Published April 27, 2016
The U.S. Department of Commerce held a webinar entitled, “Opportunities in the Global Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain” on April 26, 2016, with a focus on the A&D procurement process in the United Kingdom. Highlighted topics from the webinar included the need for foreign suppliers to educate themselves about proper compliance with European legislative requirements, with a special focus on quality, environment, and safety. Suppliers should have a thorough understanding of these areas, since they are common across the whole European Union. They also stressed that cybersecurity is now an essential part of daily business. For example, Airbus now checks suppliers all the way down to Tier 5, to make sure they have all necessary certifications to ensure security. In addition, OEMs procure systems and sub-systems, instead of individual parts. For more information on cybersecurity within the U.K. defense supply chain, you can refer to the Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP), a joint MOD/Industry initiative established in 2013.