Sovereign Repair Capability Justified by Data
An Australian defence customer used Systecon’s OPUS10 and SIMLOX analysis to quantify the value of an in-country tactical radio repair capability, proving it could increase availability, strengthen supply chain resilience, reduce future procurement needs, and lower sustainment costs.
The Challenge
An Australian defence customer operated a large fleet of tactical radios installed across a wide range of aviation, naval, and land platforms. When a radio failed, it was shipped to an overseas repair facility, with an average turnaround of nine to twelve months. For a capability relied upon across multiple user classes, that turnaround created a long and uncertain gap between failure and return to service, and left the customer exposed to disruption in a supply chain it did not control.
Action taken
Using OPUS10 and SIMLOX in combination, Systecon modelled the effect of establishing an in-country repair facility capable of resolving 80% of failures domestically. The analysis examined the change across both the operational and logistics domains, quantifying not only cost but the consequences for availability and supply chain resilience. Rather than relying on assumption, every scenario was tested against the fleet's own data.
Impact made
The modelling produced a clear, evidence-based case:
- A quantified increase in availability across all user classes.
- A measurable extension in the time-to-stockout under supply chain disruption, a figure used directly to justify sovereign capability funding.
- A validated reduction in the number of radios required for future upgrades, representing savings of several million dollars against planned spend.
- Lower year-on-year sustainment costs, driven by fewer expensive overseas transports and reduced repair costs for simpler failures, up to A$20,000 per year.
The work reframed the decision. An in-country repair facility was no longer a cost to be justified, but an investment with quantified returns in readiness, resilience, and through-life cost. The customer now holds the analytical basis to prioritise where sovereign repair delivers the greatest operational and financial value.
