Visualizing Subcontracts

In 2016, the Department of Defense awarded a contract to Raytheon for the second phase of the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept. Raytheon is one of the largest "aerospace, intelligence services providers, and defense manufacturers in the world" (Wikipedia). According to the USA Spending website, they have been awarded over $4.7 billion in contracts, primarily from the Department of Defense, and primarily for products including guided missiles and bombs (Raytheon Contracts). From the contract description and the company that was awarded the contract, it can be determined that Raytheon is an important company in which the US government should have a vested interest in protecting from cybersecurity threats. According to the contract, there are 348 subcontracts spanning 79 unique subcontractors that supply products and services to Raytheon, but it is not yet clear which subcontractors should be prioritized in the same way that Raytheon will be. The following sections will visualize the subcontractor data in such a way so that it will become clear which subcontractors are more important in the supply chain. First, in Figure 1, a timeline shows the Raytheon contract plus a couple of subcontracts.

Using the above timeline, several important dates and subcontracts stood out immediately when manually inspecting the data. First, the Raytheon contract started in October of 2016 and ended as of March 2022. Prior to the Raytheon contract, several large subcontracts were awarded to Alliant Techsystems, which upon closer inspection and further research, is tied to Northrup Grumman, a well-known American aerospace and defense company. These subcontracts turn out to be far more significant than any of the other subcontracts, so this is the first indication that this subcontractor is essential. Lastly, after doing a brief search through the subcontracts, there is a clear indication that some of these businesses provide critical supplies for building hypersonic devices. Two subcontracts are shown, one that provides batteries (Advanced Thermal Batteries) and one that provides accelerometers and cables (Dytran).

To dive deeper into the timeline and gain a clearer understanding the subcontracts, a second timeline chart displays the dates when Raytheon awarded a subcontract or multiple subcontracts. To explore this visualization, click on one of the orange dots. It will show a second chart with information on all of the contracts awarded on that date.

In Figure 2, the viewer gets the first taste of the progression of all of the subcontracts awarded during the time of the Raytheon contract. This progression might be traceable to the steps for producing the hypersonic missiles. For example, the earlier subcontracts would be vital as they supply parts for the missiles, while the later subcontracts would be for testing and validation purposes.

After looking at the timeline and a brief preview of the subcontracts, it seems that two paths should be taken to determine the importance of a subcontract. One indication could be the cost of the subcontract. Outlying subcontracts that cost far more than others could be a good indicator. Secondly, contracts that supply specific parts used to build hypersonic missiles are equally important. First, let's take a closer look at well-funded subcontracts. Take a look at the next tab on the left hand side to continue.