Modernizing Aerospace Inventory Systems: From Desktop Clients to Web Apps

The $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis has a physical epicenter: the aerospace hangar. While the aircraft in the sky are marvels of modern engineering, the inventory systems managing their components are often 30-year-old "black boxes" running on PowerBuilder, Delphi, or VB6. When a single part mismatch can ground a fleet or trigger an FAA audit, the risk of modernizing aerospace inventory systems through traditional "Big Bang" rewrites is simply too high.

TL;DR: Modernizing aerospace inventory systems no longer requires a 24-month high-risk rewrite; visual reverse engineering reduces modernization timelines by 70% by using video as the source of truth for component extraction and logic preservation.

The High Stakes of Aerospace Inventory Modernization#

In the aerospace sector, inventory management isn't just about stock levels; it’s about traceability, airworthiness, and regulatory compliance (AS9100/FAA Part 145). Most existing systems are "thick clients" that have survived three decades of patches. The original architects are long retired, and according to industry data, 67% of these legacy systems lack any form of accurate documentation.

The standard industry response is the "Big Bang" rewrite. However, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline, often because the "hidden" business logic—the edge cases for serialized parts or customs handling—is only discovered after the new system is built.

For a VP of Engineering or a CTO, the choice has historically been between two evils:

1. •Status Quo: Accumulating technical debt until the system becomes a security liability.
2. •The Rewrite: A 18-24 month project with a high probability of failure and massive budget overruns.

Why Traditional Modernization Fails Aerospace#

The fundamental flaw in traditional modernization is "Software Archaeology." Teams spend months interviewing users and digging through millions of lines of spaghetti code to understand what the system actually does.

Comparison of Modernization Strategies#

⚠️ Warning: Attempting to rewrite an aerospace system without a "Video Source of Truth" often results in missing critical compliance checks that were hard-coded into the legacy UI but never documented in the original requirements.

Replay: Visual Reverse Engineering for Aerospace#

Replay changes the paradigm by shifting from "reading code" to "observing behavior." Instead of trying to decipher 30-year-old COBOL or Delphi logic, Replay records real user workflows—like checking out a serialized turbine blade—and uses AI to extract the underlying architecture.

From Black Box to React Components#

Replay allows you to record a legacy desktop session. The platform then analyzes the UI patterns, state changes, and API calls to generate modern React components and documented API contracts. This reduces the manual labor of screen recreation from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours.

The Architecture of a Modernized Inventory Screen#

When Replay extracts a legacy inventory screen, it doesn't just copy the pixels. It identifies the functional intent. Below is an example of how a legacy "Part Search" function is transformed into a modern, type-safe React component with preserved business logic.

typescript
// Generated by Replay AI Automation Suite
// Source: Legacy AeroInventory v4.2 (Delphi) - PartSearch.dfm

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { PartSearchSchema, InventoryItem } from '@/types/inventory';
import { useInventoryAPI } from '@/hooks/useInventoryAPI';

export const AerospacePartSearch: React.FC = () => {
  const [searchQuery, setSearchQuery] = useState<string>('');
  const [isComplianceValid, setIsComplianceValid] = useState<boolean>(true);
  const { searchParts, loading } = useInventoryAPI();

  // Logic extracted from legacy 'TBtn_SearchClick' event
  const handleSearch = async (query: string) => {
    if (!query.match(/^[A-Z0-9-]{5,15}$/)) {
      setIsComplianceValid(false);
      return;
    }
    const results = await searchParts(query);
    // Preserved logic: Filter for AS9100 certified vendors only
    return results.filter(item => item.certificationStatus === 'VALID');
  };

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-slate-50 rounded-lg shadow-md">
      <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4">Inventory Search (AS9100 Compliant)</h2>
      <input 
        type="text" 
        value={searchQuery}
        onChange={(e) => setSearchQuery(e.target.value)}
        className={!isComplianceValid ? 'border-red-500' : 'border-slate-300'}
        placeholder="Enter Serialized Part Number..."
      />
      {/* Modernized data grid implementation */}
      <PartDataGrid onSearch={handleSearch} isLoading={loading} />
    </div>
  );
};

The 3-Step Modernization Workflow#

Modernizing aerospace inventory with Replay follows a structured, low-risk path that bypasses the "archaeology" phase.

Step 1: Visual Capture (The Library)#

Users record their standard operating procedures (SOPs) within the legacy desktop client. Replay captures the DOM (or pixel-to-component mapping for thick clients), the network traffic, and the state transitions. This creates a "Source of Truth" that is far more accurate than outdated Jira tickets.

Step 2: Extraction and Mapping (The Flows)#

Replay’s AI Automation Suite identifies repeated UI patterns across the inventory system—such as "Part Detail" modals or "Warehouse Location" tables. These are converted into a standardized Design System (Library). The business logic is mapped into Flows, which represent the actual architectural path of the data.

Step 3: Blueprint Generation and Code Export#

The Blueprints (Editor) allow architects to review the extracted logic and UI. Once validated, Replay generates:

• •Production-ready React/TypeScript code.
• •OpenAPI/Swagger contracts for the new backend.
• •E2E Tests (Cypress/Playwright) that mirror the original legacy behavior.

💰 ROI Insight: For an enterprise aerospace system with 200 unique screens, manual modernization typically costs $2.4M and takes 18 months. With Replay, the same project is completed in under 4 months for approximately $600k—a 75% reduction in cost and time.

Addressing the "Regulated Environment" Elephant#

In aerospace, security isn't optional. Modernizing systems often involves handling sensitive ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) data or proprietary engineering specs.

Replay is built for these high-stakes environments:

• •On-Premise Deployment: Run the entire extraction engine within your air-gapped network.
• •SOC2 & HIPAA Ready: While HIPAA is healthcare-specific, the same rigorous data handling standards apply to aerospace compliance.
• •Technical Debt Audit: Replay provides a full audit trail of how legacy logic was translated into modern code, essential for regulatory reviews.

Preserving Business Logic: The "Hidden" Rules#

The biggest fear in modernizing aerospace inventory is losing the "tribal knowledge" buried in the code. For example, a legacy system might have a specific rule: "If a part is from a Tier 3 supplier and is over 5 years old, it requires a secondary inspection before being allocated to an engine build."

If the new developers don't see that rule in the documentation (which likely doesn't exist), they won't build it. Replay captures this logic by observing the system's reaction to specific data inputs during the recording phase. It flags these conditional branches in the Blueprints so they are preserved in the new React/Node.js stack.

typescript
// Example: Extracted Business Logic for Part Allocation
// Legacy Logic: Procedure TInventory.ValidateAllocation(PartID: Integer);
export function validatePartAllocation(part: InventoryItem): AllocationResult {
  const FIVE_YEARS_MS = 157784760000;
  const isOld = (Date.now() - new Date(part.manufactureDate).getTime()) > FIVE_YEARS_MS;
  
  // Replay extracted this rule from observing 45 recorded sessions
  if (part.supplierTier === 3 && isOld) {
    return {
      allowed: false,
      reason: "Secondary inspection required for Tier 3 parts > 5 years old.",
      requiresApproval: true
    };
  }
  
  return { allowed: true };
}

The Future of Aerospace Systems#

The future of the enterprise isn't a never-ending cycle of "rewrite and regret." It's the ability to understand what you already have and move it forward. By using Visual Reverse Engineering, aerospace companies can finally shed the weight of 30-year-old technical debt without the catastrophic risks of a Big Bang rewrite.

Modernization is no longer a search for the original source code; it's about recording the truth of how your business operates today and generating the code to support it tomorrow.

---

Frequently Asked Questions#

How long does legacy extraction take?#

While a manual rewrite takes 18-24 months, Replay typically extracts and documents a complex aerospace inventory module in 2-8 weeks. The timeline depends on the number of unique screens and the complexity of the underlying business logic.

Does Replay require the original source code?#

No. Replay uses visual reverse engineering. It observes the application's behavior, UI, and data flows at runtime. This is particularly valuable for aerospace companies that may have lost access to original source code or are dealing with compiled binaries from defunct vendors.

How does this handle compliance like AS9100?#

Replay generates a Technical Debt Audit and full documentation of all extracted flows. This provides a clear "paper trail" showing how legacy compliance rules were mapped to the new system, making it much easier to pass regulatory audits than a manual rewrite where logic might be missed.

Can Replay work with air-gapped systems?#

Yes. Replay offers an On-Premise version specifically for industries like Aerospace, Defense, and Government, where data cannot leave the internal network.

---

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay - see your legacy screen extracted live during the call.