critical systems without unnecessary overhaul. Engineers work backward from varying, often limited, amounts of data, conduct a thorough review of standards, conduct rigorous design and analysis efforts, produce technical data packages, and determine production pathways needed to manufacture replacements that meet or exceed form, fit, and function requirements.

GS Engineering specializes in this work. Whether starting with legacy documentation, partial data, or nothing more than a few worn components, our team captures, analyzes, and recreates critical parts with modern methods. The result is renewed capability, compliant with today’s standards, and optimized for reliability.

"Risks related to diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages are always present, but the impact to fleet readiness can be minimized with the right partner and capability to address these issues,” said James Raab, program manager at GS Engineering. “Obsolescence concerns will persist — especially within Army fleets — as legacy vehicles from decades ago are still projected to remain in service well into the 2040s. 

“Having a plan to address obsolescence before it becomes a problem is critical to maintaining proactive fleet readiness into the future. The capability is here and ready to provide peace of mind—and a solution that meets or exceeds component requirements. Reverse engineering also helps resolve the data rights challenges that plague so many sustainment efforts."

How the Reverse Engineering Process Works

A successful reverse engineering effort goes beyond copying geometry. Every step must account for how the part functions, interfaces with surrounding systems, and withstands real-world stresses. GS Engineering’s process includes:

• Requirements Capture: Collecting available standards and substituting modern equivalents where older versions are cancelled.
• 3D Scanning and CMM Inspection: Capturing precise geometry to form a digital surface model.
• Functional Integration: Identifying components in the system that interact with the reverse-engineered component, and defining the characteristics of the reverse-engineered component that are required to ensure proper performance.  Examples include seals, bearings, and fasteners, which may have specific requirements related to tolerances, surface finish, hardness, or other characteristics that cannot be determined with a scan and must be maintained in the reverse-engineered component.
• CAD Modeling and Tolerance Definition: Converting scan data into a full-featured CAD model and defining tolerances to ensure performance without driving unnecessary cost.
• Materials Analysis: Conducting spectroscopy, tensile testing, and microscopy as necessary to determine properties of the legacy component in order to determine the most appropriate to determine the most appropriate material composition and strength.
• Finite Element Analysis and Structural Optimization: Validating stresses and conducting iterative topology optimization, particularly when substituting materials or adapting manufacturing methods.
• Technical Data Package Creation: Delivering full documentation, up to Government Level III standards, to enable controlled and repeatable production.
• Testing and Validation: Conduct in-house durability testing and verification services on newly designed prototype components.
• Sourcing and Production: AS9100D certified quality management system enables quick evaluation of multiple suppliers and continuous monitoring of performance to cost, quality, and delivery timing to support newly designed components.

This workflow applies across mechanical and electronic domains. For mechanical components, tolerances and materials are paramount. For electronics, the process extends to functional reverse engineering of printed circuit boards and circuitry, ensuring that replacements integrate seamlessly with existing architectures.

Electronics and Avionics: The Other Side of Obsolescence

Mechanical parts may draw the most visible attention, but electronics often drive obsolescence just as quickly. Legacy logic chips, outdated avionics packages, and unsupported circuit boards can be as mission-critical as a structural component.

GS engineering applies reverse engineering principles here as well. Our teams:

• Analyze analog and digital circuitry to replicate function with modern components
• Replace obsolete TTL and CMOS logic with faster, more efficient technology while managing EMI/EMC impacts
• Perform avionics firmware upgrades to maintain certification standards
• Redesign for reduced space, weight, and power demands without sacrificing heat dissipation or reliability

By pairing mechanical expertise with electronics capability, GS Engineering ensures that both structural and digital lifelines of legacy systems remain strong.

Why GS Engineering

Not every engineering team is positioned to succeed in this work. GS Engineering brings:

• Adaptability: Tailored solutions for mechanical, electrical, and hybrid challenges
• Proven Process: Ability to progress from scan and modeling through analysis, prototyping, testing, and controlled production
• Collaboration: Close partnerships with clients to understand both technical and operational requirements
• Precision and Reliability: Engineering solutions designed to endure demanding conditions

"What differentiates GS Engineering when it comes to reverse engineering is our in-house capability to go from identifying an obsolescence problem to delivering a new, validated physical part with a complete technical data package,” said Raab. “We emphasize cost savings, speed, supply chain reliability, and maintaining form, fit, and function to ensure readiness for the foreseeable future."

Keep Your Systems Moving Forward

Obsolescence does not need to end a platform’s usefulness. With the right partner, unsupported components become opportunities to innovate and extend life cycles with confidence.

When critical systems face the risk of downtime, GS Engineering ensures that replacements are not only possible but designed to perform.

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Contact GS Engineering to learn how reverse engineering and obsolescence solutions can keep your systems operating and your mission moving forward.