A numerical‐perturbation scheme is used to determine the stability of incompressible flows past axisymmetric bodies with porous strips. Linear triple deck, closed‐form solutions are developed for the basic‐flow quantities, which account for upstream influence. These solutions are linear superpositions of the flow past the body without suction plus the perturbations caused by the suction strips. The flow past the suctionless body is calculated using the Transition Analysis Program System (TAPS). A perturbation scheme is used to determine the incrementaijin the complex wavenumber at a given locationsjbecause of the presence of a strip centered atsi. The end result is a set of influence coefficients that can be used to determine the growth rates and amplification factors for any suction levels without repeating the calculations. The influence coefficients are used to develop a simple linear optimization scheme to determine the number, spacing, and mass flow rate through the strips on an axisymmetric body.