How Kearfott’s adoption of modular open system architecture opened the door to UK defense work
Based in Pine Brook, New Jersey, Kearfott is a defense equipment manufacturer with over 100 years of experience. It has been almost a year since we last sat down with John Stanfill, President, and we have had the pleasure to reconnect and learn how Kearfott has progressed in the past 12 months.
“Right now, there are many things happening in the world both in aerospace and defense, making them a very opportunity-rich set of markets to be operating in. We are grateful to have those opportunities avail-able to us, though balancing everything and, most importantly, executing on our commitments to customers presents real challenges. From a business outlook perspective, things are very favorable and positive across both the production and development front. In 2024, one of our major operations experienced flooding due to Hurricane Helene. As a result of this unwelcome complicating factor, much of 2025 was spent stabilizing operations and getting everything back up and running. As the old saying goes, just when you think you have all the answers, they change all the questions. Nonetheless, we feel like we have finally got our heads above water and are looking forward with real optimism,” John begins.
One of the most significant developments since our last conversation is the progress of Kearfott’s promising partnership with Skyline Nav AI. The two companies have collaborated on several demonstrations for a few key customers, showcasing Skyline Nav AI’s Pathfinder technology, which offers an artificial intelligence navigation capability. Kearfott has been integrating this technology with its more traditional inertial navigation systems, resulting in the development of a new product called Maverick. Once Kearfott created a prototype of Maverick and demonstrated its capacities, the technology was met with great enthusiasm by potential customers, and the company is now capitalizing on this success by actively working to penetrate the market with that capability.
Pyramid project
On the contract front, Kearfott has been equally busy with significant high-level contracts. Although John is unable to disclose sensitive details, he shares what he can about the company’s ongoing Pyramid project with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). “What is fascinating to me about this scheme is that Kearfott was, as we have been told, the only American company selected by the UK MOD to work on the project. The reason we have been selected for this contract comes down to our capabilities in what are called modular open system architectures, or MOSA. This is a capability we embraced three-to-five years ago, and it enabled us to secure a substantial position on the US Air Force’s Resilient-Embedded GPS/INS (R-EGI) program. Because of our adoption and implementation of open system architecture, we established a strong position on that program, and the UK MOD took note. Being selected for the Pyramid project is, to me, a truly exciting development. Two traditionally very strong allies are benefiting from our capabilities through this program, and we are learning from both sides: our work with the US Air Force and the investments the UK MOD are making,” he enthuses.
For those unfamiliar with what MOSA actually means in practice, John explains the working of this technology through a simple analogy. “I like to think of MOSA like a USB device, as you can plug it into virtually any computer, regardless of the brand. It is essentially a plug-and-play capability. Historically, in the defense and aerospace world, providers of hardware and software kept their systems proprietary and closed, so that customers always had to come back to that same contractor for any modifications or adaptations after their original purchase. At the time, that was the established business model.
“What the US government and now, it seems, the UK, are moving towards is a more open business model, much like the one that exists in consumer electronics or the commercial sector. This means that I can buy a laptop from one company, a printer from another and a peripheral device from a third. If I decide I want a different printer, I can swap it out and integrate it into my computer system with very little hassle. That is the principle the US Air Force is working towards, and I can say that the Pyramid program is already achieving some meaningful results and capabilities because of it. I believe that the UK MOD is still early in that journey, but I am genuinely excited to see them heading in that direction,” he notes.
At the same time, investment in its production capabilities is ongoing as Kearfott pursues its vision of a modern factory. Crucially, the team is approaching this deliberately by evaluating where automation and AI will genuinely add value before committing, rather than adopting technology for its own sake. Recruiting in manufacturing, particularly in aerospace and defense, remains challenging, and that pressure is pushing Kearfott to find new forms of leverage. The company’s goal is not to replace people who have always been and will always be crucial to what it does, but to find the right blend of automation, AI and human capability. By investing wisely, Kearfott aims to empower each employee to achieve more, rather than needing more employees to achieve the same outcome.
“We are spending a lot of time evaluating exactly what our needs are, and then more time finding the right solutions, whether that means co-bots that modernize older pieces of capital equipment, or full investment in entirely automated capabilities. Beyond that, we are looking at how to tie all of these capabilities together into something cohesive, effectively an Internet of Things approach that moves us towards a digital factory. To me, it is a really fascinating endeavor, and it is exactly what we need given the rising demand for our capabilities,” John ends.
Kearfott has emerged from a year of floods and shifting requirements with a clearer sense of direction. By embracing open architecture and carefully blending automation with irreplaceable human skill, the com-pany proves that resilience and forward-thinking are necessary for sustainable operations.
