Aerospace & Defense — Standards and Requirements

The Shape of It

Defense work adds a second layer on top of the quality standard: contract-specified quality clauses, some of them citing documents that were formally canceled years ago and are still invoked by purchase order. Knowing which of those still binds you, and which is a copy-and-paste from 1987, is worth real money on a bid.

The standards themselves are being renumbered. The International Aerospace Quality Group is preparing an IA9100 series to replace AS9100, AS9110, AS9120, and AS9145 — planned for 2026, but not published as of October 2026 — with a transition of two to three years expected once it is.

What Applies

9 Documents an Auditor Is Likely to Open

The working set, not an exhaustive register. Each row prints the body that issues it, so nothing here depends on the color of the rule beside it. Customer-specific requirements sit on top of all of it and are frequently where the real work is.

IAQG · Intl AS9100D

Aviation, Space, and Defense QMS. ISO 9001 plus configuration management, counterfeit parts, and product safety. Its successor, the IA9100 series, was planned for 2026 but had not been published by October 2026.

IAQG · Intl AS9110 / AS9120

Maintenance Organizations and Distributors. The same grammar, scoped to who you are in the chain rather than what you make.

IAQG · Intl AS9145

APQP and PPAP for Aerospace. The automotive discipline, adapted to low volume and a very long service life.

IAQG · Intl AS9102

First Article Inspection Reporting. Three forms, and the one place in the system where every characteristic gets counted.

PRI · US Nadcap

Special Process Accreditation. Heat treat, NDT, coatings, and welding — audited separately from your quality system.

DOD · US MIL-Q-9858A

Legacy Quality Program Requirement. Canceled in 1996 without a direct replacement; ISO 9001 and AS9100 took its place on most contracts, yet it is still cited on some older ones.

DOD · US MIL-I-45208A

Legacy Inspection System Requirement. Canceled in 1996 as well, and still invoked by purchase order more often than anyone expects.

DOD · US MIL-STD-45662A

Calibration Systems. Canceled in 1995. Its successors, ANSI/NCSL Z540-1 and Z540.3, have since been withdrawn too; a modern flowdown names ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 10012.

State · US ITAR · 22 CFR 120–130

Export Control. Governs who may see a drawing — including people inside your own building.

Every standard above has a page and a free brief on QES letterhead, with its status as checked on October 24, 2026. Browse Standards & Guidance.

In Practice

Three Things That Usually Go Wrong Here

Not statistics — QES's own reading of where these systems are most often found short, from thirty years of building and auditing them.

A Canceled Specification Is Still Being Flowed Down

Contract language copied forward across decades, invoking documents that no longer exist. Somebody has to read the flowdown and say so, in writing, before the bid.

Configuration Control Stops at the Drawing

As-designed and as-built diverge quietly on the shop floor and are reconciled only at first article, which is the most expensive possible place to find it.

Counterfeit-Part Control Is a Purchase Order Clause

It is written into the terms and absent from receiving. The clause protects the contract; it does not keep the part out of the aircraft.

A Real-World Case

Four Bolts, and the Record That Should Have Shown They Were Missing

The Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 investigation is about rework documentation, which is the most ordinary process in any factory.

4door-plug bolts that were not located, per NTSB

What Happened: On January 5, 2024, the left mid-exit door plug separated in flight from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9, after departure from Portland, Oregon.
What the Investigation Found: NTSB determined that the probable cause was Boeing’s failure to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to ensure manufacturing personnel could consistently and correctly comply with its parts removal process, which was meant to document and ensure that bolts removed for rework were reinstalled. The FAA’s ineffective compliance enforcement surveillance and audit planning contributed.
What It Cost: NTSB adopted its findings on June 24, 2025, with 19 new recommendations. In March 2024, FLYING reported that an FAA production audit found Boeing had failed 33 of 89 tests.

Sources. NTSB — Investigation DCA24MA063, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 (opens in a new tab); FLYING — FAA Boeing audit illuminates 737 production issues (March 12, 2024) (opens in a new tab). A public case, summarized from the official findings and reporting cited; QES was not involved in it. Figures are quoted as published. Checked October 24, 2026.

Where to Start

Against the Clause, Not Against a Feeling

A fixed-price gap assessment — two days on your floor and in your files, from $4,200 — produces a clause-by-clause table: what you have, what the standard in your column actually requires, what is missing, and what has to be written — with an owner and a date against each line. You keep the findings whether or not you engage further.

Request a Call Read the Research

On This Page. The standards listed are the working set an auditor is most likely to open, not an exhaustive register. Dated statements are sourced on the research page. The experience described is drawn from Marcia Weeden's employment record and is available in full on her résumé. Canceled military specifications are marked as canceled where they are still cited in contract flowdowns. Checked October 24, 2026.