Retiring the Legacy Fleet and Scaling Next-Gen Jets & Autonomous Drones

​Summary: Jayaram Harikrishnan, aerospace operations leader with 17+ years at Airbus, leads a closed-door session on the mechanics of scaling modern aerospace operations. It confronts the brutal transition from sustaining decades-old legacy planes to industrializing next-gen jets and autonomous drone fleets. Focus: what breaks when Tier-1 suppliers fail and how to build the industrial backbone for next-gen aerospace growth.

The defense industrial base is currently caught in a brutal transition period. Supply chains are bogged down sustaining outdated, decades-old legacy planes, while military mandates urgently demand the rapid industrialization of next-generation jets and autonomous drone fleets. The operational reality is that you cannot build a 21st-century autonomous drone swarm using a 1980s defense procurement mindset.

​To cut through the theory and tear down the actual mechanics of scaling modern aerospace operations, we are locking the doors with Jayaram Harikrishnan. Jayaram is a senior aerospace operations leader with over 17 years of experience at Airbus. He has been in the trenches of complex industrial programs—including serving as the Program Cost Reduction and Industrial Integration Leader for the A400M defense program. Crucially, he is currently a Strategic Advisor for Airbound, where he is actively bridging the gap between advanced drone development and scalable, production-ready aerospace manufacturing.

​He knows exactly what breaks when a massive Tier-1 supplier fails to deliver on time and on quality , and he has the blueprint for building the industrial backbone required for next-gen aerospace growth.