Armed forces across the globe are grappling with a familiar paradox. While the demand for operational readiness and availability of increasingly sophisticated – and expensive – platforms continues to rise, defence budgets remain under unrelenting pressure. The imperative for efficiency has never been greater.
The answer, argue many in the sector, lies in rigorous Life Cycle Management (LCM) – a discipline that fuses data-driven analysis with predictive modelling to balance cost, logistics, and capability across the entire service life of a system.
From Stockholm to the World
Few names are as closely associated with this approach as Sweden’s Systecon. For more than four decades, the company has been refining advanced analytical methods and software solutions to underpin sustainment decision-making. Its flagship platform, Opus Suite, is now deployed in over 25 countries and has become something of a benchmark in the defence community.
From defence ministries to procurement agencies and OEMs, Opus Suite is providing a shared framework to evaluate readiness, cost, and support solutions with a degree of fidelity once unimaginable.
The Case for Evidence-Based Sustainment
At the core of Systecon’s philosophy is a deceptively simple proposition: decisions on acquisition, operations, and sustainment should be evidence-led, not solely driven by intuition or historical precedent.
Opus Suite allows thousands of potential support scenarios to be modelled and stress-tested. Whether it is determining optimal spare parts holdings, repair facility locations, or maintenance schedules, the platform provides commanders and planners with actionable insight into how choices will affect both force availability and through-life cost.
Digital Twins: A Strategic Enabler
Central to this is the creation of a digital twin – a high-fidelity representation of a platform, broken down into functional blocks and governed by real parameters such as Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time To Repair (MTTR), and service intervals.
This model provides the foundation for running what-if analyses, optimising spare inventories, and predicting long-term sustainment demands. Importantly, it is not static. The digital twin can be continuously updated with operational data, sharpening predictive accuracy and creating a transparent evidence base for dialogue between governments and industry partners.
For complex systems – from armoured fighting vehicles to fifth-generation fighter aircraft – digital twins are fast becoming indispensable to sustainment planning.
Lessons from the Field
Systecon’s solutions have already been applied across a wide range of platforms and services. Collaborations with Saab, BAE Systems, Thales, Lockheed Martin and the US Navy have demonstrated significant impact.
Whether optimising support for the JAS 39 Gripen, refining sustainment models for the F-35, or streamlining naval logistics, Opus Suite has repeatedly delivered measurable results: in some cases, up to 30% reductions in sustainment costs, coupled with higher levels of availability.
The Czech Perspective
The Army of the Czech Republic now faces the same imperative. With major investment in infantry fighting vehicles, the H-1 helicopter fleet, and forthcoming fifth-generation combat aircraft, the question of long-term sustainment is no longer secondary – it is central to operational viability.
Here, PragoData a.s., Systecon’s exclusive partner in the Czech Republic, is bringing Opus Suite and associated expertise directly to Czech defence stakeholders. The aim: to embed world-class planning and optimisation capabilities within the national sustainment enterprise.
Towards a Common Language
Beyond efficiencies, analytical platforms such as Opus Suite play another vital role – they create a shared language between government and industry. Ministries of Defence can specify requirements for availability in quantitative terms, while contractors can demonstrate, through validated models, how their solutions will meet or exceed those expectations.
This fosters transparency, reduces the risk of unforeseen cost escalation, and strengthens accountability across the acquisition and sustainment cycle.
Looking Ahead
As military platforms become more complex and security environments more contested, effective life cycle management is no longer a support function – it is a strategic necessity. Nations that embrace advanced modelling and analytics will not only safeguard readiness but also ensure that every defence pound is spent wisely.
Systecon’s message is clear: the future of defence modernisation is not only about acquiring new platforms, but also about smarter stewardship of those already in service. For the Czech Republic, this offers a chance to join a growing cadre of nations that are leveraging analytics to plan better, decide faster, and protect more effectively.
Tomáš Ječný, Business Development Director, PragoData a.s., www.pragodata.com
Article was published in Review for Defence and Security Industry 03/2025