Defense Manufacturing on the Rise with New 2024 Budget Indicators

Manufacturers are the backbone of the aerospace and defense industries, and we plan to see production ramp up in 2024 as the Pentagon's new budget proposal has been released.

The $824 billion defense strategy includes investing $315 billion into developing and purchasing new weapons. This means manufacturers must keep up with increasing demand while focusing on ITAR compliance requirements and, soon, CMMC regulations.

What Are the ITAR Compliance Requirements and CMMC Regulations?

• The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controls the manufacturing and distribution of defense and space-related articles and services. To meet regulations, manufacturers must track, monitor, and audit technical data while ensuring unauthorized personnel are not involved. This can become especially difficult for global companies.

• The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), expected to be released in May 2023, hopes to unify the cybersecurity standards to protect sensitive defense information and ensure accountability for defense companies. For manufacturers, this means more documentation provided by or generated for the government.
• Aerospace and Defense manufacturers must be ready and able to handle these regulations as production spurred by the budget changes begins. Whether kept in folders on your desk or your desktop, juggling regulation documents, keeping them organized, and submitting them on time can be overwhelming for anyone. Without proper compliance, your business could suffer greatly, including up to 10 years of imprisonment per violation.

Investing in solid technology now will keep your business ahead of the game come 2024. When deciding which solution to invest in, you want to ensure your manufacturing software is ITAR-compliant. Since the CMMC regulations have yet to be implemented, it may be worth investing in a solution that promises CMMC compliance when the standards are solidified in May. Using a solution that safely stores your data for you and meets ITAR compliance requirements will save your business time when production is skyrocketing to meet demand. This will free you up to focus on manufacturing high-quality, precision parts without the stress of securing your data.