WASHINGTON -- The Counterfeit Avoidance Accreditation Program for the aerospace and defense industry has released its first audit criteria, AC7401, to assess compliance to the Aerospace Standard AS5553 for counterfeit mitigation for EEE (electrical, electronic, electromechanical) parts.

Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins and UTC are among the active participants in CAAP.

There has been more visibility of issues with counterfeit parts in the aerospace industry in recent years. The US government has issued regulations with which defense contractors must comply, and industry standards have also been developed.

Lockheed Martin has recently become the first to subscribe to the CAAP. Lockheed Martin supply chain quality principle engineer Bob Bodemuller explained his company's participation, saying, "With the increased focus on counterfeit parts in the aerospace industry, our work establishing a system of ensuring compliance to governmental and industry requirements is of critical importance."

As a consequence, the SAE Counterfeit Avoidance Advisory Group (CAAG), whose members are aerospace and defense contractors, identified a need for compliance assessment to these regulations and standards. They approached PRI to set up a compliance assessment program based on the Nadcap model, and the first CAAP Management Council meeting took place in March 2015. An audit is scheduled in April.

Further checklists are now in development to assess compliance to DFARS 252.246-7007 (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement), for those working for the US Department of Defense.